Holy Spirit high school football wins division with shocking comeback
WOOLWICH TWP. – Jayden Llanos said he couldn’t feel his hip.
Robert McDevitt’s shoulder was aching.
Sean Burns called himself “beat up.”
All three Holy Spirit High School seniors will wake up sore Saturday morning, yet the pain will only bring smiles to their faces.
The Spartan football program pulled off an all-timer Friday night, as Burns’ 24-yard touchdown to Llanos with 44.7 seconds remaining completed an epic 21-point comeback as the Absecon squad stunned Kingsway 31-27 to capture the West Jersey Football League Continental Division championship.
“Best comeback I’ve ever seen, played, coached, anything,” first-year head coach Andrew DiPasquale said. “That was unbelievable.”
The circumstances surrounding the shocker only made the victory more remarkable.
Holy Spirit was without standout sophomore tailback Jahcere Ward, who’d run for 708 yards and 12 touchdowns this fall, due to NJSIAA discipline stemming from its win over Vineland on Oct. 7.
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That put the offense on Burns, who was called on to run or throw on all but one play on offense.
“I knew coming into this that like almost every yard was going to have to do with me, if I’m running the ball or throwing the ball, which is a lot of pressure on my shoulders, but, oh my God, you know you’re in the right spot when you have pressure on your shoulders,” he said. “That means you’re doing something right.”
The weight looked like it’d be too much to bear after throwing back-to-back interceptions at the beginning of the second quarter, one a 50-yard pick-6 to Luke Van Brill and the other on his next snap, which led to a 22-yard TD grab by Van Brill to put the Dragons up 27-6 with 11:19 left in the opening half.
Many quarterbacks, particularly first-year starters, would’ve flinched. Not Burns.
“Nothing phases that kid,” DiPasquale said. “It’s unbelievable to have a quarterback you can trust and you can count on and you know he’s going to give you everything he’s got on every play.”
Burns would prove that, but not before McDevitt sparked the team to life.
Kingsway looked ready to put the game on ice when it reached the red zone on its next drive, but the offense stalled leading to a field goal attempt.
McDevitt doesn’t look like impact football player. He’s a 5-foot-10, 205-pound nose guard that missed the previous 2.5 games with a shoulder injury.
Yet he burst through the line and blocked the kick.
“It’s just a motor,” McDevitt said. “Coach (Chalie) Roman put me there last year as a first-year varsity player and he just understood that speed is going to kill some of these guys, and having the skillset, not the size, is what matters most, and when you have heart, and you’re going to continue to push your teammates, it’s what’s going to get you through the game.”
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McDevitt’s heart was thumping for every Spartan on the sideline, and they returned the favor.
Burns, Gavin Roman and Llanos led the Spartans to 25 unanswered points with a record-setting night.
Burns was 35-of-52 for 368 yards, 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, plus a rushing score. He now has 2,174 yards on the season, eclipsing the school’s single-season yardage record set previously by Al Mallen (2,104; 1988), per South Jersey historian Chuck Langerman.
Roman broke his own school record with 15 catches, which he turned into 142 yards. And Llanos, aching from a hard fall on his hip late in the third quarter, finished with 12 grabs for 140 yards and all 4 Burns TDs, the last of which required him to fight through his agony, and a pair of tackles to get into the end zone.
“I knew what the stakes were,” he said. “… I just took the dog out of me, went deep in my heart and found a way.”
That’s what Holy Spirit is, perseverance. Under the most trying of conditions, the Spartans find a way.
“We understood that there’s always a chance to win the game,” McDevitt said. “… When we play Holy Spirit football, nobody’s beating us in the state.”
Three things we learned
∎ Special teams are crucial. It seems like every week a game is won or lost due to special teams. Seven days after St. Joseph shocked Lenape thanks to a pair of successful onside kicks and a game-winning field goal, it was McDevitt’s blocked kick that flipped the script in Holy Spirit’s victory.
“We had nothing going offensively, we couldn’t stop ’em defensively, and that blocked field goal changed the game,” DiPasquale said.
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∎ Charlie Roman is outstanding. The Holy Spirit offensive coordinator is a master game planner. He didn’t have Ward in his arsenal yet devised a scheme that allowed Burns to get the ball to his playmakers in space and keep the defense guessing. There were lots of short passes, and when Kingsway tried to jump them, he called double moves. Roman is one of the best play callers not just in South Jersey, but the entire state.
∎ Van Brill is becoming one of South Jersey’s best on both sides of the ball. The Dragons’ junior tight end and linebacker is a nightmare to play against. Holy Spirit was calling him out whenever Kingsway was on offense, yet he still had 4 catches for 130 yards and 2 touchdowns. He’s physical, yet has the speed to run away for a 50-yard pick-6.
Game balls
Burns. Literally carried the offense, as a third-quarter run by Roman was the lone play Burns didn’t carry the ball himself or pass it. Was 35-of-52 for 368 yards, 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, plus a rushing score.
Llanos. He had 12 catches for 140 yards and 4 touchdowns, including the game-winner in the last minute.
Roman. Burns’ security blanket. His 15 catches broke his old record of 13, which he set on Sept. 2. Finished with 142 yards.
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McDevitt. Not only did he block the field goal that set the comeback in motion, he was a menace in the backfield as he was critical to shutting down the Kingsway ground game and pressuring the quarterback.
Van Brill. Had 4 catches for 130 yards and 2 touchdowns, a 50-yard pick-6 and several other key defensive plays.
They said it
“Comebacks are the best.”
– Holy Spirit quarterback Sean Burns
Josh Friedman has produced award-winning South Jersey sports coverage for the Courier Post, The Daily Journal and the Burlington County Times for more than a decade. If you have or know of an interesting story to tell, reach out on Twitter at @JFriedman57 or via email at jfriedman2@gannettnj.com. You can also contact him at 856-486-2431. Help support local journalism with a subscription.
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