Daniel Lindsey led the way for the Fightin’ Irish in their 27-7 win over Calvary Day. The junior had two touchdown receptions, one for 12 yards and one for 42 yards. In addition to that he had an interception to end Calvary Day’s last real shot at a comeback. Lindsey knew how important his play would be in deciding the game.
“I knew I would have to come out and make big plays and we did just that. We made history,” said Lindsey. “It makes it extra sweet that we went undefeated on the year. We just can’t be stopped this year.”
Aquinas’ offense had trouble getting going at first. They started with a first down on a 10-yard rush from Ruben Garnett, but on the following play, sophomore quarterback Liam Welch let the snap from shotgun formation sail past him for a 21-yard loss. The Irish ended up having to punt, which Cavalier senior Tyrone Riley blocked. The Calvary Day defense played great the following drive as well, forcing a fumble on third down to make it fourth-and-23. The Cavaliers’ offense was able to score on a 16-yard run by Robert Heyward following the blocked punt.
Head coach James Leonard had confidence in his offense after the nerves of playing in the state championship wore off.
“We had a little trouble on offense at first I think, but once we settled down we got things going,” explained Leonard, who is just 26-years old. “Yeah, I think it was a little nerves, a little noise. Had trouble with the snap count to start off, but once we settled down and settled in we knew we couldn’t be stopped.”
The story changed in the second quarter as Garnett became unstoppable. He was collecting first down after first down and the Cavaliers defense had no answer for him. His second quarter performance brought the Irish back to life with a 36-yard touchdown run to tie the game 7-7. On their ensuing drive, Welch found Lindsey for a 12-yard touchdown. Aquinas’ defense was equally impressive in the second quarter totaling four sacks and forcing Cavalry Day to punt on its only two drives of the quarter.
The momentum stayed with Aquinas into the second half as senior defensive back Antonio Clark picked off Michael Peterson’s pass around the 42-yard line. On the very next play Welch found Lindsey again, this time for a 42-yard touchdown. The Cavaliers turned the ball over on their next drive with another interception, this time to senior Chris Lambert. At this point in the game, Calvary Day had run 20 more plays than Aquinas and found itself down 21-7.
The Irish defense stayed stout throughout the fourth quarter including a clutch fourth down stop. The offense then took the ball 73 yards capped by a John Morris 24-yard touchdown to push the lead to 20. On the following Cavaliers drive, Lindsey made a huge interception giving the Irish great field position and stopping Calvary Day from making a comeback. This was Leonard’s first year as head coach and he has a young roster full of players ready to step up again next year.
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