Andrew Ray celebrates birthday with 3 TDs as Cumberland football remains unbeaten
CUMBERLAND — What a Friday night it was for Andrew Ray.
The return to running back – one he celebrated with a hat trick of touchdowns. The 18th birthday serenade from the Cumberland student section in the final minutes. The way he honored the No. 24 jersey of the late David Benskin IV, a program alum who died in 2017 after a courageous battle with cancer.
Whatever the source of his motivation, this was a young man in his prime delivering like a star. Ray’s power on the ground and the greedy Clippers defensive secondary set the stage for a 21-8 win over St. Raphael, extending a perfect start both overall and in Division II-A.
“We say it every week – he's a dude,” Cumberland coach Josh Lima said. “He's a tough, tough, tough as nails as kid.
“Whether you watch him play football or baseball, he’s a competitor. He wants to win.”
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Ray was the catcher for the state champions in the spring, as Cumberland broke through on the diamond for the first time in 30 years. His eyes are now focused on similar glory in the fall, and a few more performances like this at Tucker Field could deliver another ring to his bedroom shelves. Ray carried 33 times for 217 yards in this one, beating the Saints into submission behind a punishing offensive line.
“The line does one heck of a job,” Ray said. “Tonight was obviously a really good night out there.”
Ray’s 36-yard burst through the left side with 4:02 left in the first was the only real easy ground he covered. The rest was steady hammering between the tackles, and the handoffs came from quarterback Evan Spencer. He was back in uniform for the first time since the season opener, healing from an undisclosed injury and allowing Ray to shift back to his more natural position.
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“That’s my game,” Ray said. “It makes it a lot easier for me. A lot less to worry about.”
Cumberland’s defense spent the majority of the opening 24 minutes making life miserable for St. Raphael. Logan Fay, Andrew Nocera and Marcus Gomes combined for four first-half interceptions, with Gomes grabbing the final two. His first set up a short field and a 3-yard touchdown run from Ray with 1:15 left in the opening quarter, and that 14-0 cushion was enough.
“We’re all pretty much wide receivers,” Gomes said. “We all can catch. They expect us to catch the ball.”
There will be better days under center for Tashaad Brown. It’s a significant adjustment for a freshman quarterback to play winning football at this level, and Brown has the dual-threat skills to be a factor in the future. This just wasn’t his night – the lone scoring drive for the Saints (2-3, 1-2 II-A) came in the fourth quarter, as Aaron Julius broke up the shutout with a 2-yard touchdown run.
“We know he likes to take the deep shots, and that’s exactly what they did,” Gomes said. “That’s how we got the picks.
“We knew he liked the throwback – I jumped the route on the last pick.”
The Clippers (5-0, 4-0) can start making plans for November after downing the defending Super Bowl champions. A significant portion of their strength comes from veteran leadership – Ray is one of their premier performers, and he was deemed worthy by Lima of wearing Benskin’s jersey this week. It’s rotated among the Cumberland player who best exemplifies effort, sacrifice and character leading into a given game.
“That element to him, he came with,” Lima said. “That’s who he is. That’s how his parents raised him.”
St. Raphael 0 0 0 8 – 8
Cumberland 14 0 7 0 – 21
C – Andrew Ray 36 run (Dylan Pichel kick)
C – Ray 3 run (Pichel kick)
C – Ray 2 run (Pichel kick)
SR – Aaron Julius 2 run (Julius rush)
Individual statistics
Passing: SR, 5-11-4 30 (Tashaad Brown 5-11-4 30); C, 0-4-0 0 (Evan Spencer 0-4-0 0).
Rushing: SR, 20-95 (Aaron Julius 13-42, Kenneth Jacques III 5-34, Brown 2-19); C, 42-252 (Andrew Ray 33-217, Spencer 8-30, Andrew Nocera 1-5).
Receiving: SR, 5-30 (Jacques 2-5, Damien Ocampo 1-11, Jalen Antoine 1-8, Brendan Cardoso 1-6).
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Cumberland football beats St. Raphael to stay unbeaten, makes playoffs
