Oct. 5, 2003 – The long-awaited football game between the defending champion St. Thomas Private School Arawaks and the Charlotte Amalie High School Chickenhawks ended in a 44-0 rout of the public school challengers on Friday night in Lionel Roberts Stadium.
The Chickenhawks were the only team to beat the Arawaks last season, and it had been the hope of many that they would stop the St. Thomas private school squad once again.
The Ivanna Eudora Kean Devil Rays, who defeated the St. Croix Private School Pirates 40-0 on Sept. 27, loom as the next challenge for the Arawaks. They'll meet on Oct. 17 at Lionel Roberts.
On Friday, two minutes prior to the end of the fourth quarter, the game was called on account of the "mercy rule," which is invoked to end play when one team pulls ahead by at least 40 points.
A recovered kickoff gave the Arawaks an early lead as John Marsh punched it into the end zone for the first of his four touchdowns.
But the Chickenhawks quickly pushed down the field, using the reverse and dive as the bread and butter of their offense. A fumble near the end zone was all that stopped CAHS from returning for a touchdown of their own.
Seeking the first hole he saw on offense, the Arawaks' Miles Davis shot down the field for the first of his two touchdowns, unhindered by the Chickenhawks defense.
Two-point conversions were successful on four of the six touchdowns scored.
A combination of bad snaps and fumbles kept the Chickenhawks from mounting a workable offensive; yet they still spent much of the game near the goal line, barely being fended off by the Arawak defense. Scott Newland led that defense, making crucial tackles at the most opportune moments.
In spite of the Arawaks' one-sided victory, the game showed that their defense leaves much to be desired; their tackling, while marginally better than in their previous match, still needs improvement as well.
The Arawaks and Devil Rays are now tied 2-0 in league play this season, while the Pirates and Chickenhawks are both at 0-2.
Eudora Kean's resounding victory over the Pirates was persuasive evidence that the St. Thomas East End team means business this season. The Arawaks know they need to fix all of the holes in their defense by the time they meet the Devil Rays on Oct. 17.
Editor's note: Antilles High School senior Marcus Jackson is a member of the Arawaks football team.
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