Fred Billy sparks Saint Stephen’s to dominating victory over St. Pete Catholic

Fred Billy had gone over his first offensive play of the game a thousand times. No matter how difficult it might be, he was determined to score a touchdown to pay tribute to his mother, Erma Fordham, who died April 21.

When the quarterback took the snap from center on that first play, he was 80 yards away from the end zone. But no one was going to stop him and they didn’t.

Billy broke about six or seven tackles as he went through the SPC defense and then outran everyone sprinting down the sideline for the touchdown. It turned out to be a preview of the night he was going to have while leading the host Falcons to a 35-3 victory Friday night in their spring football game.

“I felt my mom was with me all the way on the play, that she made the run for me. I miss her very much and dedicated this game to her,” Billy said.

Billy accounted for four touchdowns and threw a touchdown pass. When the night ended, he had rushed for 202 on eight carries and completed 8 of 12 passes for 85 yards. Saint Stephen’s amassed 251 yards rushing on 23 carries.

“I was very emotional after that first touchdown because it was for her,” Billy said. “But I want to give credit to our offensive line. That’s a new line but they stepped in and did a tremendous job, which enabled me to do what I wanted to do. They were perfect tonight and made everything go. Our defense was amazing holding them to three points and they saved me when I fumbled. My passing improved in the second half. I just had to calm down a little bit and take what they defense gave me.”

The Barons only points came on a 30-yard field goal to cut their deficit to 7-3, but it seemed to ignite Billy. On the next possession he broke free for a 61 yard touchdown run. He was intercepted on his next possession but then hooked up on a 12-yard scoring strike to Peyton Vining for a 21-3 halftime lead.

Billy scored from five yards out to extend the Falcons lead to 28-3, and Demetrius Davis finished the scoring with an eight yard run with 4:24 left in the game.

The Saint Stephens defense dominated SPC holding the Barons to 44 yards rushing and 112 yards passing with most of that coming at the end of the game.

“Fred is absolutely a great spark and a great table setter for the rest of the kids,” Saint Stephen’s head coach Tom Creneti said. “He can make things happen, but his ability to make plays sets up other guys. Jordan Murrell, Peyton Vining, Demetrius Davis all played well. We feel like we have four or five guys who can be huge contributors. We played a lot of young kids and we were happy to see them step up and play well.

“Fred is a dynamic player. He does a lot of things to get us going, but we are more than Fred Billy. He certainly leads us on offense, but there is a lot more than him to deal with.”

This story was originally published May 20, 2016 at 11:01 PM with the headline "Fred Billy sparks Saint Stephen’s to dominating victory over St. Pete Catholic."