Double Trouble: Dual Threat Jack Cannon Helps No. 11 Holmdel Sting No. 6 Donovan Catholic

TOMS RIVER – Holmdel heard all offseason about how last year was their year. With graduations at key offensive positions, including most of the offensive line, many people thought the Hornets would struggle. The returning players never bought any of that chatter.

Guided by senior quarterback and returning first-team All-Shore selection Jack Cannon, the Hornets, ranked No. 11 in the Shore Sports Insider Top 12, went on the road and stunned No. 6 Donovan Catholic 48-35 on Friday night in a nondivisional game.

Cannon completed 9 of 12 passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns. He also used his legs, running for 187 yards and three more scores.

“The game plan was for us to throw a lot more than we did,” said Cannon, a Dartmouth commit. “The offensive line did a great job of run blocking, and we took advantage of that.”

“They [Donovan Catholic] changed up their defense from what we saw on film,” said Holmdel head coach Noel Kavanagh. “Last week they came out in a four-down front, and this week they came out in a three-down front. We had to adjust on the fly. We didn’t practice against that defense, but our kids did a good job adjusting, and obviously our quarterback is special, and he did some great things.”

Cannon started off the game with three carries for 19 yards before hitting senior wideout James Murphy on a screen pass that went for 67 yards to the Donovan Catholic 1-yard line. Cannon capped off the 5-play, 85-yard drive that took just 2:08 with a 1-yard touchdown plunge. Senior Brandon Mueller tacked on the extra point to make it 7-0. The Hornets expanded their lead to 14-0 when they capped off a drive that lasted 8:37 with a 4-yard touchdown pass from Cannon to sophomore wide receiver Anthony Serini.

On Donovan Catholic’s second possession, the Griffins lined up to punt on a 4th-and-15 from their own 26-yard line. The snap sailed over the head of Donovan’s junior punter Sal Reynoso into the end zone and was covered up by Holmdel senior linebacker Peter Berardi for a touchdown and a 21-0 lead with  6:12 left in the first half.

The Griffins went three-and-out on their next possession, and Reynoso’s 36-yard punt gave the Hornets great field position at their own 48-yard line. Holmdel marched to the Donovan Catholic 20-yard line before being faced with a fourth-and-6.

Mueller lined up for a field goal, but Cannon, who is the holder, picked up the snap and threw a 20-yard strike to junior tight end Ryan Pescatore that caught the Griffins off guard for a 28-0 lead with just 35 seconds left in the first half.

After the kickoff, Donovan had just 23 seconds remaining to operate from its own 46-yard line. On third-and-3 from Holmdel’s 47-yard line, Donovan Catholic junior quarterback Kahden Davis ran for 15 yards and a first down, leaving the Griffins just two seconds on the clock. After a Donovan timeout, Davis dropped back and scrambled before lofting a ball to the end zone that found the hands of sophomore wideout TJ Hunter for a 32-yard touchdown as time expired. Reynoso converted the extra point to make it 28-7 at the half.

Donovan Catholic seemingly found energy from that last play of the first half and came out of the locker room hot. On a second-and-6 from their own 42-yard line, Davis ripped off a 43-yard run to the Holmdel 15-yard line.

Two plays later, Davis found junior wideout Aidan Kelly for a 15-yard touchdown pass to cut Holmdel’s lead to 28-14. However, Holmdel’s next drive lasted just three plays as Cannon exploded down the sideline for a 58-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 35-14.

“The momentum did shift a little bit when they were scoring on all those QB iso’s and trap,” Cannon said. “Their D-line, we knew they were big and physical, but they weren’t that fast. Going into this game, we knew that I could probably scramble around a little bit.

“We were supposed to run a screen fake takeoff (on Cannon’s touchdown run), but I just saw the right side was wide open. Kids dropped in coverage, and I just kind of blacked out (on the run).”

Donovan Catholic answered with a quick drive of its own, going 57 yards in four plays, capped off by a 6-yard touchdown run by Davis to make it 35-21 with 7:29 left in the thirst quarter.

However, Davis took a helmet to his right knee on the touchdown run and was carted off the field. He did not return.

Holmdel ended any suspense on its ensuing possession when Cannon ran left, cut back and bounced off a few tacklers for a 66-yard run to the Donovan 18-yard line. Four plays later, Cannon called his own number, running in from 8 yards out for a 41-21 lead.

Freshman Chris McClaren then took over for Davis as the signal-caller for the Griffins, and Holmdel’s defense did not make it an easy debut for the freshman.

On third-and-3 from the Griffins’ 28-yard line, McClaren escaped the pocket but was blindsided by a Holmdel’s James Murphy, who forced a fumble. Junior defensive back Michael Todisco scooped up the loose ball and ran 18 yards for the score for a 48-21 lead with 9:55 left in the game.

Donovan Catholic’s Ethan Nicolas added a 1-yard touchdown run and a 45-yard touchdown run in late in the game for the final margin.

“I think we controlled the ball pretty well when we had possession,” Kavanagh said. “They scared us in the second half.  They put 35 points on the board, so I am not happy with that. We need to do a better job closing out the game. Overall, I think we adjusted well.  Some of our guys played very well, over their heads, against a good team that is very athletic.”

Holmdel (1-0) will travel to Rumson-Fair Haven (2-0) next Friday night for their first Class A North divisional showdown. Rumson-Fair Haven is likely to move up to No. 2 in the Shore Sports Insider Top 12 rankings after knocking off Brick Memorial, who was previously ranked second.

Donovan Catholic (0-2) will host Toms River North (1-1) next Friday night as the Griffins look to bounce back from their second loss of the season in their first Class A South match-up.

 

Statistics

Passing

Holmdel: Cannon 9/12, 161 yards, 2 TD’s, 1 INT

Donovan Catholic: Davis 3/10, 38 yards, 2 TD’s, 1 INT

Rushing

Holmdel:

Cannon 17-187-3 TD’s

Sheinman 11-37

Serini 3-9

Crowther 1-4

Donovan Catholic:

Davis 9-116-1 TD

Staten 5-10

Hester 1-7

Kelly 4-14

McClaren 2-5

Nicolas 10-105 2 TD’s

Receiving

Holmdel:

Murphy 2-81

Serini 4-26

Pescatore 1-20 1 TD

Scheinman 1-20

Aliperti 1-14

Donovan Catholic:

Hunter 1-29 1 TD

Kelly 2-18 1 TD