Spalding gets run over by Boys' Latin

Patrick Steele just lowered his shoulder and ran right through Archbishop Spalding.

Steele followed his offensive line for three rushing touchdowns to guide Boys' Latin to a 20-0 victory yesterday and put the Cavaliers' playoff hopes in question.

"He's good," Archbishop Spalding quarterback Donnie Abey said. "He's just good."

Steele took 23 carries for 148 yards and scored in the first, second and fourth quarters, while Kevin O'Neil threw on target and the Lakers' defense shut down Archbishop Spalding.

Boys' Latin clinched its first Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference championship appearance in nine seasons.

"We stayed focused and we didn't let that get above our heads," said Steele, who was held to negative yardage on only one carry. "We just came out and did our thing."

The Cavaliers (7-1), in search of their first title-game appearance since losing to St. Mary's in 2007, has to beat John Carroll next week in order to set up a rematch with Boys' Latin.

Archbishop Spalding leads John Carroll (6-2) by one game in the conference standings, and each plays in Week 10. Next week's winner owns the tiebreaker.

"This is a tough situation," Cavaliers coach Mike Whittles said. "We've got to win next week to make it to the championship game. John Carroll's a good team. It's not going to be easy."

Boys' Latin intercepted Abey three times and forced a first-quarter fumble. The Lakers, who are 8-0 for the first time since 1963, were able to hold the Cavaliers outside the 16-yard line.

Michael Turner picked off Abey on his fourth pass of the fourth quarter to hand Archbishop Spalding its first shutout loss since Sept. 5, 2008, against Mount St. Joseph.

"It was a great win," Lakers coach Ritchie Schell said. "I was surprised at how well we played, quite frankly."

O'Neil and Turner connected four times for 77 yards during the first quarter, including a 42-yard pass down the left sideline to set up first-and-goal from the 5. O'Neil went to Turner for a five-yard pass at the goal line, and Steele pushed his way through the middle for a 6-0 lead with 8:48 left.

They followed the same formula late in the second quarter.

O'Neil began the drive with a 33-yard strike to Turner and followed with a pass to Jack Durkee for 19 more. Steele ran 14 yards on two carries before cutting through the right side from the 3 to push the lead to 13.

"We were feeling pretty well," said O'Neil, who was 10-for-15 with 167 yards passing during the first half. "We knew they were big inside, so we were going to have to throw the ball. This year, we didn't have to throw the ball to anyone else because of No. 33 (Steele) over there."

Boys' Latin was able to hold K.K. Smith to 68 yards on 12 carries, and the Cavaliers compiled just 145 total yards of offense.

Archbishop Spalding picked up seven first downs - two during the second half - and only four of its 10 drives went longer than four plays.

"We've got to go back and look at the tape to see what happened," Whittles said. "We've got to be able to get a first down. You have to be able to extend the drives in order to put something together."

Abey went 7-for-19 for 45 yards and threw three interceptions - two in the fourth.

Two plays after Julian Washington intercepted O'Neil to start the fourth, Abey gave it back to the Lakers. Abey threw a short pass to JD Izon, who didn't pick up the ball, which landed in Joe Weidner's hands.

"They had strong D-ends and strong D-tackles," Abey said. "They were blowing up our line. We could hold them, but it wasn't for long."

Steele capitalized on the Cavaliers' fourth turnover by running over Washington on his way to a 15-yard score to make it 20-0 with 8:57 left.

"You've just got to lower the shoulder and keep the legs moving," Steele said. "That's all you've got to do."

Archbishop Spalding (7-1) 0 0 0 0 - 0

Boys' Latin (8-0) 6 7 0 7 - 20

First Quarter

BL - Steele 1 run (kick failed)

Second Quarter

BL - Steele 3 run (Keenan kick)

Third Quarter

None.

Fourth Quarter

BL - Steele 15 run (Keenan kick)

PASSING: AS - Abey 7-19-0-3=45; BL - O'Neil 12-20-0-2=177. RECEIVING: AS - Edwards 2-21, Smith 2-17; BL - Turner 7-118, Preston 4-37. RUSHING: AS - Smith 12-68, Izon 4-27; BL - Steele 23-148-3, Rubino 4-11, Keenan 1-21.