McNamara falls short again
Mustangs suffer another lopsided loss on road against Good Counsel on Friday
Chances are that Bishop McNamara High School football fans were spooked by halftime of the team's Friday the 13th Washington Catholic Athletic Conference semifinal game against Good Counsel.
Traveling to Good Counsel has been like a house of horrors for the Mustangs in recent years, and that trend continued as the Falcons jumped to a 20-0 lead at the half and cruised to a 35-6 victory. In its last five road games against Good Counsel, including Friday's loss, McNamara has been outscored by 161 points.
The loss ended the Mustangs' season in the same location and same round of the playoffs as last season. Meanwhile, the Falcons will take on the winner of Saturday's other WCAC semifinal between DeMatha and Gonzaga (D.C.). The WCAC final is scheduled for 2 p.m. Nov. 21 at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis. Should the Stags win on Saturday, it will be the sixth consecutive year that DeMatha and Good Counsel meet in the WCAC final.
"Good Counsel is a heck of a football team," said McNamara coach Bryce Bevill. "You can't turn the ball over when you play them, you have to get good field position and do a lot of things to win. We weren't able to do that."
The Falcons went 12 plays and 86 yards on the game's opening drive, capped by tailback Michael Nittoli's 4-yard touchdown run. The extra point by Kyle Hamby gave Good Counsel a 7-0 lead. The drive took seven minutes off of the clock and established the tone for the night.
Nittoli scored another touchdown, while Good Counsel quarterback Zach Dancel rushed for a touchdown and passed for another.
McNamara senior wide receiver Brandon Coleman had a big day, catching three passes for 91 yards including a 42-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter on a gimmick play when fellow Mustangs' receiver Matthew Goldsmith tossed the the ball. Coleman also had 47 yards rushing.
After missing the previous two games with an injured quadriceps, Mustangs' junior tailback Hannibal Robinson returned against Good Counsel. He had 58 yards on 12 carries to go along with 31 receiving yards.
Mustangs' quarterback James Joseph completed 7 of 18 passes for 90 yards and two costly interceptions.