Behind the dominant rushing of Buffalo commit Lamar Sperling, Archbishop Hoban pulled away late to a 44-20 victory over Football North (Mississauga, Ontario) at Dowed Field in Akron on Friday night.
Football North could not stop senior running back Sperling, who rushed for 302 yards in the 2nd half alone after tallying 91 in the first to finish with 393 yards. Sperling routinely bounced off the first few tacklers of his gallops, including a few jaw-dropping beast mode runs that showed folks why he is a Division 1 recruit.
Photo by Kory Callihan
The game was a spirited affair until the tide swung early in the 4th quarter. Football North was driving down to the Hoban 10 with Hoban up 31-20 with 10 minutes left in the game. Senior quarterback Adrian Mohammed forced a pass into double coverage at the near pylon to dynamo senior wideout Mekhi Tyrell Jr, which was intercepted by Hoban’s junior cornerback Ayden Boykin, stopping the Canadians momentum in their tracks.
This interception set up the final two touchdowns for the Knights, who gashed Football North late in the game on the ground. In reality, the game was much closer than the final score indicates.
Mekhi Tyrell Jr. looked every bit of “Canada’s best wideout prospect” finishing the game with 183 yards receiving and 2 touchdowns. Most notably, Tyrell caught a 30-yard touchdown on 4th and 10 in the 2nd quarter, running an inside post route and simply running away from the Hoban defenders after catching the pass. Tyrell made contested catches over the smaller Hoban defenders as well as showing his blazing speed, with a 60-yard catch and run preceding the aforementioned Hoban interception.
Photo by Kory Callihan
Football North senior quarterback Adrian Mohammed also had a good showing, throwing for 241 yards while rushing for another 103 yards. His interception early in the 4th was one of his very few mistakes against a tough Hoban defense.
For Hoban, junior quarterback Jacqai Long had a rough start to the season, going 6-11 for 46 yards, no TDs and 1 INT, which was a glorified punt on a 50-yard bomb in the 3rd quarter.
While Hoban struggled to stop Mohamed and Tyrell, they did have success limiting Football North running back Caleb Sargeant, who never got going and finished with only 4.4 yards per carry (62 yards).
Next week, Hoban hosts out-of-state powerhouse Cathedral Prep (Erie, PA). Football North will continue its American tour with an incredible schedule, with future matchups this season against Mentor, Chardon, St. Ignatius, and St. Edward.
Notable Stats:
Football North:
Mohammed: 14-29, 241 yards, 3 TD (2 pass, 1 rush), 1 INT, 15 carries, 103 yards
Tyrell Jr: 8 catches, 183 yards, 2 TD, 2PC
Caleb Sargeant: 17 carries, 62 yards
Hoban:
Sperling: 26 carries, 393 yards, 4 TD
Long: 6-11, 46 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
Crable: 4 catches, 34 yards, 1 rush, 1 yard, 1 TD
Scoring Summary:
1st Quarter
Hoban: Lamar Sperling, 1 run (Ryan Burns kick, 8:00)
Football North: Mekhi Tyrell Jr from Adrian Mohammed, 11 pass (2pt no good, 4:00)
Hoban: Lamar Sperling, 35 run (Ryan Burns kick 1:42)
2nd Quarter
Hoban: Jayvian Crable, 1 run (Ryan Burns kick 7:45)
Football North: Mekhi Tyrell Jr from Adrian Mohamed, 30 pass (Tyrell Jr from Mohammed 2pt good, 2:24)
3rd Quarter
Hoban: Caleb Jones, 23 run (Ryan Burns kick 11:34)
Football North: Adrian Mohammed, 1 run (kick failed 8:19)
4th Quarter
Hoban: Ryan Burns 19 FG (11:57)
Hoban: Lamar Sperling, 38 run (Ryan Burns kick, 8:27)
Hoban: Lamar Sperling, 60 run (kick failed, 2:18)
Peter Calco
August 21, 2022 at 12:32 pm
I was at this game. The game was much closer than the final score. The Sperling kid is a great back. Hoban is very good. They do need to tighten up their pass defense and need to develop a passing attack which their coach said as much. Then teams can’t stack the line to stop Sperling.The Canadian team looked very good.
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