By Jeremy Acosta '21 and Will Tallant '21
It was a bittersweet victory Wednesday night in Wayne against the DePaul Catholic Spartans. Due to COVID-19 implications, there will be no playoffs for the Green Knights to compete in, so this was it. The last hoorah for SJR’s seniors. For a majority of this season, the Green Knights were a heavy offensive team, led by running back Audric Estime '21. But on this night, it was the defense that powered SJR to victory.
The first nine minutes of the game both teams' defenses were dominant. After a pair of unsuccessful drives the SJR offense found its spark. Quarterback Dorian Nowell '21 helped lead the Green Knights down the field setting up a Sebastien Tasko '21 47-yard field goal to put SJR on the board. DePaul answered immediately. The Spartans put together a solid drive that would finish off the first quarter. The second quarter was barely underway when the Spartans knotted the score at three.
With the Green Knights' defense continuing to hold DePaul in check, Estime eventually found his opportunity, and, as usual, made the most of it. The Michigan State commit found the end zone after a mammoth 71-yard run to put the Green Knights on top, 10-3, with just over four minutes left in the first half. DePaul would later capitalize one of their very limited scoring opportunities, kicking another field goal to narrow the SJR lead to 10-6 to close out the first half.
DePaul would kick its third field goal of the game early in the third quarter to narrow the SJR lead to 10-9, but that was as close as the ballgame would get. As the Green Knights' offense struggled to move the ball, it was the special teams that picked up the slack in the second half. Tasko forced a fumble on a Spartans punt return and the Green Knights recovered.
SJR would capitalize on Tasko’s tremendous effort, as Estime would lead the Green Knights downfield. This time the Green Knights found the end zone through the air, as Nowell hit James Mullen '23 for an 11-yard touchdown. The score extended SJR’s lead to 17-9. That was plenty for the Green Knights defense who would not allow DePaul to find the end zone. SJR would add one more Tasko field goal as the Green Knights closed out the season with a 20-9 win.
With the victory the Green Knights improved to a 6-2 record to conclude the 2020 football season. It was a wild ride, but with the patience and cooperation from the players and staff, this football season was truly one to remember.