DeMatha outlasts St. John's in overtime, stuffing Oregon commit Da'Jaun Riggs to end game

DeMatha (Maryland) beats St. John's (Washington, DC) 21-14 in a back-and-forth game

DeMatha (Maryland) beat St. John's (Washington, DC) in overtime Friday night with a huge stop to end the high school football rivalry game.

St. John's athlete Da'Jaun Riggs, an Oregon Ducks commit, got stopped just short of the goal line to give DeMatha a 21-14 win.

Stags quarterback Denzel Gardner's 22-yard strike to Cody Williams in the first overtime period held up as the game-winner.

DeMatha improved to 7-1, while St. John's fell to 4-4.

Scroll down for a live thread recap of the game:

FINAL: DeMatha 21, St. John's 14 (OT)

OVERTIME

JUST SHORT! DeMatha stops Da'Jaun Riggs just short of the goal line and the game is over:

DeMatha brings home big 21-14 OT win over St. John’s with a goal line stand pic.twitter.com/KCH5CG9gYl

— DCSuperSid (@DCSuperSid) October 21, 2023

TOUCHDOWN STAGS! Cody Williams with a 22-yard TD catch from Denzel Gardner to put the pressure on St. John's. It's 21-14 DeMatha.

DeMatha starts with the ball on the St. John's 25.

FOURTH QUARTER

SACK! Stags don't let that final heave happen and we're heading to overtime tied 14-14.

St. John's ball on the DeMatha 35 with 11 seconds left. Either a quick out or a Hail Mary here?

Beautiful punt by Isaiah French pins DeMatha at its own 3-yard line with 5:35 remaining.

TOUCHDOWN CADETS! St. John's strikes right back with an 80-yard touchdown catch by Jason Woods on a perfect pass from Isaiah French. It's 14-14 with 9:13 left to play. 

TOUCHDOWN STAGS! Elijah Lee pounds across the goal line to break the stalemate and give DeMatha a 14-7 lead with 9:24 left.

Final quarter starts with a short St. John's punt, and then Bud Coombs gets a crushing 15-yard run as DeMatha moves into Cadets territory. Still 7-7.

THIRD QUARTER

Refs miss a clear fumble by St. John's Da'Jaun Riggs, but DeMatha gets a sack on the next play and will get the ball back as the third quarter winds to a close. 

DeMatha can't get its short field-goal attempt off and we're still 7-7, 6:21 left in the quarter.

FUMBLE! DeMatha's Jacob Wallace recovers a St. John's fumble on the Cadets' 42-yard line on the second play of the second half.

Second half is about to start. St. John's will get the ball first in this physical grudge match in Maryland.

SECOND QUARTER

We'll head into the second half tied 7-7 as defense reigns in the scoreless second quarter.

Still 7-7 as DeMatha's Terry Dorsey makes a huge defensive stop on third down and then St. John's turns it over on downs. DeMatha ball at its own 17 with 4:19 left in the half.

St. John's drives into DeMatha territory but pooch-punts inside the 10 on fourth down. DeMatha ball with 9:04 left in the half.

DeMatha QB Denzel Gardner nearly throws an interception on third down, then his receiver drops the ball on fourth down. St. John's takes over on downs on its own 33.

FIRST QUARTER

All tied up 7-7, DeMatha's ball as we head into the second quarter.

TOUCHDOWN CADETS! Reece Williams gets loose for a 66-yard catch-and-run to tie it up 7-7. 1:15 left in the first.

TOUCHDOWN STAGS! Fullback Remy Robinson plunges in from the 1-yard line to make it 7-0 DeMatha.

Injury on the St. John's side with DeMatha driving in Cadets territory for the game's first score, just under seven minutes remaining in the quarter.

Game kicks off at 8:03 p.m. Eastern time. DeMatha with the ball first but quickly goes three-and-out.

Maryland high school scoreboard

DC high school scoreboard

(File photo by Troy Queen)

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-- Mike Swanson | swanson@scorebooklive.com | @sblivesports