Demons rally to top Schurz

Updated: March 22, 2011 4:26PM

For the first time this century, Maine East sits in first place in the unofficial District 207 standings. That's a three-school district that includes two-time defending Class 8A champion Maine South.

But after Maine South and Maine West both lost Friday, the Demons took advantage of the opportunity Saturday with a 14-8 victory over Schurz at Lane Stadium.

"Feels amazing," said Maine East junior quarterback George Zakharia, who connected with Xavier Levy for a 28-yard touchdown that completed the comeback. "We were not going down without a fight. We own the second half and the fourth quarter."

Down 8-0 at the half, the Demons weathered a 75-yard kickoff return by Jamyrius Penn to start the third quarter and responded with a 10-play scoring drive on their first possession. Desi Sloan found the end zone on a nine-yard run with 4:02 left in the third quarter, but his two-point run came up short.

But Maine East's defense, led by middle linebacker Charlie Kappos, made two consecutive stops to give the offense another chance.

On third-and-9, Zakharia floated a pass that Levy ran under and into the end zone with 1:20 to play.

"I threw the ugliest ball, but "X" made a great a effort," the rookie quarterback said. "It was all him. I am still working on my throwing mechanics. I am lucky to that "X" came down with it."

Zakharia finished 5-for-10 for 76 yards and no turnovers. He was helped out by a ground game that totaled 161 yards. Sloan, whose first carry came in the third quarter, ran 10 times for 102 yards. Levy finished with 11 carries for 42 yards. He also caught four passes for 60 yards.

Schurz got on the board with a safety when Anthony Bermeo tackled Levy in the end zone early in the second quarter. The Bulldogs then scored on their ensuing possession on a 52-yard pass from Vernall Atwater to Edwin Rivera.

Both of Maine East's wins last year, including the 19-9 win over Schurz, came after the Demons led the whole game.

Schurz had one more possession after Levy's score, but the Demons sacked Atwater three times in a row to end the game.

"I never doubted anything about this team," Levy said. "We came out fired up in the second half, even though we were down. The second half was our half."

Maine East looks to go 2-0 for the first time since 2004 when the Demons beat Schurz and Round Lake to start the season. They host Harlan on Friday.

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