CREVE COEUR – Dillon Duff does not ease into games.
In March, the sharpshooting guard drained his first five 3-point attempts and helped De Smet build an insurmountable first quarter lead during the Class 5 state championship basketball game.
On Saturday, the Spartans’ senior quarterback completed his first 11 passes and guided the offense on five consecutive touchdown drives in the first half.
“It was just clicking,” Duff said.
Duff went 13-for-14 for 282 yards and four touchdowns in the first half alone, and De Smet cruised to a 48-7 victory over Creighton Prep (Nebraska) Saturday in the inaugural Jesuit Classic at De Smet High.
After De Smet’s opening drive stalled, Duff and the Spartans put on a clinic in offensive efficiency. It began by exploiting the width of the field with quick screens to senior Nathan Hatcher, who scampered 32 yards after receiving a quick pass to the left, then scored on a 10-yard, quick-hitter to the right.
Hatcher caught six passes for 62 yards in the first quarter.
“With the camps over the summer and the 7-on-7s, we’ve built that chemistry,” Hatcher said, “(Duff) knows where I’m going to be, and we’re able to make the connections.”
On the Spartans’ third possession, Duff showed his coolness in the pocket by surveying the field, going through his progressions and arcing a swing pass to junior Jayden McCaster, who outraced the Creighton Prep secondary for an electric 54-yard touchdown.
“I was kind of the last option, but I had a gap, I hit it, and it was all grass,” said McCaster, who gained 102 yards on the ground, 77 through the air and scored twice.
After exploiting the width of the field, Duff started to take shots over the top, hitting Liam Russo on a beautiful, 43-yard strike to provide the big play in a 6-play, 87-yard drive that put De Smet ahead 21-0.
“We’re going to hang our hat on Dillon Duff and what he can do for us, and if he goes 11-for-11, that’s pretty good, you can’t beat that,” De Smet coach John Merritt said.
Meanwhile, the De Smet defense was quickly returning the ball to its scorching hot offense. The Spartans yielded only 25 total yards and one first down in the first half. Midway through the second quarter, senior Quincy Byas tipped a pass at the line of scrimmage, snatched it out of the air, and raced 30 yards to the end zone.
“Our defense was lights out, as always,” Merritt said.
After Duff threw his first incompletion on his 12th pass attempt, he lofted a gorgeous touchdown pass into the arms of Russo on a 15-yard corner route and rainbowed a perfect spiral to a streaking Hatcher for a 61-yard bomb that put the Spartans ahead 48-0 at the half.
Hatcher finished with nine catches for 187 yards and two touchdowns.
“We have a lot of guys returning, so it was a combination of what we picked up from last year and trying to perfect our craft,” said Duff, a Kansas State commit. “My guys helped me out in the pass game and made it easy for me.”
With so many talented players returning on both sides of the ball, the defending Metro Catholic Conference champions have gone from the hunters to the hunted and are regarded as one of the top teams in the state coming into the season.
“Last year it was the opposite. A lot of people didn’t trust in what we had,” Duff said. “We hear the outside noise but we’re not giving in to it. We’re going to stay grounded, stay humble, take it game by game and eventually get to where we want to go.”
For Creighton Prep, the ability to play a team as talented as De Smet should prove beneficial when they begin their in-state schedule in Nebraska.
“I reminded them, ‘We’re not going to play a better football team. There are good teams in Omaha, but they’re not, this,’” Creighton Prep coach Tim Johnk said. “It was a neat opportunity, and we have something to build on.”
Creighton Prep and De Smet will play again next August 30 in Omaha. Prior to the game Saturday, the presidents of the two schools made a friendly wager in which Creighton Prep agreed to deliver Omaha Steaks to De Smet if the Spartans won.
“I don’t think I’m going to get the steaks. I think that’s for Father Ronnie (O’Dwyer) and the principals,” Merritt said.
Duff disagreed, “Oh, we’ll get some. I don’t know when, but we will.”
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