December
5, 2004
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| Q of P's Mike Lamego ran for 162 yards on 30 carries, caught three passes for 64 yards and completed both of his pass attempts. | |
NORTH ARLINGTON -- Queen of Peace's Mike Lamego burst onto the scene as a freshman and has built quite a resume for himself during four years of varsity football. However, Lamego is more of a team guy than anything else and the one accomplishment that has eluded him over that time and the Golden Griffins for the past 32 years is a state championship.
Facing
a red-hot DePaul Catholic squad and an early deficit in the Parochial Group
2 state championship game at Rip Collins Field on Saturday afternoon, Lamego
took the team on his shoulders and was not about to let his last scholastic
game end in heartbreak.
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| DePaul's Ray Blum looking for a whole in the QP defense. |
He not only showed off his power-running game, but also his versatility on both sides of the ball. Lamego rushed for 162 yards on 30 carries, caught three passes for 64 yards and completed both of his pass attempts. And that was just on offense.
On the other side of the ball Lamego had six tackles, forced a fumble, tipped two passes that turned into interceptions, and topped it off by scoring the Golden Griffins' final three touchdowns to Q of P its first state championship under the current playoff system with a 35-20 victory.
"We worked
hard every summer, every off-season, every practice to get ready for this
game and we left it all out on the field," said Lamego. "We got off to a rough
start, but we kept our heads up. W had been in this position before again
Bishop Eustace in the semifinals and came back, so we had the confidence to
do it again. To work hard for four years and end it all with a state championship
is all I could ask for."
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| Michael Gee had a big game on the defensive side of the ball for Q of P. |
DePaul Catholic was as hot as any team in the area coming into this contest and kept the momentum going with a strong first quarter. On the game's second play from scrimmage, Queen of Peace quarterback Joe Muraglia overthrew his intended target and the pass was picked off by DePaul safety Ray Blum, giving the Spartans the ball at the Queen of Peace 31. While the Spartans did not take advantage on that possession, they were winning the field position battle and it led to the game's first score.
DePaul was forced to punt, but Blum tracked down Shawn Murray's punt and downed it inside the one-yard line. The Spartans got even better field position the second time around after forcing a three-and-out, and this time found the end zone.
On a
third-and-six from the Golden Griffins' 18-yard line, DePaul quarterback Chaz
Cervino hit Bob Weir over the middle for a 13-yard gain. Two plays later,
Cervino snuck over from the one-yard line for a touchdown. He danced through
several defenders and dove for the two-point conversion and an 8-0 lead.
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| DePaul QB Chaz Cervino went 15 of 33 for 175 yards and a touchdown. |
Queen of Peace answered back and appeared to take the lead on a miraculous run by Muraglia. He broke six tackles and spun away from two others in racing for an apparent 68-yard touchdown, but a block in the back nullified the score. It only seemed to fire up the Golden Griffins who marched right back down the field. On the first play of the second quarter, Pat Olohan finished off the 10-play, 76-yard drive with a five yard touchdown run to trim the lead to two points, 8-6.
DePaul drove the ball to midfield on its next possession and had a third-and-one from the 50. But a delay of game penalty halted the drive and forced the Spartans to punt.
Third-down
conversions always play an integral part in the outcome of every game. The
bigger the game, the more they become a factor. Queen of Peace converted three
straight on the ensuing possession to take the lead for good.
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| Queen of Peace QB Joe Muraglia went 6-6 for 106 yards and a touchdown and also rushed for 23 yards and a touchdown. |
Lamego took a screen pass 24 yards on a third-down to move the Golden Griffins deeper into DePaul territory. On a third-and-one from the DePaul 22, head coach Andy Cerco rolled the dice and his trick play worked to perfection.
Lamego threw an option pass to Joe Torchia for a 19-yard gain. Two plays later, the diminutive Muraglia leaped over the pile from two yards out for the touchdown and then ran for the two-point conversion to give the Golden Griffins the lead for good, 14-8, with 3:20 to go in the half.
Angel Pantoja sacked Cervino on the next possession to force a three-and-out as only 75 seconds came off the clock. Muraglia hooked up with Lamego on two straight plays, the latter when Lamego caught a pass over the middle and raced for a 25-yard touchdown. Torchia kept his feet inbounds and make a great catch in the back corner of the end zone for the two-point conversion and a 22-8 lead that QP would take to halftime.
"We came out real strong, but they got a couple of late scores and they turned the momentum around on us," said DePaul wide receiver Mike Ponte. "They made a few big plays at the end of the half and that put us in a hole."
Queen
of Peace was in a bind when it was backed up at its own 5 early in the third
quarter, only to respond with the most impressive drive of the game, and maybe
the entire season, with Lamego providing all the damage.
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| Brian Gambuzzo running a reverse for DePaul, which finished the season with a 74 record. |
Lamego ran into a pile and busted through it for a 26-yard gain with Dan Mercorelli making the touchdown-saving tackle. Lamego carried the ball nine times during the drive and accounted for a whopping 90 of the 95 yards gained. Fittingly, he capped the scoring drive with a six-yard touchdown run to put the Golden Griffins up 28-8 late in the third quarter.
"I wanted the ball and I try to wear defenses down," added Lamego. "Once I get rolling, I want the ball every time. Our offensive line did a great job and we just kept coming at them."
DePaul needed to strike back quickly to stay in the game and did exactly that. The Spartans got 20-yard receptions from Ponte and Weir on consecutive plays to get into Golden Griffin territory. A personal foul and a pass interference call brought them down to the 5-yard line and Cervino hit Ponte in the back of the end zone to bring the Spartans within two touchdowns, 28-14, with 24 seconds to go in the third quarter.
DePaul had a pair of chances to cut it to a one-possession game, but Queen of Peace dominated the line of scrimmage and put the game away. Lamego broke through the line and tipped a Cervino pass straight up in the air. Teammate Michael Gee came down with the interception at midfield.
On DePaul's next possession, they moved down to the Golden Griffins' 39-yard line, before getting bitten by a similar play. Lamego tipped a pass and Pantoja made a one-handed interception to all but put the game away. Lamego locked up the championship and maybe his finest scholastic game with a one-yard touchdown late.
Jay Nabba caught a TD pass from Cervino in the waning seconds, but it was too late as the Golden Griffins won their first state championship since 1972 with a 15-point triumph.
"This is the greatest feeling I've ever had in my whole life, I can't imagine anything being better" said Muraglia. "We got down early, but we never gave up and we believed in each other. All of hard work paid off, it just shows what can happen when everyone works hard together."
On top of Lamego's effort, Muraglia was flawless for Queen of Peace (10-1). He went 6-6 for 106 yards and a touchdown. The junior also rushed for 23 yards and a touchdown, along with making five tackles. Pantoja had only three tackles, but he did a little bit of everything on the defensive side of the ball. The senior had two sacks, had two pass deflections, recovered a fumble, and had the game-clinching interception.
The magical run through the playoffs came to an end for DePaul (7-5), which started the season at 0-3 and had to win its last game before the cutoff just to qualify for the states. Blum was outstanding on both sides of the ball, scoring a touchdown, recording nine tackles and grabbing an early interception. Cervino went 15 of 33 for 175 yards and a touchdown with the two interceptions. Ponte caught four passes for 58 yards and a touchdown, while Nabba added eight tackles on defense.
An inspiration for the effort of the Golden Griffins was longtime head coach Ralph Borgess, who was in attendance at the game. The head coach with the most wins in school history finally got to take in the glory as the fans rushed onto the field.
"These kids deserve it and this school deserves it," said Borgess, who brought the Golden Griffins to the Parochial Group 2 title game in his final season in 2002. "I can't be more proud of what these players and what this coaching staff have done this year. It's been a long time coming for this program and I'm finally glad we get to lift the trophy."
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