UNIONTOWN - South Carroll senior running back Dylan McDermott put up numbers Friday night that most high school football players can only achieve while playing a game of Madden 13.
Slashing through the front nine and dodging safeties down the field, McDermott rushed for 245 yards and the Cavaliers took down Francis Scott Key 55-7 to keep their county championship and playoff hopes very much alive.
After Eric Smith took the opening kickoff back 90 yards to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead, McDermott reeled off five straight touchdowns and the Cavs took firm control of the game.
"It's definitely something that I take personally and I know I couldn't do it without my team because my line was blocking great tonight. A lot of times I wasn't touched because they were sealing everyone off and it made it easy for me," McDermott said. "It's definitely something I am going to look back on and remember for a long time."
Getting all his yards on just 17 carries, McDermott's most impressive run was a 93-yard score down the right side of the field. Taking the option pitch from quarterback Ben Nardo about eight yards past the line of scrimmage, McDermott sprinted down the sidelines. Just past midfield he cut back to elude the safety, broke a tackle and sailed clear into the end zone.
Four different Cavaliers (6-3, 5-1 county) rushed for a touchdown - Dan White, Tim Double and Eamon Curley all had one each - and they amassed 20 first downs on the ground.
"He played inspired tonight. He's a senior and he's been instrumental in leading us on our winning streak. He's putting us on the right track," SC coach Steve Luette said. "The point coming in here tonight was we got to be on top of our game and we have to be ready to do it.
"He was fired up and then when the rest of the team sees that it fires them up. The defense starts playing well and we get rolling."
In their first drive of the game, the Eagles (1-8, 1-5) drove the ball down the field converting five times for a first down, but the drive stalled inside the Cavaliers' 20.
The Eagles managed just one first down the rest of the way and the Cavs hard-hitting defense wore down the smaller FSK squad.
"We were blocking really well on that first drive and after that we get a little bit tired because we are kind of thin and kind of young," FSK coach Dave Smith said. "We're fighting the numbers battle so as the game wears on we tire and we have a lot of guys going two ways."
The victory was the Cavs' fifth straight win. They began the night in fourth place in the Class 2A West Region playoff standings (the top four teams make the postseason). Their closest pursuers, Wheaton, lost Friday, putting South Carroll in good position for a county-record fourth straight playoff berth.
They can win the county championship by upsetting undefeated Westminster in their regular-season finale. But if the Cavs start slow like they did Friday night, they might not have a chance to stay with the high-powered Owls, and McDermott said they understand that clearly.
"They are a great team and when you play a great team you can't have mental breakdowns like that or physical breakdowns for that matter," he said. "We just really need to be do everything we can to stop what they do well."
South Carroll 13 19 9 14 - 55
Francis Scott Key 7 0 0 0 - 7
SCORING SUMMARY
FSK-Eric Smith 90 kickoff return (Billy Healey kick)
SC-Dylan McDermott 7 run (David Baca)
SC-McDermott 93 run (kick blocked)
SC-McDermott 28 run (conversion failed)
SC-McDermott 3 run (conversion failed)
SC-McDermott 10 run (Baca kick)
SC-Dan White 7 run (kick missed)
SC-Mike Viergutz 23 field goal
SC-Eamon Curley 11 run (Viergutz kick)
SC-Tim Double 3 run (Viergutz kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
SC-Dylan McDermott 17-245, Tim Double 6-31, Eamon Curley 5-13, Kyle MacIvor 4-26, Ben Nardo 4-32, Andrew Louder 2-30, Zach Wolfrey 1-16, Dan White 2-15, Chad Slifer 1-1, Jake Pooton 3-0; FSK-Clayton Vleck 13-39, Rye Thomas 10-34, Matt Clingan 9-18, Eric Smith 3-3.
Passing
SC-Ben Nardo 3-4-0 46; FSK-Vleck 1-4-0 2.
Receiving
SC-Taylor Beddow 2-21, Wolfrey 1-25; FSK-Thomas 1-2.
