Saint Stephen’s opens title defense with crushing defense, explosive offense

Last year, Tod Creneti had a conversation with Parker Lansberg following the last practice of Saint Stephen’s bye week.

So Creneti asked Lansberg if he was going to sleep in the next day.

Creneti said Lansberg looked at him like he had a horn growing out of his head.

“He said, ‘I hate sleeping (in),’ ” Creneti said. “He goes, ‘I’m going to get up early and I’m going to do this and do this and do this.’ He had a whole list.”

That energy is what makes the senior captain an integral force to the Falcons’ defensive and offensive lines.

“Parker has a drive that is uncommon,” Creneti said. “Parker doesn’t know how to take a day off. He doesn’t know how to take a play off.”

On Friday at The Moore Athletic Complex at Turner Fields, Lansberg was one of several two-way linemen who keyed Saint Stephen’s 49-0 blowout over Spring Hill Bishop McLaughlin in the first round of the Sunshine State Athletic Conference playoffs.

The Falcons (7-0) continued their big-play offense, while the defense held the Hurricanes to minus-29 rushing yards and minus-7 total yards of offense in the first half.

“Our D-line has been playing lights out all season,” Falcons defensive coordinator Chris Valcarcel said.

Junior defensive lineman Tyler Burnham snagged the lone turnover the defense created en route to forcing Bishop McLaughlin into eight consecutive three-and-outs in the first half.

The full defensive starting lineup was replaced with backups for the second half, which featured a running clock, after the Falcons poured on the offense behind running back Chase Brown (seven carries, 151 yards, three touchdowns) and quarterback Fred Billy (10 carries, 125 yards, two touchdowns).

Billy also added 99 passing yards and a touchdown while going 5 for 11.

“The fact that we’re better up front on both sides of the ball allows the other kids to shine,” Creneti said. “It’s like building a house. You don’t build a house without laying the best possible foundation. And our kids up front provide that foundation.”

Burnham, sophomore Dylan Davis, junior Trey Bauer, junior Dalton Francis and Lansberg started on the offensive line Friday.

Lansberg, who started on the defensive line with Burnham, Davis and Francis, is the lone senior.

“He has four years’ worth of stake invested in this program,” Creneti said. “And those guys look at how hard he plays, and they say that’s the expectation and I have to play that hard, too.”

Lansberg said he tries to lead by example, despite being the smallest of the linemen.

“Making sure everybody is going 110 percent and hold everybody accountable,” Lansberg said.

That was evident Friday with how quickly the defensive line fired off the ball to put pressure on Bishop McLaughlin quarterback Caleb Chestnut.

Valcarcel estimated the Falcons had five or six sacks, with Davis wreaking havoc consistently.

“Dylan Davis was an absolute monster disrupting the line,” Valcarcel said. “They couldn’t do anything they wanted to do. He was 3 yards in the backfield every play.”

Offensively, Chase Brown put the Falcons ahead 7-0 on the first play from scrimmage with a 72-yard run. Billy added touchdown runs of 73 and 44 yards, while also connecting with Sydney Brown on a 52-yard touchdown pass for a 28-point first quarter.

Chase Brown capped the first half scoring with touchdown runs of 25 and 31 yards in the second quarter.

The victory sends the Falcons into the second round of the SSAC playoffs, where they’ll face Out-of-Door Academy in a rematch from the regular season. That was the only loss for the Thunder this year. ODA beat Santa Fe Catholic 42-6 on Friday to set up the rematch.

This story was originally published October 27, 2017 at 10:42 PM with the headline "Saint Stephen’s opens title defense with crushing defense, explosive offense."