Whatever else happens to the Bishop Ludden football team in 2016 as it ventures through its new home in Class D’s North/West division, it’s safe to assume that it hopes never to see Watertown IHC quarterback Nick Draught again – at least on the field, anyway.
An otherwise tremendous effort by the Gaelic Knights on Sept. 4 in the Kickoff Classic at the Carrier Dome was marred by a complete inability to stop Draught, whose astonishing total of 563 total yards helped Carry the Cavaliers past Ludden 50-42.
Once trailing by 20 points and down 34-22 at halftime, Ludden blanked IHC in the third quarter and even took the lead, only to see Draught continue to add on to his totals on a pair of fourth-quarter scoring drives.
For the night, Draught threw 36 times, completing 22 of those passes for 375 yards. Then he ran for 188 yards on the ground on 17 carries, not wearing down in the latter stages.
With the score tied 42-42 midway through the fourth quarter, Draught, aided by a long kick return that put IHC deep in Gaelic Knights territory, led a march to Ludden’s 16, where he found Silas Baker for the go-ahead TD and added a two-point run.
Ludden could not quite answer, and it had lost even though Lee had gone 13-for-19 for 245 yards, hurt by three interceptions to offset his pair of TD passes. Combine that with 161 yards on the ground, and Lee had 406 total yards of his own.
Joe Connor caught six passes for 119 yards, while Sevaughan Williams had 94 yards on just four completions. Kevin Burkhart rushed for 78 yards on 16 carries and scored a pair of early TD’s that got lost in Draught’s early flurry.
Twice in the first quarter, Draught found Vincenzo Altieri for scoring passes, one covering two yards, the other going 59 yards. Then Draught twice found the end zone from six yards out on scrambles, making it 28-8 before it even hit the second period.
Between Burkhart’s second TD and Lee finding Williams for a 48-yard scoring strike, Ludden found a way to chip into IHC’s advantage, though Draught again burned the Gaelic Knights with his arm with a 45-yard TD pass to Baker that made it 34-22 going into the break.
Things peaked for Ludden in the third quarter. Not only did the defense finally contain Draught for the first time all night, it saw Lee zip a 39-yard scoring pass to Sanders and then saw Lee, from his own 39, scramble all the way to the end zone, a 61-yard TD run that, with Burkhart’s extra point, briefly gave the Gaelic Knights a 35-34 lead.
Early in the fourth quarter, an exchange of scoring drives saw Draught find Altieri on a seven-yard TD pass and then add the two-point run to put IHC back in front 42-35, and Lee answered with an eight-yard scoring run that, with Burkhart’s PAT, pulled things even one last time.
Just five days later, Ludden plays again, hosting Beaver River, who topped Weedsport 27-8 in its season opener.
