As banged up as this Bishop McDevitt defense was entering Friday night’s semifinal with Conrad Weiser, at the end of the day it was still a fairly solid effort.
All-State defensive end Tommy Marrazzo didn’t even dress with a concussion. Tackle Myles Turner was nowhere near full strength and LB Greg Artis-Payne saw only limited snaps and fellow backer Nate Monroe was hobbled.
But the rest of the starters and those all-important back-up guys thrust into more active roles held the Scouts in check after the first drive.
And more importantly the defense also came up with three turnovers, two fumbles and an interception by Anthony Dasent.
“The defensive staff made a few adjustments after that first series. When they went right down and scored, I was thinking with so many guys banged up or out this might turn into a shootout,” Bishop McDevitt head coach Jeff Weachter said. “The defense did a good job. I knew we could score on them. After we went up 14-7 I told my defensive coordinator to just get a stop or two and we’ll score.”
Junior Barry Pagliaro did a good job filling in at DE for Marrazzo. The 6-1, 175-pound junior came up with three tackles, including one for a loss.
Yes, the Scouts finished with 285 total yards. But before Weachter emptied his bench with six minutes to go in the fourth quarter and the clock running courtesy of the mercy rule, Conrad Weiser had less than 175 total yards.
After rolling 61 yards in five plays on its first possession to forge a 7-7 tie, Conrad Weiser went seven consecutive possessions without another point against the first-team McDevitt defense.
During that same stretch, McDevitt rang up 42 unanswered points to grab a 49-7 lead.
Five snaps into the third quarter, the mercy rule was on the clock.
McDevitt had 297 of its 370 total yards in the first half as the three-time defending District 3-AAA champions built a comfortable 35-7 lead behind 165 yards and three TD passes from QB Nick Marsilio.
“Nick is getting better. Earlier in the season he never met a deep pass he didn’t like,” Weachter said. “He’s still taking his shots, but now he’s looking more underneath and dumping the ball off to the right receiver. As he continues to get better, and the receivers the same, we will be a tough offense to stop.”
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