The 9th ranked Caesar Rodney Riders (2-1, 0-0 Henlopen North) rallied from a 6-0 halftime deficit to defeat No. 1 ranked, two-time defending D-I state champion Salesianum (2-1) 14-6 on Saturday night at Baynard Stadium in Wilmington, snapping the Sals' 18 game winning streak.

The loss was Salesianum's first since they fell 27-24 in overtime to Middletown in the ninth week of the 2005 regular season. (I had originally called this a school-record winning streak, but that is incorrect. The Sals previously had win streaks of 29 and 22 games).

The Riders held a 282-to-184 yard edge in total offense and their defense stifled the Sals in the second half, allowing just 24 yards and one first down on 11 plays.

Offensively, the Riders received standout performances from fullback Jeremy Millner (21 carries for a game-high 130 yards) and halfback Duron Harmon (16 carries for 96 yards), who combined to rush for 226 yards on 37 carries.

"This is a big stepping stone for our team," Millner said. "We made a lot of mistakes against Middletown (a 22-12 loss) last week and we had to grow and learn from that. At halftime (tonight), we said to ourselves that they were beatable. We came out in the second half, played hard, and a couple of bounces went our way."

Salesianum opened the game with an impressive 10-play, 70-yard drive that ended with All-State tailback Sal Viscount ripping off a 38-yard touchdown run with 5:45 left in the first quarter. The Sals missed the ensuing extra-point, leaving the score 6-0.

The Sals had two opportunities to extend their lead in the second quarter, but the Riders' defense came up with a key fourth down stop each time.

On the Sals' second possession, they drove from their own seven to the C.R. 14-yard line, but on fourth-and-four, lineman Jesse Sykes burst into the backfield and sacked Salesianum quarterback Breidy Breidenbach for a four-yard loss.

The Riders immediately coughed up a fumble on the next play, giving the Sals the ball right back on the 19-yard line. But on fourth-and-two from the 11, linebacker Joe Babuca stopped Viscount one yard short of the marker with 2:08 remaining in the half.

"Salesianum had some good drives in that first half," first year Caesar Rodney head coach Mike Schonewolf said. "But Jesse and Joe came up with some big plays when we needed them."

The Riders finally got on the scoreboard on the opening series of the second half, putting together a 14-play, 73-yard drive that ended with Millner scoring on a one-yard run up the gut with 5:09 left in the third quarter. Kicker Garrett Fullerton put the Riders in front for good when he drilled the ensuing extra-point for a 7-6 advantage.

The defense came up big again on Sallies' ensuing possession, when lineman Adrian Tucker slammed into Breidenbach as he attempted to release a pass across the middle. The ball fluttered through the air, before Harmon snagged it and returned it 24 yards to the Sals' 21-yard line.

Four plays later, on fourth-and-four, Riders' quarterback John Sclesky rolled to his left and tossed a 15-yard touchdown pass to Allessio Monsanto in the left side of the end zone. Fullerton added the extra-point, stretching the lead to 14-6 with 1:17 left to play in the third quarter.

Sallies was forced to punt on their next two possessions, the second coming with 6:32 left to play. From there, C.R. ate the remaining time off the clock by mounting a 17-play, 79-yard drive. The game ended with Sclesky taking a knee on three straight plays, setting off a wild celebration on the visitors' side.

For Salesianum, Viscount rushed for a team-high 124 yards on 21 carries, but the C.R. defense held him to just 36 yards on six carries in the second half.

Next Friday, the Riders will host defending D-II state champion Concord, giving them a chance to beat state champs in back-to-back weeks.

"This is a nice night, but we have Concord on the horizon," Schonewolf said. "We're just trying to get better each game, but right now, I think we're a pretty tough team."

STATISTICS

CR 0 0 14 0 – 14

SALS 6 0 0 0 - 6

RUSHING

CAESAR RODNEY (51-253): [38] Millner 21-130 (TD), [26] Harmon 16-96, [10] Sclesky 9-18, [23] Beckles 5-9

SALESIANUM (36-158): [2] Viscount 21-124 (TD), [25] Ferrante 12-50, [16] Breidenbach 3-(minus-16)

PASSING

CAESAR RODNEY: [10] Sclesky 2-7-0, 29 yards (TD)

SALESIANUM: [16] Breidenbach 2-3-1, 26 yards

RECEIVING

CAESAR RODNEY: [11] Monsanto 1-15 (TD), [85] Flamer 1-14

SALESIANUM: [5] Tucker 1-14, [25] Ferrante 1-12

TOTAL OFFENSE

CAESAR RODNEY: 58-282

SALESIANUM: 39-184

TAKEAWAYS

CAESAR RODNEY: 1 – [26] Harmom INT

SALESINAUM: 1 – [53] Barker FUM REC

SCORING SUMMARY

1st QTR

S-Viscount 38-yard run (kick failed) 6-0 Salesianum 5:45

3rd QTR

CR-Millner 1-yard run (Fullerton kick) 7-6 Caesar Rodney 5:09

CR-Monsanto 15-yard pass from Sclesky (Fullerton kick) 14-6 Caesar Rodney 1:17