Crimson Wave handles Bellarmine at home, return to MSFL Championship for third consecutive season

Whiting, IN – The Calumet College of St. Joseph Sprint Football team took down Bellarmine in the Midwest Sprint Football League Semifinals 42-13 on Saturday evening at Ray P. Gallivan Stadium. In resemblance to last season, CCSJ beat Bellarmine in the 2023 MSFL Semifinals before going on to win the championship.

The Crimson Wave will now look to hoist the MSFL Championship trophy for the second consecutive year as they face St. Mary-of-the-Woods on Saturday, November 9 at 1 p.m. ET in a rematch of the previous two title games.

How it Happened

The game couldn't have started out any better for the Crimson Wave as they elected to kick off after winning the coin toss. Their defense stopped Bellarmine on fourth and one, only giving up nine yards on the opening drive. On CCSJ's first possession, the Wave marched down the field in eight plays and scored the first touchdown of the evening.

Nino Barbosa connected with Steve Salman, putting CCSJ in the Knights territory. Four of the next seven plays, Zaire Davis number was called, and he was able to run the ball in for a 9-yard touchdown.

On the Bellarmine ensuing drive, Marcus Hardy was able make an athletic play and come down with an interception for the first turnover of the game. The first play of CCSJ's next drive was Zaire Davis going nearly the length of the field to score his second touchdown of the game. Only seven minutes into the game and the Crimson Wave had a 14-0 advantage. 

Late in the second quarter, Bellarmine was able to score on what seemed to be miscommunication from the CCSJ defense as a Knights receiver was all alone and walked in for a 39-yard touchdown.

With less than two minutes remaining in the first half, Barbosa made two great throws to help the Wave extend the lead. He threw a 50-yard pass to Salman that put them on the Bellarmine 24-yard line and followed that up with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Tre Simmons.

Coming out of halftime with a comfortable lead, the Wave poured it on as Quindarius Davis had a 54-yard kickoff return that set up the CCSJ offense in Bellarmine territory. In three plays, Jamall Warnell was able to carry the ball into the endzone, giving the home team a 28-6 cushion. 

The Knights were able to score one more time after a mishandled punt, allowing them to fall on the ball in the endzone for a score. Barbosa and the offense would answer back in the fourth quarter capping a 10-play, 98-yard drive to put the game away. Detrick Merriweather scored a four-yard rushing touchdown late in the fourth quarter as well.

CCSJ was able to hold a high-powered offensive Bellarmine team to 5-of-16 on 3^rd down and 0-of-5 on fourth down. The Knights accumulated 220 yards of total offense, but they averaged 3.8 yards per pass play and 2.8 yards per rushing attempt. Head sprint football coach Jay Novak credited his coaches for a gameplan that slowed down one of the best offenses in the MSFL.

"Keys to this win was our offensive line being so physical, and our defense being able to contain one of the best quarterbacks in the league," Novak said. "Our coaches on the defensive side of the ball did a great job getting the ball back to the offense and our offense did a good job of holding onto it. We lead the league in time of possession, so our coaches on offense just did a great job keeping the ball out of their hands."

The Crimson Wave amasses 435 total yards in the game, 289 on the ground and 146 in the passing game. CCSJ recorded 25 first down, one takeaway and went 5-of-12 on the third down.

Crimson Wave Leaders 

Quarterback Nino Barbosa went 8-of-17 for 146 yards and one touchdown.

Zaire Davis had 21 carries for 181 yards and two touchdowns. Jamall Warnell had 11 carries for 41 yards and a touchdown while Barbosa had seven rushes for 35 yards and one touchdown. Detrick Merriweather had five carries for 24 yards and a touchdown as well.

Steve Salman posted a 100+ yard receiving outing with four catches for 116 yards, while Davis had three receptions for 22 yards. Tre Simmons had one catch on the evening, and it happened to be the lone touchdown catch from Barbosa for eight yards.

Defensively, Trevor Busse had 11 total tackles, nine of them solo. Daymon Johnson had six tackles and Quindarius Davis had four tackles.