For two seasons now, the Bishop O’Connell Knights have won little during the early portion of their high-school football campaigns.
Through four contests this fall, the private-school squad owns a 1-3 mark, losing to the Washington Patriots (2-2) of Charles Town, W.Va., by a 29-14 score in its most recent contest, played the night of Sept. 19 in non-conference action.
Last fall, the Knights fell to 0-5 before they earned a victory.
Fast starts have been difficult because of early-season games against quality opponents. Two of O’Connell’s losses this year have been against undefeated teams in the Washington-Liberty Generals and St. Albans Bulldogs.
Typically, high-school football teams like to begin seasons with more favorable schedules, which toughen as the campaign continues.
O’Connell’s next game this fall is on the road against the Landon Bears of Bethesda on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 1:30 p.m. Landon, which defeated O’Connell a year ago, is also off to a good start with a 3-1 record.
“We have definitely been playing some good teams early,” O’Connell coach Todd Sabatino told ARLnow.
The Knights were hoping to win their Sept. 19 game, but Washington’s strong line play, especially on offense, became a significant issue. The Patriots ran the ball well against O’Connell, gaining 325 yards on the ground and scoring three rushing touchdowns.
The Patriots were ahead the entire game, leading 14-0 at halftime.
“We had a hard time stopping their running game, and we shot ourselves in the foot with penalties and sacks,” Sabatino said. “We missed opportunities and had too many three and outs.”
The Knights also missed a field goal and were missing a starting running back because of an injury.
O’Connell had success running the ball, as Nick Morris rushed for 138 yards and both of the Knights’ touchdowns. They came on runs of 10 and 34 yards.
“Nick ran hard all night,” Sabatino said.
Josh Taliaferro ran for 29 yards and quarterback Ryan Turpin for six.
Turpin was 8 of 17 passing for 73 yards. Zander Schied had four catches, Morris and Eli Moran two each.
Defensively, Moran led the way with 13 tackles with Taliaferro having 12, including a sack.
Jayden Campbell made nine tackles, with two sacks and causing a fumble; Morris had five tackles; James Fatzinger had three tackles for losses; Kaiden Alt and Ariston Kroeger each had two tackles for losses; and Xavier Reid deflected a pass and had four tackles.
Mitch Czernia kicked two extra points.
