Carrasco’s Interception Seals win for Sprint Football in Chestnut Hill

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. – Late in the fourth quarter, the Navy (3-1, 1-0 CSFL South) defensive back had the lead Seamas Carrasco picked off a pass from Chestnut Hill (2-2, 1-1 CSFL South) to secure the Midshipmen’s 17-10 victory over the Griffins on Saturday night at AA Garthwaite Stadium (Conshohocken Field “A”).

The Mids didn’t lead until 5:30 left in the fourth quarter when the Midshipmen broke through for a 10-10 tie Luke Wagner Rush for a 15-yard touchdown. On the ensuing drive, the Griffins methodically marched down the field, but Carrasco’s interception with 73 seconds on the clock secured Navy’s victory.

“At the end of the day it’s a win,” said head coach Captain Carter Reading, USMC said after the game. “It was hard. It was a tough fight. Chestnut Hill is a good team.”

“We didn’t play particularly well in the first half but I thought we responded in the second half,” Reading added. “In the fourth quarter I think Luke and the offense were able to take control. Seamas had a great performance at the end of the game. All of our players stepped up when we really needed them. It’s that ‘Bend Don’. “They didn’t break their attitude and their will to win.”

As a team, Navy finished the game with 20 first downs, compared to Chestnut Hill’s 14. The Mids defeated the Griffins 249-140. The passing yards were almost even, with Chestnut Hill outscoring Navy 99-91 through the air. Both teams turned the ball over twice, with Navy losing a fumble and throwing an interception, while Chestnut Hill threw two picks, including Carrasco’s play that secured the INT.

Wagner finished the game with 130 yards passing and 91 yards through the air. The senior offensive captain scored the go-ahead touchdown — a 15-yard dash to the end zone in the fourth quarter. Wagner completed 12 passes to eight different receivers that night. Chris Blunt led the team with 41 yards receiving on two catches, including a long of 37. Jake Berger led the team with three catches and finished with 14 yards. Biamungu Nkere added a pair of receptions for 12 yards. Hunter Gennicks was credited with 54 yards on the ground while Broderick Freeman And Manny Walt Added 20 and 16 respectively. Walt connected with Wagner for a rushing touchdown.

Defensive, Jonathan Swift led the team with nine solo stops, including two tackles for loss. Jake Wolinski added eight tackles Simon Burger Six stops and one interception followed. Angelo Pearson led the team with two pass breakups while Tyler Cox and Carrasco each broke up passes.

Jacori Sutton ended the game with a 25-yard field goal that tied the score at 10-10 in the fourth quarter and helped Navy win.

Chestnut Hill was the first team to score. The Griffins used an eight-play drive that covered 70 yards to take an early 7-0 lead. The home team converted a fourth-and-2 on the drive, rushing for 26 yards and a first down. The Midshipmen intercepted a Griffin pass, but a defensive holding penalty negated the interception. On the next play, Chestnut Hill used an 18-yard touchdown run to take the lead in the first quarter.

On the ensuing Navy drive, the Midshipmen drove to the 12-yard line before the drive came to a halt. The Mids attempted a field goal, but the kick was blocked, leaving the hosts with the ball at the 10-yard line.

The Midshipmen defense forced a punt to get the ball back to the 30-yard line. The Mids struck away with plays of five and seven yards before Wagner hit Stumpf with a 37-yard pass into the red zone on the final play of the first quarter. Freeman beat the defense 14 yards and helped set up Walt’s two-yard touchdown plunge that tied the game 7-7 early in the second quarter.

The Griffins regained the lead with a 10-play, 57-yard drive that ended in a 20-yard field goal. Chestnut Hill covered most of the distance with a 31-yard pass and took advantage of a Navy pass interference to extend the drive.

The two teams traded possession for the remainder of the period with neither team being able to score heading into halftime with Chestnut Hill leading 10-7.

Neither team was able to score in the third quarter, but Navy was able to cut the score to 10-10 in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter (11:33). The Mids used a 13-play drive to move 48 yards downfield and needed nearly eight minutes before Sutton converted a 25-yard field goal to tie the game.

Six minutes later, Navy took its first lead. At second and second base, Wagner played his own number and split the defense for 32 yards. Gennicks followed with a 12-yard rush to the 28-yard line. Another Navy rush put the Mids in the red zone. Walt continued the push with a five-yard rush on third down and two more downs to give Navy a new set of downs at the 15-yard line. Wagner took the snap and broke through the defense for the 15-yard touchdown rush that gave the Mids their first lead of the game.

After a 53-yard kickoff and 18-yard return, Chestnut Hill began its drive at the 30-yard line. On third-and-long, the Griffins used a 12-yard completion for a first down. Navy forced a fourth and four, but the home team converted with a 13-yard pass. The Griffins used an 11-yard rush to get to the Mids’ 25-yard line. On second-and-10, Chestnut Hill threw into the end zone, but Carrasco intercepted the pass and returned it 20 yards for Navy. The Midshipmen used three rushes to gain 10 yards for a game-winning first down, while the Griffins tried to get the ball back using each of their remaining timeouts. On first-and-10, Wagner took a knee to run out the clock and give the Midshipmen their first South Division win of the year.

The Midshipmen have a bye week before traveling to CSFL newcomer Molloy for a non-division game. The game is scheduled for Friday, October 25th at 7:00 p.m. The game will be streamed live and live statistics will be available.