Shamrocks open 2024 season with a blast

On Friday, August 30th the Portland St. Patrick Shamrocks opened their football season with a visit from the Coleman Comets. The Shamrocks had high expectations of this season, with 31 total players in the program, and a solid combination of size, speed, athleticism and leadership. The Comets are a solid program, and went 4-5 last season against mostly Division 1 opponents. The Shamrocks started out well, and despite a few struggles in the first half, managed to dominate the game, winning 67-12.

In the first quarter, the Shamrocks jumped right out defensively and smothered Coleman, blocking a punt and setting up a short field, leading to a 1 yard touchdown by QB Brady Leonard and a made extra point by Brody Beckhold. Coleman came back and marched down the field, but on the following kickoff Landon Simpson took the ball 94 yards for a touchdown. The Shamrock defense held again, which allowed Brayden Simon to break free for a 25 yard touchdown run, and another made extra point by Brody Beckhold left the score 20-6 after the first quarter. 

The Second quarter was more of the same, with the Shamrock defense holding well, and the Shamrock special teams making big returns to keep the Shamrocks in good field position. Hudson King opened the scoring with a 9 yard rushing touchdown, followed by another kick by Brody Beckhold. Coleman marched again and managed to score as well. Jerryd Scheurer caught a pass and ducked and dodged for a 33 yard score followed by a made kick by Brody Beckhold. Brady Leonard then broke lose for a big 67 yard touchdown run, followed by a Brody Beckhold kick. Recognizing that the Comets had managed to move the ball effectively on two different drives, the Shamrock coaches decided to put one more score in the end zone to finish the half, when Brady Leonard threw it to Brayden Simon for a 28 yard score to end the half. Brody Beckhold made the kick as well. This left the score 48-12 at halftime. 

After the half, Brayden Simon started things off with a 22 yard run. On the following defensive series, the Shamrock defense stymied Coleman again, with Charlie Thelen making a play in the backfield, knocking the ball loose and Aidan Mosser scooping the fumble and running it in for a touchdown. Brody Beckhold made the kick on that one as well. Caleb Pline ended the scoring with a 1 yard run. 

After that, the scoring was over as the Shamrocks played conservative, and the Shamrock JV players finished the entire quarter, holding the Coleman Comets scoreless in the fourth. 

Offensive leaders for the Shamrocks were Brady Leonard who went 4-6 on passing with 2 touchdowns, and rushed 4 times for 85 yards and 2 touchdowns. Brayden Simon had 6 rushes for 78 yards and 2 touchdowns and caught one pass for 28 yards and a touchdown, Hudson King had 8 rushes for 55 yards and 1 touchdown and Jerryd Scheurer had 2 receptions for 46 yards and a touchdown. 

Defensive leaders for the Shamrocks were Ben White who had 7 tackles 1 sack and 1 TFL (tackle for loss), Brayden Simon with 5 tackles 3 sacks and 3 TFL, Landon Simpson, Caleb Pline, Gabe Wernet and Aidan Mosser all had 5 tackles, and Charlie Thelen had 4 tackles 1 sack and 1 TFL. 

The Shamrocks host Webberville (1-0) on Saturday, September 7th at 7 pm. 

Photo by Lindsey Bos.