kabarsula Saint Mark’s High School defense stands tall in 7-6 flag football win over Ursuline Academy: Photo gallery bandar SLOT INDONESIA

WILMINGTON — Points were at a premium when Saint Mark’s and Ursuline met for a flag football battle on Sept. 30. The Spartans managed one more than the Raiders and captured a 7-6 victory at Fusco Fields at Salesianum.

Saint Mark’s nearly opened the scoring in the middle of the 24-minute first half. On a fourth and goal from the 9, quarterback Liv Markey hit a receiver over the middle, but the Raiders were able to pull a flag just before she reached the end zone.

The defenses continued to dominate into the second half, and it was a defensive play that set up the Spartans’ score. Dana Shanklin (St. Joseph Parish, Middletown) stepped in front of an Ursuline pass and intercepted it. Saint Mark’s needed three plays, all on the ground, to score. Isabella Spohn took the first carry to the Raiders’ 34, and Payton Carr picked up another eight yards after that. Spohn returned after that, dodging Raiders defenders and reaching the end zone with about 13:30 left in the game. The value of extra points in flag football is determined by the length of the attempt, and the Spartans successfully converted for one point and the 7-0 lead.

The Raiders got the ball back late in the game, facing a deficit and a long field. On a third down, Ava Lewis, one of eight freshmen on the Ursuline roster, went in motion and took a direct snap, and she blazed down the left side of the field for a touchdown with 3:30 to go. The point after was no good, however.

Ursuline forced a punt and got the ball back with 49 seconds remaining with no timeouts. They were able to run three plays, but the clock expired as they were scrambling to run a fourth.

Saint Mark’s (3-1) returns to action Oct. 7 against William Penn at 7:30 p.m. at Newark Charter. Ursuline (2-3) also plays Oct. 7 at Newark Charter at 6:15 p.m. against the host Patriots.

Photos/screenshots by Mike Lang.