BY NOAH GRIFFITH
FOR THE OBSERVER
SMITHS STATION — Glenwood School built a 10-point halftime lead, but St. Paul’s Episcopal turned to its rushing attack in the second half to rally back for a 38-33 at Sammy Howard Field on Sept. 11.
Glenwood (3-1, 1-1) jumped on the Saints (2-2, 1-1) from the opening kickoff, recovering a pooch kick and marching down the field for a quick touchdown. That score was the first of four first-half TD passes from quarterback Trey Claridy, who put the Gators up 27-17 at the break.
But momentum shifted dramatically after halftime.
St. Paul’s leaned on its ground game, scoring three consecutive rushing TDs to turn the 10-point deficit into a 38-27 lead. Ty Sellers and Roberts Law spearheaded the comeback as the Saints repeatedly found success on the ground. The Saints gained 434 of their 536 total yards rushing, with 312 of those yards coming after halftime.
“Obviously, the depth issue showed up in the second half,” Glenwood head coach Ryan Nelson said. “We knew coming in [depth] was going to be a little bit of a problem because they don’t have any guys playing both ways, and we have several. But I commend our guys for the effort they gave, and they laid it all on the line for our school tonight.”
The contrast between the two halves was evident in the statistics.
Glenwood outgained St. Paul’s 280-190 in the opening half and racked up 10 first downs. After halftime, however, the Gators managed to produce just three first downs as the Saints’ defense tightened up and Glenwood struggled to sustain drives.
Claridy was nearly flawless through the air in the first half, completing 11 of 13 passes, with several going for at least 20 yards. He finished the game with five TD passes, connecting with Braylon Greenwood for three of those scores and Nate Malone — who rushed 13 times for 68 yards — and Asher Long for one TD apiece.
But Claridy went just 7-for-15 after halftime, while Malone found little room to run as St. Paul’s defense clamped down on the Gators’ offense. Glenwood also struggled to convert on late downs, going 0-for-2 on fourth down and 4-for-11 on third down.
“[Claridy] is getting better every single week,” Nelson said. “He’s a senior quarterback, so I have high expectations for him, but he has to continue to keep building on his success and clean up some of his mistakes as well.”
St. Paul’s continued to capitalize on Glenwood’s struggles, with its rushing attack eventually producing the game’s decisive stretch.
Sellers finished with 28 carries for 210 yards and two TDs, while Law added 186 yards and a TD on 18 carries.
Despite falling behind 38-27, the Gators refused to go quietly.
With the fourth quarter winding down, defensive lineman Rhett English recovered a St. Paul’s fumble, giving Glenwood one final opportunity. On the ensuing possession, Greenwood hauled in a pass from Claridy and raced 67 yards for a TD, cutting the deficit to 38-33 with 1:51 remaining.
The Saints nearly gave Glenwood another chance when they fumbled on their final drive, but St. Paul’s recovered and ran out the clock to secure the victory.
“We had opportunities to win the ball game, and that’s the only thing I’m kind of frustrated with,” Nelson said. “It just didn’t happen for us.”
For Nelson, the second-half struggles underscored the challenge Glenwood will face as the season progresses. After opening region play with a 38-7 victory over Houston Academy, the Gators now have a clearer picture of the depth they will encounter against larger programs in Class Private AA Region 1.
Nelson described the second-half struggles as “a numbers thing,” but said he believes the Gators can use the loss as an opportunity to grow.
“Going forward, we have to find ways to get more guys out there playing and get more guys ready,” Nelson said. “But again, we fought tooth and nail with a big program, and I couldn’t be more proud of our kids.”
Glenwood will look to bounce back next week when it travels to face Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School at Knight Stadium on Friday, Sept. 18, at 7 p.m. The Knights (3-1, 2-0) defeated Houston Academy (0-3, 0-2) 28-0 last Friday.
