More on Maranatha
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To read more about the game check out the story in The PSN and the stats in The OCR.
After the game Maranatha had a long post-game meeting. It included players, coaches, parents, administrators, ‘the entire Maranatha community’ as a player said. The meeting was so long I was able to do all my St. Margaret’s interviews, call in the final score to the newspaper (with highlights) and still had time to spare.
I asked a couple of players for their reaction. I was walking in between them when I saw No. 16, Robert Sharpe. Sharpe was the starting running back in place of injured Mark Love.
I tapped Sharpe, a junior, on the shoulder pad. I asked him if he had a minute and he said OK and then he saw my press badge. He seemed hesitant to talk, which is understandable. He said no problem and to go ahead and ask him questions.
‘What was said in post-game huddle?’ I asked.
‘Just give me a minute to think about it,’ Sharpe answered. He took three steps back and began to think. Someone from behind him called out his name, probably sensing he didn’t want to do the interview, but he just stuck out his hand. Someone else was approaching him and both Sharpe and that person told him to wait.
Sharpe comes back to where I am and he says, sorry, ‘I have concussion. I’m ready.’
I tried to stop the interview there and wondered why he wasn’t in a hospital, but he insisted we do the interview.
Robert Sharpe is awesome. I don’t think I need to explain why.
Here is what he said: ‘We had two tragic losses today, but we are going to pick up and keep working. We’re not too worried about what we need to do, we know what we need to do. And we are going to get it done. And Danny, Danny did an excellent job. Incredible surprise. I’m a little excited about what we can do.’
Danny is sophomore Danny Beckwith, a third-string quarterback who did not take any snaps as QB this week but was thrust into the job when starting quarterback Matt Schilz and backup quarterback (and wide receiver and safety) Alex Clash went down.
Beckwith ran into the huddle at first a little unsure of what he was doing, but he says it took only one play to get rid of the nerves. He went on to have a nice game, showed a lot of poised in passing for 141 yards on 10 of 26 attempts with two interceptions and one rushing touchdown.
Said Beckwith: ‘I was on defense when Alex, when our second string quarterback got hurt and I was just like, at first, real nervous. But I just had to think to myself, ‘I have to step up cause there is no one else to do it and someone has to take it.’ After I had that first play it was all smooth from there.’
In that post-game meeting, ‘[Coach Joel] Murphy just talked about how, even though we lost, the whole Maranatha community needs to come together and help us,’ Beckwith said. ‘Everyone needs to play their part and just us back going. And prayers. Prayers. Prayers. Prayers. We need God to be behind our back because without him we can’t do anything. So he just talked about how we just need to keep pressing.’
No further news on Matt Schilz and Alex Clash yet. I’ve seen some reports online and even a reader of this blog, Tom S., gives us an update in last night’s GBU report, but I’m going to wait to hear from a school official before I post anything.
Maranatha Athletic Director Brian DeHann has my information and said he could check in today when he had an update. DeHann did say last night that Schilz was taken to an emergency hospital while Clash just went home.
-- Jaime Cardenas