Punt blocks in second half help Walsh Jesuit grab victory from St. Vincent-St. Mary

AKRON, Ohio — Call it an omen. Call it a sign from above.

AKRON, Ohio — Call it an omen.

Call it a sign from above.

Call it a meaningless statistic, if you like.

The kids from Walsh Jesuit are calling it the first step to the playoffs.

The Warriors blocked two punts in the second half -- leading to 10 points -- and came from behind to defeat host St. Vincent-St. Mary, 17-10, on Friday in a game the Warriors knew they had to win.

The victory raised the Warriors' record to 5-2 and should help them inch their way into one of the eight playoff spots in Region 5 of the Division II computer standings.

"From here on out, every game is a playoff game," said quarterback Connor Cook, who completed 7 of 16 passes for 112 yards, which included a 29-yard scoring strike to Ryan Jun that tied it, 7-7, after kicker Ross Martin's conversion. "That's how we're going to treat it. If we lose one game, we're done."

The Warriors' defense did a superb job of bottling up the Irish offense, holding it to 225 yards and keeping dangerous Doran Grant pretty much under wraps. It also blocked two punts and recovered a fumble, which led to all 17 points.

Senior linebacker Mike Driscoll and junior tight end Kevin Enright blocked the punts. Senior corner Aaron Barna recovered the fumble, which led to the Cook-to-Jun touchdown -- the first score the Irish defense had allowed in 12 quarters.

Martin, one of the top place-kickers in Ohio, kicked a 43-yard field goal, was 2-for-2 on PATs and sent four of five kickoffs into the end zone.

Jun, a 5-11, 195-pound junior who doubled at linebacker, finished with 96 yards on 23 carries.

Driscoll blocked the first punt, getting a piece of the ball that gave the Warriors possession at the SVSM 32 with 4:47 to go in the third. Five plays later, Martin's line drive was good from 43 yards, giving the Warriors their first lead of the game at 10-7.

Enright, who caught two passes for 21 yards, stung the Irish on their next possession, which ended on their 19. Charging unblocked up the middle, he smothered Luke Piglia's punt and recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown and a 10-point lead.

"A blocked punt is always nice," said Enright. "Coach always tells us in practice that if you block a punt, you win 90 percent of the time. That was fun."

The Irish (5-2) made it interesting when Chris Motley kicked a 35-yard field goal with 8:22 to play and teammate Mark Murphy blocked a Martin field-goal attempt from 45 yards with 2:56 to go.

The Irish failed to get a first down when Jun stopped Grant short of the 30 after the speedster had caught a pass from Oliver Hildebrandt.

Grant caught five passes for 62 yards, including SVSM's lone touchdown on a 29-yard reception in the first quarter.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: trogers@plaind.com, 216-999-5169