09/27/2009

ST. LOUIS — Mary Institute/Country Day senior Mark Holekamp jammed a game's worth of heroics into just 84 seconds on Saturday afternoon.

The wide receiver/defensive back turned in a pair of game-changing plays to lead the Rams past Principia 34-14 in a battle of ABC League unbeatens at McCandless Field on the Principia School campus.

MICDS, No. 1 in the Post-Dispatch poll of small schools, improved to 4-0. The Rams, who have won or shared the league crown each of the past six years, are 31-2 in conference play since 2003. Principia, No. 3 in the small-schools poll, lost for the first time in five games.

Holekamp picked off a pass on the first play from scrimmage in the second half to set up the go-ahead score. He then hauled in a 46-yard TD pass seconds later to give the Rams a 27-14 lead with 10 minutes, 36 seconds left in the third quarter.

"He's a senior and with this program we expect our seniors to step up and make plays," said Country Day coach Josh Smith.

Principia, which had been averaging 43.8 points per game, gained some momentum with a 20-yard scoring strike from Luke Barthelmess to Larry Patterson with 19 seconds left in the first half. MICDS controlled play early but went into the locker room tied 14-14 thanks to that late score.

Yet the Rams shook off the blow to regain command in the third quarter.

"The first half was a little rough for us," said Holekamp, who had two of the Rams' four interceptions in the game. "We made our minds up to come out (in the third quarter) and do something."

MICDS senior running back Luke Johnson led the attack with 121 yards rushing and two-second half TDs. He scored from 12 yards out three plays after the Holekamp interception to give his team a 20-14 lead. Junior Tucker Ruwitch recovered the ensuing onside kick and Rams senior quarterback Will Schierholz hit Holekamp over the middle to push the lead to 27-14. Johnson capped off a nine-play, 55-yard drive with a 6-yard run midway through the fourth quarter. .

"Two things didn't go our way," Principia coach Brad Warrick said of the Rams' two-touchdown third-quarter blitz. "It made a big difference."

MICDS' Johnson teamed with fellow running back Michael Scherer to form a strong duo. Schierholz had a pair of TD passes. He set the tone early with a 13-yard TD toss to Nick Theodoro on the first drive of the game.