All Saints football steamrolls No. 2 Master's Academy 40-0

Winter Haven — On the very first All Saints Fights Cancer Day, the Saints continued its dominance in an eight-man contest, trouncing and shutting out No. 2 Master's Academy 40-0 Thursday night at home.

This is the fifth shutout No. 3 All Saints has produced this season. And this is the first time since the state championship two years ago the Saints won vs. an undefeated opponent.

Eighth-grade running back Trey Bell rushed the ball 14 times for 148 yards and three touchdowns. Senior quarterback Daunte Giles was 5 for 11 for 96 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing the ball 14 times for 86 yards and a touchdown.

“Coming in, I didn’t know what we would have tonight. They are a very good and well-coached team (and) you can see they are very physical,” All Saints head football coach Stuart Weiss said. “Our boys … just rose to the occasion. Couple of our younger guys stepped up. Trey running the ball was just (sensational).”

Most of Bell’s damage was done in the second half, as in the first half both teams were sluggish.

Below are takeaways from All Saints' win.

Sluggish play, injury impact teams in first half

Both teams didn’t start the day well. On the first three drives for both teams, neither was able to put up any points. All Saints committed too many penalties on both sides of the ball just like Master's Academy — a team that completely turned the 2022 season around after a 5-6 2021.

On top of too many mistakes by the Patriots, starting quarterback Caleb Cotton was knocked out of the game in the middle of the second quarter.

All Saints didn’t capitalize on Master's Academy’s misfortunes until its fourth drive of the game. It was a drive that focused on the running tandem of Giles and Bell, while sprinkling in a some passes. At the conclusion of the drive, Giles hooked up with freshman running back Clauderius Bell for a 21-yard touchdown with 4:43 to go in the second. All in all, it was a 12-play, 65-yard scoring drive.

On the fifth offensive drive, All Saints Giles actually eluded would-be tacklers and heaved it to Andrew Foppe for a 43-yard touchdown as time expired in the first half, but Giles crossed the line of scrimmage before the throw and the officials called it back.

All Saints fueled by lack of scoring in first half

The Saints’ first scoring drive in the second half was identical to the one near the end of the first half. All Saints matriculated the ball down the field on the backs of Giles and Trey Bell, and in the end Giles connected with Bell once more on a 15-yard touchdown, which culminated a 10-play, 73-yard touchdown drive.

“Starting out we wanted to go pass heavy. We really didn’t start clicking until later in the first quarter and getting into the second quarter, and what I saw in the defense we were able to run the ball…,” Giles said.

Because of the balance by All Saints and Master's Academy being undermanned, the Saints ended up scoring on five straight drives in the second half.

All Saints scored its third touchdown thanks to a 51-yard scamper from Trey Bell with 1:48 to go in the third.

“The offensive line did a very good blocking this game — opened up the holes for me to get through, and get the yards that I got,” Trey Bell said. “…In the first half, I always start out slow. That’s me feeling out how their defense is. So the second half, now that I know how they hit, how they play, I can just go through them and score.”

With a 20-0 lead near the end of the third quarter, the Saints didn’t let up. Giles scored on an 11-yard run with 10:10 to go; senior Josh Shaffer scored on a reverse play, a 9-yard touchdown with 4:38 to go; and the final points followed a botched snap by Master's Academy on a punt play, which led to a 25-yard touchdown run from Bell with 1:40 to go, cementing the final 40-burger score.

All Saints' defense keys in on Master's Academy

The entire defense played fundamentally sound all game. All Saints isn’t the biggest team in the world, but they executed the game plan: The Saints were able to keep Cotton and their backs in the pocket by stacking the box and essentially teeing off on every play.

When Master's Academy advanced the ball past the line scrimmage, at least two men were on the ball each play.

“Our defense, we play as a team. … They’re just so discipline,” Weiss said.

All Saints (6-0) will take on the No. 4 team in Donahue Catholic 7 p.m. Friday on the road.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: high school football