A slim advantage early in the second quarter morphed into a comfortable lead by halftime, then ballooned into a blowout complete with a running clock by the time it was all was said and done Friday evening as the John Paul II Catholic High School football team pulled away from visiting Wayne Christian for a 74-32 victory.
The Saints, playing their first 8-man game after opening with three wins in 11-man competition, improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the Big 8 Conference. The Eagles fell top 2-1 and 0-1.
A punishing, turnover-free rushing attack was the key for JPII. Rion Roseborough led the way with 26 carries for 182 yards and five touchdowns, but by no means was he the only Saint who proved capable of doing damage. Quarterback Brody Mitchell scored a pair of touchdowns (15, 8 yards), as did Xae Lang (37, 50). Keiveon Moore was a nice, tough and elusive change of pace from the physical style of Roseborough, often breaking tackles and getting around the end for big gains. Moore also contributed three two-point conversion runs.
Then late in the game and for good measure, freshman Gentry McMinn notched his first high school touchdown at the varsity level, breaking free on a 47-yard score in the last two minutes.
“We controlled the line of scrimmage offensively,” JPII Coach Sean Murphy said. “Once we made a couple of adjustments on defense, we were able to shut them down and pull away.”
The 42-point final margin certainly looked unlikely when Wayne Christian’s Caleb Bass caught a 40-yard touchdown pass from Nate Peck with 11:51 left in the second quarter to pull his team within 21-20.
After Roseborough’s second touchdown run and a conversion by Moore made it 29-20, JPII’s Nick Garza came up with the biggest defensive play of the game, stripping the ball from Peck on a certain sack, then recovering at the Wayne Christian 19 with 6:48 left in the first half. Roseborough picked up 11 yards on the first play of the Saints’ possession before Mitchell scored from the 8, pushing the lead to 37-20 after Roseborough ran in the conversion.
A pooch kick by Will Wright followed, with Max Winkler recovering for JPII at the Wayne Christian 35 with 6:18 left in the half. Roseborough capped the possession with a 5-yard touchdown run, and Moore’s conversion made it 45-20.
Wayne Christian pulled within 45-26 by halftime, but the second half was dominated by JPII, with third-quarter touchdowns of 1 and 12 yards by Roseborough and 50 by Lang.
The Saints also opened up the passing attack just a little in the game, with Connor Kendrick connecting with Quinn McCaffrey on a 26-yard gain late in the first half and Mitchell hitting McCaffrey for 44 yards to set up Roseborough’s 12-yard score.
Along with Garza, the defense was led by Tucker Holmes, whose sack of Peck on a fourth-and-9 from the JPII 49 ended Wayne Christian’s first possession of the game and set the tone for what was to come.
Wayne Christian 14 12 0 6 — 32
John Paul II 21 24 22 7 — 74
JP—Brody Mitchell 15 run (Will Wright kick)
WC—Williams 70 kickoff run (pass failed)
JP—Rion Roseborough 10 run (run failed)
WC—Ethridge 61 pass from Bass (Ethridge run)
JP—Xae Lang 37 run (Roseborough run)
WC—Bass 40 pass from Peck (pass failed)
JP—Roseborough 2 run (Keiveon Moore run)
JP—Mitchell 8 run (Roseborough run)
JP—Roseborough 5 run (Moore run)
WC—Bass 36 pass from Peck (run failed)
JP—Roseborough 1 run (Moore run)
JP—Roseborough 12 run (Wright kick)
JP—Lang 50 run (Wright kick)
WC—Williams pass from Peck (run failed)
JP—McMinn 47 run (Wright kick)
