> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.richmonder.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Collegiate shakes off blip, rolls to 41-21 victory over STAB - URL: https://www.richmonder.org/collegiate-shakes-off-blip-rolls-to-victory-over-stab/ - Published: 2026-09-11T02:52:41.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-11T03:06:34.000Z - Description: Cougars quarterback Settar accounts for five touchdowns in Prep League win - Author: Weldon Bradshaw - Tags: Sports They were riding high and totally in control. Everything the Collegiate Cougars touched late Thursday afternoon seemingly turned to gold. Facing visiting St. Anne’s-Belfield on the turf at Grover Jones Field, coach Collin McConaghy’s guys had built a commanding 28-0 lead and, with halftime approaching, exuded spirit, intensity and an abundance of confidence. The momentum was theirs. Victory appeared certain. Or so they thought. Unfazed by the abyss in which they found themselves, the Heath Miller-coached Saints from Charlottesville reeled off three touchdowns in a dizzying 2:23 of clock time to cut their deficit to 28-21 at 9:37 of the third quarter. Then, were it not for the Cougars’ staunch defensive effort from that point, a gutsy fake punt call and a grind-it-out, ball-control offensive effort over the game’s final 7:05, the outcome, a 41-21 Collegiate victory, likely would have been different. “Football’s a hard game,” McConaghy said. “That’s the reality of it. We’ve talked about playing for 48 minutes every time we step on the field. “We knew STAB was a really good football team. We executed early, but we knew they’d make plays. We let them back in the game, but our kids settled in and responded well.” The Cougars scored twice in the first quarter and, availing themselves of two STAB turnovers, twice more in the second. Their first came on a 48-yard pass from quarterback Sam Settar to wideout Ty Stanley two minutes into the game, and Alex Groome’s point-after, his first of five, put the home team up 7-0. The Cougars’ second came at 3:58 of the first when, after a defensive stop, Settar led them on a five-play, 45-yard drive that ended when he connected with William Reale from 18 yards out. Fumble recoveries (the first by Reale, the second by Emery Williamson) set up the Cougars’ next two scores. The first came on Settar’s 3-yard run at 7:34 and the next on a 31-yard connection on fourth-and-1 from Settar to Corey Elliott 13 seconds before halftime. “The O-line up front really got us going,” said Settar, a 6-0, 195-pound senior who completed 16 of 18 passes for 257 yards and rushed 11 times for 60 yards. “They were the motor all game. STAB has some big linemen. We went into the game (thinking) it doesn’t matter how big you are. Whoever’s out there, the O-line’s going to get ‘em all. That’s what we’re about.” The Saints (1-1) used the remaining ticks of clock in the first half deftly and wisely. As time expired, quarterback Haden Morris connected with A.J. Wiltshire on a 32-yard TD pass, and the first of Jones Kestner’s three extra points cut the difference to 28-7 at the break. STAB opened the second half with a 63-yard Morris-to-Nafeese Summers touchdown strike at 11:31 of the third quarter, then, after a Collegiate three-and-out, needed just two plays to go 70 yards, the last 52 on Wiltshire’s TD run up the home sideline at 9:37. “We talk about overcoming adversity every day,” Settar said. “Everyone on the sideline believes in the 11 guys that are in the game. They believe that they can go out and maul whoever’s out there on the field.” Clinging to a suddenly tenuous lead, the Cougars (3-0) quickly steadied the ship. On the second play of the ensuing drive, Reale found a gap in the middle of the STAB secondary, and Settar delivered a laser into his outstretched hands en route to a 54-yard TD at 8:54 of the third quarter. The excitement was just beginning. On the Saints’ next possession, Morris engineered a drive deep into Collegiate territory. Facing a fourth-and-1 from their 5-yard line, the Cougars’ defense answered when middle linebacker Crawford Shield fought off a block and dropped Jonah Brent for a 2-yard loss. “We got back to our game plan,” Shield said. “It was bend-don’t-break. We got the guys together when they got near the goal line and had a really serious talk. “We knew we had to reset the limits. We knew we had to make a play. We had to stop ‘em. No points.” Shield’s stop was a game-maker. “They’d been calling counter really heavy to start the second half,” Shield said. “I’d been away from it every time, so it was a little difficult to get to the pullers. “D-line did a great job of destroying the pullers. Coach called a blitz. Got me through the gap. I was able to make a play.” The drama continued. The Saints held fast, and Elliott, a 6-0, 170-pound sophomore, lined up to punt from the Cougars’ 5-yard line. Counterintuitive as it might seem, he read the rush, tucked the ball and sprinted to the 28 for a first down. The fake punt was a mighty gamble called from the sideline. “You hold the ball for a second,” Elliott said. “I see how quick the wingers get down or if the DBs turn their backs quickly or if the D-ends are off the line. “Coach gave me the green light. It felt amazing that Coach trusted me.” Eleven plays and 72 yards after Elliott’s dramatics, backup quarterback Ben Crowl scored the Cougars’ final TD on a 7-yard run to the left pylon at 7:59. After a hit by Collegiate’s Cole Frye forced a fumble that Shield recovered at 7:05, the Cougars worked the clock until the final horn. The Prep League signatories combined for 748 yards of offense. The Cougars amassed 390 (257 passing, 133 rushing) and 11 first downs on 56 plays. Stanley’s receiving ledger read eight catches for 108 yards and Reale’s four receptions for 90. STAB compiled 358 yards (117 rushing, 241 passing) and eight first downs on 37 plays. Morris completed 8 of 13 passes for 178 yards. “We tell our guys (that) it’s not what happens to you, it’s how you respond,” McConaghy said. “The goal is to get better tomorrow, but this is a heck of a win for us and a great learning experience.”