Scott, who had averaged more than 180 yards passing per game, completed only 4 of 9 passes for 63 yards. Nelson, who entered the game averaging five catches for 82 yards, was held to one for 19. The other defensive backs
helping deMarteleire were John Algeo, Tim Hermann and Rob Carickhoff, who also picked off a pass intended for Nelson.
"Mike's only started since our last regular-season game," said coach Jim Algeo, who is deMarteleire's grandfather. "Besides the interception, he also had some terrific hits coming out of the secondary. He has a very good sense for playing back there."
But deMarteleire, who had three interceptions in his four starts, was only one of many unheralded Crusaders who stood out in the 12-7 loss. Others included junior fullback Chris Walsh and punter/kicker Kevin Tisdale.
On offense this season, Walsh often got lost in the shuffle as quarterback John Algeo's aerial show took center stage. But when McDevitt effectively defended leading receivers Carickhoff and Sean Buchy, and running back Greg Kozminski was unable to break runs to the outside, Walsh was called upon to pound the ball up the middle.
"When we're not getting much outside, that's when I get the ball," Walsh said. "It all depends on the situation. Their linebackers were pretty quick to the outside, but I was able to get some nice holes up the middle."
Walsh's numbers - seven carries for 21 yards - may not look impressive, but he was the only Crusader to average as many as 3 yards per carry for the game. He scored the team's only touchdown, and had three catches for 45 yards.
As for Tisdale, he made his only extra-point attempt after having one blocked last week. And, with the Crusaders protecting a 7-6 lead in the second half, Tisdale got off booming punts of 50 and 43 yards to prevent McDevitt
from getting good field position.
Tisdale punted five times for a 38-yard average after averaging 33 yards per punt through 13 games.
"I thought he had a great game," Jim Algeo said. "McDevitt is so explosive, we did not want to give them a short field to work with. Kevin did a terrific job."
While the efforts of deMarteleire, Walsh and Tisdale were not enough to lead the Crusaders to victory, they were enough for the team to find some positives in a disappointing defeat.
