Patriots roll in battle of Lakeshore
HOMEWOOD – The battle of Lakeshore was one-sided on Friday night, as the Homewood High School football team knocked off host John Carroll, 35-7, at Pat Sullivan Field in a Class 6A, Region 5 matchup.
“I felt like we played hard,” said Homewood head coach Ben Berguson. “Our defense had another great night. We were real inconsistent on offense. We’d have a good play, then a bad play, penalty, then another good play.”
Homewood (6-0, 3-0 in region) managed a defensive touchdown on the third play of the game, before the Patriot offense even had a chance to take the field. Jackson Griggs picked off a pass floated over the middle of the field and waltzed in from 17 yards out, and the rout was on.
John Firnberg notched a sack on the next possession, and Ky Burdeshaw grabbed an interception of his own the third time John Carroll had the ball in an all-around suffocating effort. Burdeshaw’s pick set up Nick McCoy’s 22-yard run off right tackle to give Homewood a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
Homewood’s offense punted on three of its first four possessions, as Larkin Williams and the rest of the unit struggled to gain rhythm early. Williams started the game just 1-of-6 passing, but completed eight of his next nine, including a 22-yard score to David Robertson Jr. to make it 28-0 shortly before halftime.
“We’ve got to clean that up against a team like Ramsay,” said Berguson, citing Homewood’s next opponent.
Williams finished the night 12-of-20 for 175 yards and two passing touchdowns. He also scored a 6-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter. His 9-yard completion to TyShawn Buckner made it 35-0 in the third quarter. Buckner snagged six balls for 90 yards on the evening.
In the second half, Homewood was able to keep the intensity up on defense for the most part. Thomas Smith recovered a fumble and Charlie Williams intercepted a fourth-quarter pass.
Pate Owen and Tre Roberson each took snaps at quarterback in the second half, and KeOnte Davis got four carries.
“Overall, I was happy,” Berguson said. “We got a lot of people in the game tonight in the second half. We just need to clean some stuff up before next week.”
For John Carroll (2-3, 1-3), freshman Nicholas Sellers got the start at quarterback for an injured Bailey Mara. Sellers’ best play of the evening came on the first play of a drive, following a Demetrius Battle fumble recovery.
Sellers took the snap and lofted a pass perfectly down the right side into the arms of Sam Reed, who took it the rest of the way for a 77-yard touchdown.
Battle and Jeremiah Fuller were the leading rushers for the Cavaliers. Battle picked up 42 yards on eight carries and Fuller rushed nine times for 33 yards.
Homewood hosts Ramsay next week in a critical Region 5 contest. John Carroll heads to Springville, where it plays one of the two opponents it knocked off last fall.
Ramsay comes off a loss to Jackson-Olin, but is considered one of the top teams in the region. Homewood locked up a playoff berth with Friday’s victory, and Berguson said each game from now on is critical for playoff seeding.
“They’ve got a great football team,” Berguson said of Ramsay. “That’ll be the game to see if we can really turn the corner with this thing. I’m excited.”