Football - Gridiron Alumni Football Games a big Success

Gridiron Alumni Football Games a Big Success

What a weekend starting with the alumni of Calvary versus the alumni of Richmond Hill. Then the hyped game over the past month was on, Benedictine alumni against Savannah Christian alumni. The turnout was enormous. What was I struck with most as a spectator, fan, radio announcer, and coach were the electricity in the air before the game even started at Memorial Stadium.l

The Benedictine contingent packed the parking lot well before the game. Savannah Christian’s side was as well as streaming with Red Raider fanatics. It was pretty impressive I could imagine Friday’s night game between Calvary, and Richmond Hill was the same by reading Dean Moesch’s recap, which was in addition stirring.

Another big moment was seeing the legends of Savannah Coaches walking the sidelines or tosses the ceremonial coin flip before the game started. Savannah Christian’s legendary Jack Miller got to do the toss. It was great seeing him out on the football field. Furthermore, Jim Walsh Sr. Who roamed the sideline at Benedictine for a many a year was on the sideline coaching again during the game. The desire to be a part of the game never ends no matter how old you are.

As far as the game went, it was closer than a lot of people expected. Savannah Christian took the lead and set the tone, but the youth of the Benedictine team took over late in the second quarter. I have to give the players a lot of credit for putting it on the line one more time. Stamina did take over by the fourth quarter, but the fanfare, the camaraderie, and most of all the chance to play a game you love one more time was what made these games great and probably an annual affair. The Gridiron Alumni football games I felt were a big success and I am looking forward to next year's kickoff and for more schools to get involved.

Game 2 of the GridIron Alumni Football Weekend in Savannah Georgia

A great job by Dean Moesch of Moesch Media recapping the GridIron Alumni Football games this past weekend. It was a grand turnout by Savannah, and the excitement was in the air. Enjoy Deans take on the second game on Saturday night at Memorial Stadium, Benedictine Alumni vs. Savannah Christian Prep Alumni.

Benedictine Alumni 21, Savannah Christian Alumni 3

By Dean Moesch 3/24/2012

The massive crowd at Memorial Stadium last night set a Gridiron Alumni record for the most fans in attendance since these style games have been played. With the majority on-hand being the Benedictine faithful, the Cadets restored glory in front of their packed stands with a 21-3 win.

After trading turnovers on the first couple possessions, the ...Raiders took advantage of a Cadet fumble with Pat Maleki's 41 yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead. BC Quarterback, Alex Hunt, entered the game in the second quarter and capped off a balanced rushing attack with a 5 yard touchdown run with 1:35 left in the first half to make it 7-3 Cadets. Running backs Patrick Smith, Brandon Mell, Carlos Williams and John Williams all had tough runs on the scoring drive.

The third quarter saw Benedictine's Hunt open up the passing attack some by throwing to targets Andrew Sauers and Brady Cannon. After a long, balanced drive, John Williams took a hand-off from Hunt and plunged into the end zone from 6 yards out to make it 13-3. Former Georgia Southern standout, Scott Shelton, added the extra point to make it 14-3.

Former NFL defensive lineman Josh Mallard led a BC defense with Chris Koncul, Chris Mercer, Garrett Murphy, Bray Buckley, Ryan Sewell, Tommy Davis, Brian Rooks, Jared Padgett, Jeff Fitzpatrick, Bryan McBride. Mike Green, Alan Fleming, Eamon Sheehan, Matt Tuttle, and a host of others that stifled Savannah Christian's offense all night long.

Both Buckley and Fleming had great interceptions.

After stopping the Raiders on what seemed like a promising drive in the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Cadets marched down the field with Hunt scoring his second touchdown of the night from 4 yards out. This proved to be the dagger as the lead grew to 21-3, which ended up being the final.

Josh Mallard was named the Lineman of the Game and Alex Hunt was awarded the game's Offensive Most Valuable Player.

The months of preparation by the men from both schools paid off as the fans began tailgating hours before kickoff and throughly enjoyed themselves the entire game. It was truly a unique occasion that included the father-son combination of Chris and Frank Koncul strapping on the pads together and men that graduated from both schools decades ago getting on the field one last time.

Thanks again to Chris Hall from Gridiron Alumni for putting on this wonderful event!

GridIron Alumni Football Game 1 Recap in Savannah Georgia

A great job by Dean Moesch of Moesch Media recapping the GridIron Alumni Football games this past weekend. It was a great turnout by Savannah, and the excitement was in the air. Enjoy Deans take on the first game on Friday night at Garden City Stadium, Calvary Alumni vs. Richmond Hill Alumni.

Calvary Alumni 19, Richmond Hill Alumni 7

By Dean Moesch 3/23/2012

The Prep Sports Report was on hand last night for the game and here are some of the highlights:

On the first pass of the Game from Calvary, Richmond Hill's Chris Cowart intercepted the ball with 13:35 left in the first quarter. After a couple of nice passes from Lance Warren and a few runs from his backs, the Wildcats found themselves knocking on the doo...r with a first and ten from the Calvary 5 yard line. However, the Cavalier defense stepped up with an amazing goal line stand.

Both sides had a few drives stalled and then Richmond Hill shanked a 8 yard punt on their own 12 giving the Cavaliers the ball at the Wildcats 20. A few RH penalties and a couple of hard runs later, Derrick Adams found the end-zone on a 2 yard run to make it 7-0 Calvary with 1:35 remaining in the 1st half and going to halftime it would remain Calvary 7, Richmond Hill 0.

One the opening kickoff of the second half, Richmond Hill's Xavier Owens brought it back 75 yards for a touchdown tying the score at 7-7.

On their next drive, Calvary's quarterback Baker Woodward ran a well executed offense and had great runs from his backs Hunter Smoak, Nick Grassi, Daniel Grassi, and Adams and found themselves knocking on the door again. However, they were stopped on fourth down by the Wildcats defense, led by Glazer, who made many tackles on the evening.

Warren and the Wildcats took advantage of this stop and drove down inside Calvary's red zone only to have their scoring opportunity taken away as Calvary's Leslie Hewitt's fumble recovery ended their drive on the 18 yard line.

On the ensuing Calvary drive, Woodward and his squad brought out some trickery as Craig Thomas' halfback pass found Ryan Claus in the end zone for a 38 yard touchdown strike, making it 13-7 after the PAT failed.

The trick plays continued as Calvary dialed up an onside kick after the touchdown and recovered the ball near midfield. A few plays later, Stephen Miros ran off the right side for a touchdown making it 19-7.

The final quarter consisted of drives that were stalled and the Cavaliers of Calvary Day School went on to win their first alumni game 19-7.

The crowd was awesome as they cheered on their teams and stuck out periods of rain throughout the contest.

Demarcus Dobbs, a Calvary graduate and current San Francisco 49er, was on hand for the coin toss, and Jamaire Aikens and Dave Dauphinee were honorary coaches for the Cavaliers. Great job by both teams for putting on an exciting and tough fought game.

Thanks goes to Chris Hall from Gridiron Alumni for putting on such a wonderful event!

Its Been a While

Just been occupied changing schools and getting a new football program started. Savannah Prep Sports is always active and exciting. We are now into the spring sports season of 2012 and a lot of good things happening. I will try to make a solid commitment to blogging local prep sports news, local college news, and maybe give my opinion on some national sports issues starting tomorrow.

If you have any news, you want to add just e-mail me at kdemasi@prepsportsreport.com.