St. Johns Football Suffers Double Loss

The St. Johns Country Day School football team (0-1) lost twice Friday night. The first loss was on the scoreboard, 30-6, at Providence (1-0) in a non-district game. Adding to the difficult night was the loss of their star player, senior running back Carlos Sims, Jr., who may be out for the season with a knee injury according to Spartan Coach Rodney DuBose. The Sims injury occured on the Spartan's first offensive play after he picked up a first down.

A bright spot for the Spartans was the play of senior linebacker T J Weaver, who led the team in rushing with 37 yards, recovered three fumbles and made 10 tackles.

Providence scored twice in the first quarter. Their initial touchdown came on a 59- yard run at the 8:39 mark by running back John Christie, who gained 106 yards on 11 carries. The second touchdown came three mintues later, when Christie scored from 1-yard out. St. Johns drove inside the Providence 20-yard line, but Spartan running back Hwang Marino fumbled the ball back to the Stallions. Neither team scored in the second period. Providence led, 14-0, at halftime.

Both teams scored once in the third quarter. St. Johns only touchdown of the night came when Providence quarterback Josh Covil fumbled the ball on his own 40-yard line and Spartan linebacker Richard Illes picked it up and ran 60 yards for a score. A two-point conversion attempt failed, but the Spartans trailed, 14-6, with 4:56 left in the period. Providence answered during the ensuing drive on a 6-yard touchdown run by running back Zach Iacopucci. The quarter ended with the Stallions leading, 21-6.  

 Providence scored two more times in the fourth quarter. The first score came from a safety when Spartan running back Raymond Welch was tackled in the end zone after he fell on an errant pitch out at the 6:21 mark. After receiving the free kick from St. Johns, Providence scored with 4:59 left in the game when quarterback Dustin Williams connected with wide-open receiver Christian Edwards for a 25-yard touchdown pass.

 Due to several quarterbacks sacks and tackles for loss, St. Johns finished with only 63 total yards and four first downs. Three quarterbacks-Philip Robbins, Sean Bowles and Ray Grant-combined to complete 4-of 13 passes for 44 yards and four interceptions. Providence gained 77 yards passing and 160 yards rushing despite losing six fumbles and committing eight penalities.   

After the game, DuBose, who was visably upset about the injury to Sims, was complimentary of the Spartan defense.

"The defense was on the field for a long time, but they played great," DuBose said. "They are the strength of the team."

He also praised the play of Weaver, Illes, Robbins, and defensive end Jeffery Dobbertien.

DuBose said he is still trying to find a starting quarterback, which is one of the reasons the offense struggled to move the ball.

St. Johns plays again at 5 p.m. next Thursday at home against Mandarin Christian.

Providence 14-0-7-9--30

St. Johns    0-0-6-0--6

Providence Christie 59-yard run; Tucker Schwartz kick

Providence Christie 1-yard run; Schwartz kick

St. Johns  Illes 60-yard run with fumble recovery; run failed

Providence Iacopucci 6-yard run; Schwartz kick

Providence (safety) Welch tackled in end zone after recovering fumble

Providence Edwards 25-yard pass from Williams; Schwartz kick