McCallie rolls past Pope John Paul II, 34-3

Football tile
Football tile

As it has been all season, the ground game was the obvious star of host McCallie's 34-3 victory over Pope John Paul II on Friday night at Spears Stadium.

Thanks to 180 rushing yards and two touchdowns from junior quarterback DeAngelo Hardy and 99 rushing yards and a third score from sophomore running back B.J. Harris, the Blue Tornado amassed 379 on the ground and 505 total yards while improving to 6-1 overall and 2-1 in Division II-AA East/Middle Region play.

McCallie coach Ralph Potter was more than happy to praise what happened on that side of the ball as his team, No. 3 in the state rankings, earned its fourth straight win.

"On offense, we did what we do really well," Potter said. "We block well and we run well. We just need to develop a little better passing game."

But what most pleased Potter with McCallie headed into its two biggest games of the regular season - at Brentwood Academy next Friday and at home against archrival Baylor the following week - was the play of his defense, which held the Knights to 121 total yards. That included 31 on the ground, and it took them 29 carries to get there.

"Defensively, we're playing with a lot of confidence," said Potter, whose team has allowed an average of 3.8 points in its six victories and 10.2 points per game overall this season.

"Ten of our 11 starters on defense are seniors, and that really helps."

One of those, Quindarius Dunnigan, scored the first touchdown of his career when he picked up a fumble with 5:35 to go in the game and ran it in from 12 yards out. When fellow senior Stone Roebuck kicked his fourth extra point of the game, the final score was in the books.

"That was amazing," Dunnigan said. "First touchdown ever."

Asked where this game ranked in the season, Dunnigan answered, "Every win is the same for us."

The next two aren't the same, of course. Brentwood Academy won a state title last year. Baylor is the biggest game every year for McCallie's fans.

"We're just working hard, trying to get better every game," Hardy said. "The defense keeps the offense up, the offense keeps the defense up. Everybody wants this. We're together. We're one."

If they can win each of the next two weeks, they just might become No. 1.

Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.

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