NEWARK – The first huge play Patrick Belle made will forever be known in Laurel as “The Block.”
A few minutes later, he topped it with what will forever be known as “The Sack.”
The junior’s two huge defensive plays allowed the Bulldogs to keep the lead, then put the game away in Saturday’s 28-13 victory over St. Elizabeth for the DIAA Class 1A football championship.
Laurel (13-0) has won both titles in the state’s lowest of three divisions, established before the 2021 season. Each time, the final victory came over the Vikings (11-2).
The Bulldogs built a 14-0 lead on Xavier Limehouse’s 29-yard run just 2:17 into the game and Tate Walls’ 13-yard scoring burst with 9:16 left in the second quarter.
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St. Elizabeth pulled within 14-7 on Chris Caracter’s 22-yard halfback pass to Thomas Schiavoni with 57 seconds left in the first half.
Then the Vikings made it 14-13 on Cole Soto’s 37-yard TD pass to Caracter with 7:50 left in the game.
Belle jumped offside on St. E’s first PAT attempt, which sailed between the uprights but was whistled dead. Then he blocked the second kick to keep the Bulldogs in the lead.
“I told my teammates I was going to make up for it,” Belle said. “They didn’t decide to go for two, and I just took every opportunity that I got and just made the block.”
Laurel responded with an 11-play, 54-yard drive. Kylse Wilson finished it with a 4-yard run to make it 21-13 with 2:42 to play.
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“That’s what championship teams do,” Bulldogs coach Joey Jones said. “It was just really fun to see them pull it together, drive through – physically, mentally – and to punch that thing in.”
St. Elizabeth coach Mike Lemon was impressed with the Bulldogs’ ability to move the ball when they needed it most.
“They found a way to get it done,” Lemon said. “They get 3 yards, 3 yards, 3 yards. … It’s a five- or six-minute drive to kinda milk the clock and that hurts us.”
Still, the Vikings had a final chance. St. E picked up two first downs, moving from their own 26 to the Bulldogs 44, before Belle struck again.
The junior stormed in for a quarterback sack, and the ball popped free. Damontra Smith scooped it and sprinted 45 yards for the final touchdown with 36 seconds to go.
“The tackle, he left me open,” Belle said of the sack. “It was just a straight gun. A free one is always a good one.”
“Just great to see such a great kid make such a great play in a big moment,” Jones said.
Wilson finished with 29 carries for 190 yards and a touchdown.
“I was driving the ball downfield. I just kept my head up,” the senior said. “I told my boys, ‘I’ve got ya’ll.’”
Laurel held Quasim Benson, St. E’s All-State running back, to 65 yards on 19 carries. Soto completed 6 of 8 passes for 94 yards.
The Bulldogs will move up to Class 2A next season, under a realignment plan approved Thursday by the DIAA board of directors. But Laurel has certainly enjoyed its two years in 1A.
“Of course it benefitted us. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t,” Jones said. “But in a broader scheme, it has benefitted a lot of other teams. And that’s what it was intended to do.
“We’re going up. We got that bump, and I think we’ve earned our way up. I’m excited to get a new approach.”
Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ
