Ryan notches win over St. Joe's Prep

ALL RIGHT guys, your season is almost over and you have no shot at the playoffs this year, so how about we pack it up and call it a high school career?

Not quite.

Coming off three consecutive losses with two of the Catholic League's toughest teams left on the schedule, Archbishop Ryan High (6-3 overall, 1-3 CL) could have done exactly that.

Instead, the Raiders notched a 27-14 win on Saturday against AAAA regular-season champ St. Joseph's Prep (6-2, 3-1), a week after beating AAA regular-season champ Archbishop Wood (7-2, 3-0), 22-7.

"It's our senior year," Ryan senior Connor Golden sid. "We'd rather go out showing everybody what we could have done instead of saying that we were just that same old Ryan team."

Samir Bullock, a 5-7, 165-pound junior running back, carved 241 yards with two scores on 38 carries.

Golden, a 6-foot, 190-pound free safety, had three interceptions, threw for a first down on a fake punt and also caught a touchdown pass.

"I think we were a little less worried about the outcome because it's more about pride," said the 17-year-old Golden, who is also the team's punter. "I think we were a little looser and ready to go."

For proof, look no further than the back-to-back fake punts Ryan attempted on fourth down.

The first was a direct snap to Bobby Romano, a senior wide receiver/defensive back, who rumbled ahead for the first down. However, a ticket for illegal motion wiped out the play and moved the ball back 5 yards.

No worries. Ryan coach Frank McArdle, with some prodding from his seniors, called another fake punt.

Golden hit Jason Dones, another senior senior wide receiver/defensive back, with a 20-yard pass for the first down.

"We kind of told him to," Golden said of McArdle's call for back-to-back fakes. "We wanted to do it."

Defensively, Ryan held a Prep offense that averaged 36.2 points in its last five games (all wins) to just 14 points.

Golden, who said he has received college interest from New Hampshire and is hoping for more, now has 10 career interceptions. His seven picks this season are tops in the Catholic League. His first helped Ryan beat Washington on Thanksgiving in 2011.

Those teams will meet again Nov. 28.

With just one game remaining in his high school career, Golden has mixed emotions.

"Bittersweet," he said. "We just want to get a win and get all the seniors in who didn't play much this year."

How about snagging another pick for old times' sake?

"Yeah, that would top it all off."