MacArthur D stops Jesuit in its tracks
12:45 AM CDT on Saturday, October 6, 2007
By DAMON L. SAYLES / The Dallas Morning News dsayles@dallasnews.com
IRVING – Irving MacArthur's defensive front seven will think about Friday's 21-7 victory against District 10-5A foe Jesuit for a long time. The team will use it as a study guide of what to do correctly in future games.
MacArthur (5-0, 2-0) forced negative yardage on 13 of Jesuit's 49 plays. Jesuit (3-2, 1-1) finished with minus-10 rushing yards, 43 yards total and nine punts. MacArthur also forced Jesuit to turn the ball over on downs twice.
"We thought we had the components needed for a great defense at the beginning of the season," MacArthur coach Brian Basil said. "Bottom line is, our coaching staff did a great job with our game plan, and our kids did a great job of carrying that game plan out."
Credit MacArthur's defensive linemen, including Jeff Brown and Floyd Robinson, and its linebackers, including Jeremy Brown and Tariq Allen, for Jesuit's frustrating offensive night. Jesuit's longest play of the night was a 13-yard run by quarterback Brent Miller late in the fourth.
The defense carried MacArthur. MacArthur's first four offensive possessions included a fumble on the second play of the game and two interceptions by quarterback Erick Foreman, to Jesuit's Hampton Hughes and Cavanaugh Koch. Jesuit forced four turnovers in a losing effort.
Jesuit actually led, 7-0, in the second quarter after Koch's interception put the team deep in MacArthur territory. Miller scored on a 5-yard run with 10:54 remaining in the quarter.
MacArthur tied the score late in the second, when Edward Wesley scored on a 4-yard run, capping a 74-yard drive. MacArthur forced Jesuit to punt, and on the first play of the ensuing possession, Foreman connected with Iziah Perry for a 36-yard catch-and-run for a score.
MacArthur added to its lead midway through the fourth quarter, when Foreman found Perry for a 22-yard touchdown reception. Perry finished with four catches for 77 yards. Foreman had 126 passing yards but also finished with three interceptions.
