Shamrocks out last Webberville

Portland St. Patrick hosted the Webberville Spartans for Homecoming on Friday, September 14, and the fans were treated to a great football game with the final score being 43-30 Shamrocks.

The Shamrocks exploded like a cannon in the opening minutes, scoring twice in the first 4 minutes of the game and finished the first quarter up 20-0 after three Ned Smith rushing touchdowns, one for 69 yards, one for 30 yards, and another for 17 yards. The defense played especially well, shutting down the rushing attack for the Spartans early and forcing them to change their offensive game plan.

In the second quarter, the Shamrocks marched again, and ended up scoring on a 37-yard field goal by Jeff Davlin, making the score 23-0. The Spartans responded with a 10-yard touchdown pass, and the score was 23-6 when the extra point attempt failed. The Shamrocks responded with a long drive, capped off on a 14-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Connor Cross to wide receiver Tanner Lawson to make the score 31-6 after the extra point was ran in by Cross. Webberville finished the half with another score and failed extra point, making the halftime tally 31-12.

On the first play from scrimmage in the second half, the Spartans struck again with a perfect pass and catch for a 64-yard touchdown, making the score 31-18. The Shamrocks again connected, when Cross hit Lawson with a 40-yard touchdown that Lawson had to drag a defender into the endzone making the score 37-18 after a failed extra point.

In the fourth quarter, the Spartans marched down the field with a couple of long passes and capped off the drive with a 14-yard pass and failed extra point to make the score 37-24. The Shamrocks retaliated with a long scoring drive, capped by a 29-yard scramble run by the quarterback Cross making the score 43-24. The Spartans again marched, with a few great catches and made the final score 43-30.

Coach Pat Russman was thrilled with the outcome for Homecoming. “I was very proud of our team effort tonight. Defensively, we were able to shut down their run game, and that gave our offense extra possessions.” He was very happy with the Shamrock offensive output, “Connor Cross really stepped up at quarterback, and threw and ran well. Zach Spitzley and Tanner Lawson made excellent catches and runs, and Ned Smith ran incredibly effectively. Paul Cook was an inspiration on both sides of the ball, playing through an injury.”

Offensive leaders were Connor Cross, who went 5 for 12 with 131 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, he also had 34 yards rushing for 1 touchdown. Ned Smith had 13 rushes for 153 yards and 3 touchdowns. Zach Spitzley had two catches for 71 yards, and Tanner Lawson had two catches for 54 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensive leaders were Riley Kissane with 11 tackles, Ned Smith with 7 tackles, 2 sacks, and 3 tackles for loss (TFL), Paul Cook had 7 tackles and 1 TFL, Alex Kissane had 11 tackles and 1 TFL, and Bret Weller had 6 tackles.

The Shamrocks are on the road next week against Bellevue on Friday at 7 pm.