Byline: DAN VENTURA
South Boston coach Bob Lerro challenged his defense.
The Knights responded with their best effort in years, limiting Madison Park standout running back Angel LaCourt to 32 yards in a 21-6 victory yesterday at Saunders Stadium. The loss was the first for Madison Park in seven outings, while South Boston improved to 7-1.
'I put No. 51 (Marcus Norris) on him,' Lerro said. 'He hits like hell and never let Angel get any movement at all. We told our defense all week if we ran it the way we should, he's not going to get a chance to move and that's what happened.'
In big games, mistakes usually play a large part in which team walks off on top.
Yesterday proved no different, as South Boston took advantage of a special teams miscue by Madison Park. A bad snap to punter Richard Sheriff resulted in a 22-yard loss, giving South Boston the ball at the Madison Park 10-yard line.
After Keith McNair (88 yards on 18 carries) ripped off a 6-yard carry, speedy Devon Zollarcoffer took care of the rest. Taking advantage of Juan Guillen's great block, Zollarcoffer darted outside and skirted in to give the Knights a 6-0 lead, an advantage that held up through halftime.
South Boston's next big break came in the third quarter when Alfredo Geronimo recovered a fumble to give the Knights the ball at the opposing 43.
Staying exclusively with the running game, South Boston used up nearly 7 minutes on a 14-play drive capped by McNair's 2-yard touchdown run on fourth down. Anthony McQueen hauled in the two-point conversion pass from Jesse Cox to make it 14-0.
'We came prepared, we just didn't make any mistakes,' Lerro said. 'We took advantage of their mistakes, and I don't think we could have played much better than that.'
McNair put the final nail in the coffin with an electrifying 25-yard touchdown, a highlight-reel carry in which he eluded four tacklers on the way to the end zone.
Madison Park avoided the shutout when Krish Kulka returned the ensuing kickoff 67 yards for a touchdown.
'South Boston played a great game,' Madison Park coach Roosevelt Robinson said. 'They did what they had to do and they did a good job.'
In other Boston North action, John McElrath blocked a potential game-winning 35-yard field goal try on the final play of the game to give Charlestown (4-3) an 8-7 victory over Boston English. McElrath and Rashard Skeens teamed up to rush for 256 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries.
Shekeil Mells scored on a 5-yard run to help lead Latin Academy (3-5) to a 12-6 victory over Hyde Park in Boston South.
In nonleague action, junior Charles Powell rushed for 157 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries as West Roxbury (5-2) cruised to a 36-8 victory over Mystic Valley.
Caption: DEEP IMPACT: Catholic Memorial quarterback Jamie Cosgrove fires a pass over the St. John's Prep defense during last night's Catholic Conference showdown in West Roxbury. STAFF PHOTO BY LISA HORNAK
