The fifth seeded Woodbridge Blue Raiders football team held on to a two point lead late in the fourth quarter to complete an upset victory over the fourth seeded Archmere Academy Auks last Saturday. The Raiders traveled the 90 miles in the early morning hours to Claymont, and came away with a nail-biting 16-14 win in the quarterfinals round of the DIAA state tournament.
With less than three minutes left in the fourth quarter, Archmere quarterback Johnny Orsini scored on a two- yard touchdown run, making the score 16-14. The Raiders’ defense stopped the Auks two-point conversion attempt, leaving 2:16 on the clock. The Raiders’ coaching staff called their first time-out of the second half to make the team aware of a possible onside kick, where the Auks would intentionally attempt to regain possession of the ball. As the ball bounced towards the far right side of the field, Woodbridge defensive back Christian Artson secured it, fell to the ground, and cradled it tightly in his arms. Raiders’ running backs Malachi Hayes and Kam’Ren Johnson ran out the clock by getting a couple of first downs.
Raiders’ running back Malachi Hayes runs for a six-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Photo by Bernard W. Carr
Fourth year head coach Marvin Dooley was ready for the onside kick. “Outstanding. We put our good hands players out there. They are there for that situation, and their job is to get the ball. It’s a lot of pressure, but they got the job done!”
Dooley also had high praise for the defense, “They did an awesome job, and we weathered the storm. It’s about responding, that’s what we do. It wasn’t easy, we had adversity and struggled a little in the fourth quarter, but we’ve been a resilient team all year, even when we lost games. It’s the sign of true character.” The Raiders’ defense caused an Auks’ fumble early in the first quarter, which was recovered by defensive lineman Logan Moran. The Raiders failed on a field goal attempt. Hayes also recovered a fumble later in the game. The defense was led by linebacker King Peden with nine tackles, and defensive lineman Marquel Clark with eight tackles.
On Woodbridge’s second possession of the game Hayes ran for a six-yard touchdown, followed by Johnson with the two-point conversion making the score 8-0. That score remained until the fourth quarter. At the 10:45 mark, Archmere quarterback John Orsini scored from one yard away. Wide receiver Kevin Fox caught a pass for the two-point conversion, making the score 8-8. Hayes scored his second touchdown of the game on a three-yard run at the 6:34 mark, and Johnson again ran in the end zone for the two-point conversion, making the score 16-8.
Hayes finished the game with 96 yards on 27 carries. Johnson had 88 yards on 12 carries.
The Raiders were defeated by Archmere, 56-28, in last year’s DIAA Class 2A-District III semifinals.
Woodbridge will travel to Bear to play undefeated top seeded Caravel (11-0) on Friday. Game time is 7 p.m.
