Ryan running back Samir Bullock
For the Archbishop Ryan football team, the 2014 season was a quest to complete unfinished business. For George Washington, it was a return to relevance.
Both programs achieved those objectives, as Ryan avenged last year’s loss to archrival Father Judge and won its first Catholic League playoff game in a decade, while Washington returned to its winning ways after posting its first losing season in 29 years.
Victory on Thanksgiving would be the consummate achievement for the Raiders (5–6) or Eagles (7–5), but only one team will be able to accomplish that.
“It’s like our Rose Bowl,” Ryan coach Frank McArdle said. “We get to play an important game against a good program. Every year, the two questions I get asked by alumni are, number one, did we beat Judge and, number two, did we beat Washington.”
Inquiries about running back Samir Bullock must be growing in popularity, too. With 85 rushing yards in Ryan’s Nov. 15 Catholic League Class AAA championship game loss to Archbishop Wood, Bullock became the fifth back in city history to surpass 5,000 yards for his career. Bullock has 5,031, including 1,890 this season. In 2013, he tallied 2,055 and is one of just 11 backs in city history to run for 2,000 in a season. Bullock is 110 away from reaching that milestone again.
Washington head coach Ron Cohen knows his Eagles can expect to see plenty of Bullock on Thanksgiving. Stopping him is the problem.
“They have a great running back and I’m sure they’re not going to change (their gameplan) much,” Cohen said.
“We want to give 28 (Bullock) the ball,” McArdle said. “But if they’re going to let us throw, we’re going to throw it. If they put nine or 10 men in the box, we’re going to take our shots (downfield).”
Getting Bullock’s second straight 2,000-yard season is the obvious target, however.
“It would be great for him because he’s a great kid and such a hard worker,” McArdle said.
It would also be gratifying for the Raiders’ revamped offensive line. Just two members of the unit entered the year with varsity starts on their resumes. Kevin Schaeffer started about three games in 2013 before he got hurt, McArdle said. Meanwhile, Sean Devine began 2013 as a reserve before moving into the starting lineup late in the season. Both have been stalwarts throughout the current campaign, joining three rookies. Fullback Bobby McDevitt and tight end Jon Liguori have been key cogs in the blocking scheme, too. Bullock leads the team in scoring with 21 touchdowns.
Easily overlooked in the buzz surrounding the running game has been the steady performance of sophomore quarterback Matt Romano, who has passed for 903 yards and 11 scores and has thrown at least one TD pass in eight games.
While most eyes will be on Bullock, Washington’s strong contingent of runners led by Quadir Cobbs will be trying to steal the spotlight. Cobbs didn’t start the year as the Eagles’ featured ballcarrier. His breakout performance came in the fifth game when he rushed for 76 yards on eight carries against Judge. He’s rushed for at least 95 yards six times since then, including 156 against Olney, 157 against King and 196 in a Public League Class AAAA semifinal loss to Franklin.
“I’m real happy with the progress of the team. Coming into the season, we knew we had four or five nice running backs. After about the fourth game, Quadir established himself as the number one,” Cohen said.
Like Bullock, Cobbs will be looking to reach a milestone, as he enters Thanksgiving with 924 rushing yards for the season and 10 touchdowns. Nigel Sealey is second on the team with 532 rushing yards, while quarterback Damir Mitchell leads the passing attack with 435 yards and seven scores.
“We’re not going to change. We’re a running football team, but we do throw a little bit,” Cohen said.
Like McArdle, the Washington coach and players are treating Thanksgiving as their bowl game.
“We didn’t have a championship game this year, so this is our championship game,” Cohen said. ••
Washington running back Quadir Cobbs
