Oct 20, 2003 – The last hope for the defeat of the St. Thomas Private School Arawaks failed on Friday as the Ivanna Eudora Kean Devil Rays lost 12-0. It was the closest game this season for both teams. From the start of the action, a slew of penalties began piling up on both sides of the ball. By game's end, they would add up to 12 for the Arawaks and 11 for the Devil Rays, many of which could and should have been avoided. There also were many dropped passes on both sides.
The first half went scoreless. "Mercy rule games are easy," Arawaks head coach Francisco Jarvis told his team at halftime. "It's the close games like this that are hard." (The mercy rule — which calls for ending football play when a team pulls at least 40 points ahead of its opponent — was invoked in the Arawaks' last previous game, a 44-0 romp over the Charlotte Amalie High School Chickenhawks on Oct. 3.)
But Friday's the stalemate was not to continue, as the Arawaks twin backs refused to make things easy for the stingy Devil Ray defense. John Marsh pushed it in for the first touchdown of the game in the third quarter, but missed the two-point conversion. He also scored the second TD later, with the Arawaks again failing on their bid for extra points.
It was a close game for fans, players, and coaches. Many felt that the Devil Rays might well come back and put it to the Arawaks next time. But for now, the season statistics in V.I. intramural play are definitive. Arawaks 4-0, and Devil Rays 3-1.
Editor's note: Antilles High School senior Marcus Jackson is a member of the Arawaks football team.
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