St. Edward pulls away from ACC in 2nd half
Joe Sacco had few snaps off Friday night in Aurora.
The St. Edward senior played a starring role in all three phases in the second half as the Green Wave pulled away from Aurora Central Catholic to secure a 35-8 Metro Suburban Red football victory.
Sacco had a pair of ground scores in rushing for a game-high 190 yards on 19 carries while also converting two extra points to sandwich a 34-yard field goal.
The Green Wave was nursing a 4-point halftime lead when Sacco returned the third-quarter kickoff to the Chargers' 37-yard line.
It proved to be a telling development as the next 34 plays from scrimmage would be run in Charger territory.
Sacco, who also starts on defense, was also integral to the Green Wave not allowing a second-half first down as St. Edward denied Aurora Central three consecutive times on fourth down after the intermission.
"It's all coming down to all the reps we are getting in practice," Sacco said. "We know we have to execute on every play. We were missing a couple of guys, (who were) banged up. There's not a story without adversity."
"We had a little bit of momentum going into the second half and then we couldn't get the ball on the other side of the 50-(yard line)," ACC interim coach Dan Lee said. "We're not real deep and we're playing a lot of guys both ways. It puts a lot of pressure on our defense."
Leading 12-8 at the intermission, Green Wave senior back Clemon McCullough II had rushing touchdowns on back-to-back third-quarter drives.
"That's where we get our confidence and our hope to score," McCullough II said of the Green Wave repeatedly capitalizing on beginning drives in plus-territory. "The second touchdown, the same thing (as the first), (I) was just working my blocks from Sacco and (Anthony) Kirkwood and the line. All glory to them."
Sacco capped his night with a 64-yard burst down the right sideline.
St. Edward (2-0, 2-0) opened the game with a wishbone look on offense, only to bewilder the Chargers (1-1, 0-1) by circumventing its iconic image by throwing the ball.
Green Wave quarterback Ezekial Rolando and wideout Liam Pomeroy hooked up three times in the first half for 87 yards in reception yardage.
Ryan Lee was as versatile as Sacco in the first half for ACC.
After a 25-yard Sacco scoring rush doubled the Green Wave first-half lead to 12-0, Lee hauled in a 46-yard bomb from Bobby Scianna.
The latter then added a 2-point pass conversion to Tommy Fowler to frame the first-half scoring.
"Instead of sending me on a slant (pattern), (the coaches) just sent me on a go," said Sean Lee, who had the only turnover of the game on the ensuing possession with an interception.