You spell St. Vincent-St. Mary football with a 'D,' and the Fighting Irish proved it again
There’s a swagger with the St. Vincent-St. Mary football team as it heads into Week 3 undefeated for the first time since 2017.
After a 16-14 win at Perry on Friday, fans can look at D.J. Johnson and Markelle Carter for giving them a solid start.
After all, Johnson has 196 yards rushing and four touchdowns as St. Vincent-St. Mary prepares to travels to Huber Heights Wayne (1-1) next Friday.
Carter has proven more than efficient with 318 combined yards rushing and passing, but through two weeks you spell STVM with a “D” this season.
That side of the ball has been lights-out and is a big reason the Irish are rolling early this season.
“They’re young, but are getting better,” STVM coach Terry Cistone said. “We knew coming down here it was going to be tough. I’ve known this tradition at Perry, but I think our kids settled down after that first series. They got used to that wing-T. They settled down and didn’t let them get outside.”
Mekhi Madison and David Ajose are leading STVM football into Week 3
Two of the big names so far for the Irish have been outside linebacker Mekhi Madison and defensive end David Ajose.
It’s hard to miss Ajose, who stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 210 pounds. Madison is a bit smaller at 5-9 and 170.
Both played like monsters against the Panthers (1-1).
“We weren’t hitting our blocks and the backside killed us,” Panthers coach Zach Slates said. “We were playing catch up and the kids were playing catch up. They just played solid defense. They had to trust their guys, and that’s what they did. They did a good job.”
Both Madison and Ajose finished with five tackles against Perry.
That was the story, but so was a defense that rolls with the punches.
Second verse same as the first for STVM football
In Week 1, Mansfield Senior scored a touchdown in the first 6:56 and then managed just one more touchdown in a 35-14 STVM win.
This week, Perry drove 69 yards on 14 plays and went ahead 7-0 with 5:17 left in the first quarter.
The Panthers managed just 8 yards the next two quarters.
“This year we’ve got great length on the outside,” Ajose said. “Our secondary has guys rotating in that are always ready to go. Our DBs are very talented. They work hard, don’t give up, and really show out on the field.
“We kind of underestimated them at first. They have a really strong team that come out hard. We just kept playing through the whistle.”
That mentality has shown especially against the run.
Last week, the Tygers rushed for 50 yards on 20 carries.
This week, Perry finished with 141 on 33 carries, but 69 of those yards came on 13 carries in the first drive.
That means the Panthers ran for 73 yards on their final 20 carries.
Also keep in mind Perry boasts an offense that rushed for 298 yards in the first half on a 208-yard day by Ryder Hartshorn a week ago.
He finished 28 yards on 10 carries against STVM.
In two weeks, the Irish are allowing 95.5 yards rushing per game and 117.0 yards through the air.
Historically, teams that allow 212.5 yards total offense win lot of games, and that’s what the Irish are banking on moving forward.
“I’m proud of everybody,” Madison said. “We made the adjustments and were able to get this done. We always have to be prepared. You can’t be scared to hit somebody. You have to do your job so everybody else can do theirs. We just have to keep this going.”Contact Brad Bournival at bbournival@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @bbournival
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: STVM football unbeaten through Week 2 for first time since 2017
