Photo by Kevin Lewter
Joey Magnifico lived up to his name Friday night.
Playing on Senior Night, Magnifico, a 6-4, 230-pound senior wide receiver and linebacker, scored all four St. Benedict touchdowns, had a team-high 53 yards rushing, 97 yards receiving and made a 23-yard interception that led to a field goal in the Eagles’ 34-19 neighborhood rivalry win over Cordova last Friday.
“This was Senior Night. We had to get that win,” said Magnifico, who was praised by his coach Mike David and by teammates including offensive and defensive lineman Hayes Denney.
“Joey ran the ball well for us and caught it,” said David. Denney added, “Joey had a great game. He had some big plays. Being able to run the ball was great for us. When Joey made that last interception on defense and we were up 31-19 in the fourth quarter with about nine minutes left, I felt safe. I felt like we were going to get the job done. We pretty much sealed the deal with that drive. It felt great.”
Snapping a three-game losing streak, the Eagles, who are already in the playoffs, improved to 5-4 with a region game at home against Christian Brothers High School (5-4) at 7 p.m. Friday.
SBA quarterback Mark Kovacs completed 12-of-24 passes for 260 yards and threw two touchdown passes of 13 yards and another for 17 to Magnifico. A 1-yard run by Magnifico with 9:16 left in the game gave the Eagles their 12-point lead.
“Mark stepped up big-time at quarterback,” said Denney.
Pleased that his team rose to the occasion, David said it was hard to single any one player out. He was impressed with wide receiver Tyler Currie who made five catches for 130 yards including a one-handed grab on a third down. His longest reception went for 42 yards.
“Tyler, our O-line did a good job. Defensively all of them were great all over the field,” said David.
Sophomore running back/defensive back Baylor Bearden said, “Our defense played the best I have seen them play in a long time, big interceptions (the Eagles had three), things like that turned the game into our favor.”
Playing in a 3-3 stack with two outside linebackers and four defensive backs, the Eagles held the Wolves (4-5) to 48 yards rushing. They had gained 104 yards but lost 56 yards, including 48 yards on six sacks. SBA made 13 tackles for lost yardage.
“Our defense was unbelievable tonight,” said David. “I was real proud of them. I am proud of our kids offensively. We are pretty balanced.”
What Cordova coach Anthony Jones considered a “huge” momentum swing came in the third quarter.
Greg Harvey, Jr., returned a punt to the Eagle 30-yard line with the Wolves trailing 24-19. However, after seniors Nesto Rivas, Richards and Denney combined for sacks of Cordova quarterback Devin Coleman of 22 yards, the Wolves faced a fourth and 39.
“The turning point was the defensive stand by them. We couldn’t punch the ball in with good field position,” said Jones.
Rivas played as a man on a mission when he sacked Coleman for an 11-yard loss. “I am a man on a mission every play. It is just a fire to keep going after it,” said Rivas.
He was further inspired on Friday. His dog Nora, a 10-year old Australian Cattle Dog, died suddenly during the week. “I played this one for her,” he said.
Cordova’s defense was also solid, corralling the Eagles’ rushing. SBA had gained 109 yards but lost 45 for a net of 64 yards. Keelin Kizer had a 14-yard sack on Kovacs. Kizer and Martavious Crockett led the Wolves in tackles with five each. Ahmad Richardson had 4.5 tackles. Justin Terry had a sack for 6 yards and Braylon Brown a sack of four yards.
Defensively for the Eagles, Richards had 1.5 sacks for 12 yards; Rivas one for 11 yards; Denney a half-sack for 6 yards, Brennan Ryan a sack for 8 yards, Austin Cary a sack for 9 yards.
“The best offense is a good defense,” said Richards. “Our defense gave us a position to score.”
An interception by LaDarius Jordan in the fourth quarter at the Wolves’ 25-yard line led to Magnifico’s final touchdown and the 31-19 lead after Peter Wagner kicked his fourth PAT.
“That touchdown by LaDarius, that was a big turning point for us,” said David.
Magnifico’s 23-yard interception got the Eagles to the 29-yard line. Later junior running back Colton Cochran ran 15 yards to the 9 but a fumble and incomplete pass led to a fourth-and-7. Wagner then kicked his second field goal of the game, a 25-yarder, which gave the Eagles a 34-19 lead with 5:32 left.
“I think their senior leadership has been outstanding for them. That is the true test for those seniors who have endured the pain and hardship of losing season after losing season in their underclassmen years but now they have pulled it together and have done a great job. They are buying into what their coaches are teaching them; they rally around each other and have turned it around,” said Jones of SBA.
Leadership has made the difference as the Eagles have rebounded from a 1-10 record in 2013.
“Last year, we didn’t have a lot of leadership and this year it makes us want to work harder for sure; in the weight room and practice,” said Richards.
Denney said, “This team has come a long way from 1-10 to being 5-4 going into our last region game against CBHS. We are excited. We are pumped up. We have a good season and we plan on continuing that and keep winning.”
SBA will play the loser of the Briarcrest Christian-MUS game on Nov. 7 in the first round of the playoffs.
Cordova will be fighting for a playoff spot when it tackles Arlington at Arlington this Thursday at 7 p.m.
“Thursday night against Arlington is going to be a test. We have to grow up and progress every day of practice. We have to be successful. We have to win,” said Cordova junior quarterback Micah Moreland, who tore his ACL in February. He threw a 35-yard touchdown pass against Kingsbury on Oct. 17.
Jones has seen his team progress. “They have matured a lot. They have been through a lot this year behind closed doors and have done an outstanding job of responding to adversity. They have grown up in a short amount of time. The coaches have done a great job as well,” he said.
A sophomore, Coleman completed 19-of-35 passes for 202 yards and threw two interceptions.
“He made young mistakes. We are going to have to correct it and get ready for Arlington,” said Jones.
“I wasn’t making the correct reads when I threw that first interception. When I threw it, I felt like ‘Ok I can come back’ but when I threw that second interception that gave them momentum.”
The Wolves were led by Jacob Jacques’ 94 yards on three receptions. Edward Johnson caught 11 passes for 84 yards. Lavar Johnson, who had a 34-yard run, led in rushing with 81 yards.
“We were able to move the ball against a solid defense,” said Jones. “We were able to score early. We have just got to learn how to sustain it.”
The Eagles took a 3-0 lead on an 8-play drive with 4:02 left in the first quarter. A 35-yard pass from Kovacs to Currie put the Eagles on the Cordova 31. Magnifico had a 14-yard run in the drive.
Both teams then traded interceptions. Currie intercepted Coleman and returned it 14 yards to the Cordova 29. Cordova’s Cedric Carter then intercepted Kovacs, one of two he threw, at the Cordova 30, returned it for 25 yards which led to a touchdown.
Harold Lacy ran 2 yards for the score. Michael Merritt kicked the PAT for a 7-3 Cordova lead with 11:16 left in the second quarter. The TD drive was highlighted by Coleman’s 31-yard pass to Jacques.
Kovacs’ 42-yard pass to Currie set up his 13-yard touchdown pass to Magnifico and a 10-7 Eagles lead.
That was the first of three second quarter touchdowns.
The Wolves rallied to tie. Coleman’s 56-yard pass to Jacques put the Wolves on the Eagles 10. Lost yardage and incomplete passes forced a fourth-and-12. Jose Hernandez then kicked a 29-yard field goal.
Kovacs’ 13-yard touchdown pass to Magnifico put SBA ahead 17-10. Kovacs threw a fourth-and-9 pass to Magnifico, who also had a 17-yard gain during the drive. The Eagles led 24-10 after Kovacs found Currie for a 29-yard pass and then a 17-yard touchdown pass to Magnifico with 36 seconds left in the second quarter.
A 55-yard kickoff return by Harvey, his longest of the game, led to a 42-yard field goal by Hernandez as time expired. The Wolves trailed 24-13 at halftime. Harvey would finish with 128 yards on kickoff returns and 23 yards on two punt returns.
“It was a tale of two different halves. I thought we fought in the first half and St. Benedict did a good job and made some adjustments. We didn’t make the big play,” said Jones.
Richards said, “They threw a couple of deep balls on us early and then we adjusted to it at halftime.”
In the third quarter, the Wolves would capitalize when a snap sailed over Wagner’s head. He would make a 14-yard punt (his average for the game was 27 with his longest 47 yards). Cordova got to the 7 but a holding penalty set up the 15-yard touchdown pass Coleman tossed to Johnson with 3:54 left. Cordova trailed 24-19 after a failed two-point conversion.
In a position to take a 25-24 lead, Cordova suffered its defensive lapse.
“We needed to get pressure on the quarterback and we rattled him,” said Cochran.
Coleman said, “It didn’t feel good. I thought we could capitalize on it (Harvey’s return) but it didn’t go our way.”
SBA’s passing attack was a factor in the win, said Magnifico.
“We haven’t done that in three games so it was good for our offense. Our defensive line getting sacks helped us a lot in on-the-field position. This was great for our team. It got us closer together and we will take that to next week against CBHS.”
Jones’ goal is to join the Eagles as a playoff team. He said, “Making the playoff is the thrill and joy of seeing these guys’ hard work pay off. We lost a lot of seniors off last year’s squad.”
Rivas said the 5-4 record and ending the losing skid showed the Eagles “ have got to keep moving forward. You just can’t look in the past because it is not going to predict your future.”
Jones said, “We knew St. Benedict was a pretty good team and we knew that we had to come into their house on Senior Night and play lights out. We couldn’t capitalize and finish the job.”
By Bill Surrell, special to the Express.
