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Esposito propels Royals to victory

Saturday, November, 10 By Tim Donovan
Staff writer

CHELSEA | It took just 30 seconds for Chelsea's kicker to make a complete mess of Georgetown's return team. It took Royals quarterback Joe Esposito 11 minutes to repair the damage, but his efforts were fruitful and Georgetown won the contest 21-12.

A loss to the lightly-regarded Red Devils (3-7, 3-2 Commonwealth Conference Small) could have thrown a monkey wrench into the Royals' postseason plans. With the hard-fought win, they'll play Manchester Essex in a winner-take-all showdown on Thanksgiving.

Georgetown (8-1, 4-0 CAC Small) struck first on a 60-yard keeper from Esposito, but Chelsea reciprocated late in the first half to cut the lead to 7-6.

When the squib kick bounced high over the head of Georgetown's deep man and into the end zone, the Red Devils pounced on it to score and take the lead, 12-7. After the failed two-point try, the subsequent onside kick was scooped up again by the home team.

With 12 seconds left in the second quarter, Esposito hooked up with Brandon Wade for a 21-yard score that put Georgetown out in front. The Royals never looked back, refusing to break against Chelsea's tough defense.

Bouchard knew the Red Devils were wary of his potent offense, which had been averaging 31.1 points a game.

Georgetown fought tooth and nail to defend its narrow lead, helped by the hard-hitting duo of Jeff Rollins and Andrew Sinkewicz, who couldn't be kept out of the Red Devils' backfield.

The pair teamed up to stuff Chelsea's running game, making tackle after tackle. Super sophomore Tyran Harrigan had a sack with a bone-crunching hit.

Georgetown hasn't become the force it is on just talent alone.