If you were a national-ranked high school football team whose name began with Archbishop, you didn’t want to face a school named La Salle Friday night.
Don’t believe me?
Just ask #7 Archbishop Moeller (Ohio) and #16 Archbishop Wood (Pennsylvania), who both lost Friday night to a team named La Salle.
In Cincinnati, bother Moeller and La Salle entered their Greater Catholic League showdown with 5-0 records. Until Friday, the Crusaders had dominated the series with La Salle, winning five times in 52 tries.
According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, La Salle’s (6-0) junior running back Jeremy Larkin rushed for 216 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Lancers to a 34-9 victory. Coming into the contest, the Moeller (5-1) defense had only allowed 268 total yards rushing in five games.
In suburban Philadelphia, Archbishop Wood and La Salle squared-off for the first time in 16 years. Wood entered the game ranked #1 in EasternPAFootball.com‘s Big School Top 10, while La Salle was ranked #2.
Wood (5-1) got out to a 35-14 lead going into the fourth quarter behind running back Jarrett McClenton, who rushed for 293 yards on 27 carries with three touchdowns. However, the fourth quarter was all La Salle (5-1) behind Vanderbilt-commit Kyle Shurmur, who tossed three final quarter touchdown passes in the 35-31 come-from-behind victory.
Archbishop Moeller wasn’t the only nationally-ranked Cincinnati-area team to lose. #21 Elder (4-2) lost to St. Xavier 32-24 in double overtime.
St. X (4-2) running back Ben Glines scored the game-winning touchdown, plus a two-point conversion in the second overtime. However, with a 32-24 lead, the Bombers still needed a defensive stop for the victory.
Next weekend, St. X will play La Salle, while Moeller will play Elder. La Salle leads the four-team Great Catholic League South Division with a 1-0 mark. Moeller and St. X are 1-1, while Elder is 0-1.
On Thursday, #20 Hamilton lost to Chandler in the battle of Chandler, Arizona. Chandler (5-1), which in 2013 beat its in-city rival for the first-time ever, won 56-24 by scoring on its first four possessions. The victory snapped Hamilton’s (5-1) 64 home win streak that dated back to 2004.
With top-ranked Allen (Texas) playing today against Lewisville (Texas) and #2 Don Bosco Prep (New Jersey), #3 Booker T. Washington (Florida) and #5 DeSoto (Texas) all idle, #4 De La Salle (California) was the only top five team in action Friday night.
The Spartans (6-0) used a strong ground game to roll to a 70-14 win over San Ramon Valley. DLS was led by Andrew Hernandez, who gained 229 yards on just seven carries and scored on touchdown runs of 73, 82 and 3 yards.
California’s other Top 10 teams – #8 St. John Bosco and #10 Folsom didn’t have any troubles.
St. John Bosco rebounded from last week’s loss to #6 Bishop Gorman by beating Crenshaw (California) 65-7.
Del Oro (California) slowed-down Folsom QB Jake Browning, who came into the game averaging over 400 yards a game through the air, but they didn’t stop him. Browning, California’s all-time touchdown passing leader, threw three TDs in the Bulldogs 42-7 victory. Browning now has 35 TDs this year with only one interception.
In Washington, #11 Bellevue shutout Glacier Lake. The Wolverines defense didn’t allow its opponent across the 50 yard line until 2:50 to go in the game.
Georgia’s two ranked teams – #13 Buford and # 17 Colquitt County – remained on the undefeated track.
Buford (5-o) won its 30th straight game with a 54-7 win over Chestatee Friday night. The Wolves only needed 11 plays to score five touchdowns in the first half.
Colquitt County began play in the always tough AAAAAA Region 1 with a 45-27 win over Lowndes. The Packers were led by running back Sihiem King, who scored three touchdowns.
In Texas, #15 Southlake Carroll, #19 Euless Trinity and #23 Skyline picked-up victories with Coppell nearly upsetting Southlake Carroll.
Coppell tried the control the clock with a running game that featured Charles West carrying the ball 50 times for 355 yards, but in the end it was Lil Jordan Humphrey‘s 1 yard TD run with :24 second left that gave the Dragons a 28-24 victory.
In Mississippi, #18 South Panola and #24 Starkville both moved to 6-0. South Panola beat Olive Branch 46-7 while Starkville shutout Northwest Rankin 42-0.
In Indiana, #22 Warren Central beat Lawrence North 31-7, which sets-up next week’s showdown with undefeated Carmel.
And, #25 Maryville (Tennessee) moved to 7-0 with a 45-14 victory over Heritage.
