By John Knebels

PHILADELPHIA – Several players contributed sensational individual efforts in the Philadelphia Catholic League Blue Division this past week.

But a very late comeback by the defending champion stole the headlines.

Trailing Archbishop Wood by 19-6 with a little more than three minutes remaining in regulation mostly because Vikings senior running back Yasin Lowry accrued 232 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries, Neumann-Goretti engineered two late touchdowns to nab a hard-to-believe 20-19 victory.

“It’s always good to have a little excitement,” said a smiling Albie Crosby, the longtime coach at Neumann-Goretti. “It was a really good win for our young team. Wood played an extremely tough game where they controlled most of the game. I was very proud that our team kept playing and finished the game.”

Trailing 19-14 and facing fourth down inside the closing seconds, N-G senior quarterback Deante Ruffin turned to his right and used hand signals to direct traffic. Seeing senior teammate Jaden “Khalil” Green sprint behind the Wood secondary, Ruffin tossed a perfect pass to an open Green in the end zone.

Dating back to the end of 2022, the Saints thus raised their regular-season winning streak to 10 versus the PCL Blue.

“I knew we had to win the game after our defense came up with the big fourth-down stop, so I rolled out and, to be honest, I almost took off and ran,” said Ruffin. “But I saw Khalil in the end zone and trusted him to make a play, and he did.”

Green had almost too much time to think, but he concentrated all the way through on a play he will surely never forget.

“When I seen Deante scrambling out of the pocket, that’s when I knew I had to get behind the safety,” said Green. “When the ball was coming my way, the only thing on my mind was securing the catch no matter how I caught the ball.

“This is definitely going to be one of the most exciting moments in football for me. It’s one of those plays that you’re going to play over and over again in your head.”

Two-way senior starter Dan Adefolarin, an Army recruit, admitted that the Saints were uncharacteristically out of sync prior to the memorable finish.

That changed after the defense thwarted a fourth-and-one attempt near midfield with 45 seconds left.

“The mood of the team during the first quarter wasn’t really our best,” said Adefolarin. “We got in our heads and didn’t play how fast and aggressive we usually play, but later on during the game, it switched.”

“A quote our whole team goes by is just two words: ‘effort and intensity.’ If we give 100 percent effort and give good intensity every play, we will continue to keep winning games, whether it’s running or passing. The offensive line does a great job and we take what we can get and move on to the next play."

Senior Christon Mitchell-Brown collected 177 yards on 18 carries.

“Going into the week, we were told not to overlook this team just because of their record,” said Mitchell-Brown. “We came out and were not expecting Carroll to have a pick-six and then for us to have a three-and-out. After that, we locked into the game plan – run the ball, stay disciplined, and don’t stay in a fight when you can win the game. Offensively we went five for seven, and defensively gave up one touchdown. We had a great night, and I’m proud of my team.”