VERO BEACH — St. Ed’s put 35 points on the board in the first eight minutes of their homecoming game with Father Lopez and cruised from there to a 48-0 victory.
It was the Pirates sixth win in a row and extended a remarkable stretch of sheer domination. In those half-dozen games, St. Ed’s opponents have been vanquished by an aggregate score of 256-6.
With this latest win the Pirates raised their record to 6-3 overall, 4-2 in district play.
Brock Miller opened the carnage with a 46-yard touchdown run on the third play from scrimmage after the opening kickoff.
At this point it was advisable not to blink. You might miss St. Ed’s capitalizing on a Father Lopez miscue.
Ian Leveton intercepted a pass less than a minute later to set up a 21-yard Carson Proctor to Bobby Barker touchdown pass.
St. Ed’s recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff before Carson Proctor hit Aaron McGee for a 28-yard score on the very next play. McGee fumbled just before crossing the goal line but was able to pounce on the loose ball in the end zone.
Less than four minutes had elapsed when Anderson Proctor kicked the extra point to make it 21-0.
The Pirates defense recorded two sacks on the next Father Lopez possession, forcing a punt. It took just two plays for the offense to add six more, this time on a Carson Proctor to Aaron McGee 54-yard pass play.
St. Ed’s made it 35-0 when Devon Kahle burst through for a 71-yard touchdown run on the first play following a three-and-out punt by the beleaguered Green Wave.
With 4:12 still remaining in the first period, the Pirates had tallied five touchdowns on just 11 offensive plays.
Everything calmed down a bit after that. Aaron McGee’s third touchdown on the night was set up by a Bobby Barker interception. The 90-yard scoring drive took 11 plays. The extra point attempt failed for perhaps the only error committed by the home team in the first half.
The Pirates went to the locker room with a 41-0 lead. Homecoming queen Mary Donovan Long and her court were introduced to the near-capacity crowd at halftime.
Carson Proctor and Devon Kahle hooked up on a 30 yard pass for the only touchdown of the second half.
Father Lopez was never able to get its no-huddle, multiple spread formation offense untracked all night. The game bogged down several times with a multitude of penalties by both sides. The fourth quarter was played with a running clock.
Assistant Head Coach Lou Ferrari praised the effort, but was a little displeased with the number of penalties.
“We ran the ball hard and didn’t turn it over,” Ferrari said. “It’s best when we can run the ball and play- action pass. We’re not a drop-back team that’s going to throw the ball 50 times a game. We can be effective in what we do best.”
The play-action pass formula worked to near perfection this time. A fireworks display after the game put an exclamation point on an ideal night for football.
