Looking at the Gaels’ 2024 football season

The Mount Saint Joseph Gaels 2024 football season is well underway. The Gaels have started their year 1-1, which is a tale of two games. The first game was vs. the Bishop McDevitt Crusaders, a top-two team in Pennsylvania highlighted by Kentucky commit quarterback, Stone Sanders. The Gaels fell to the Crusaders in their opening affair. They took on the Saint Thomas Aquinas Trojans from New Jersey in their second game. The Gaels showed up to the game trying to bounce back from their rough week one loss. Saint Thomas Aquinas was playing in their first game of the season, trying to put their best foot forward to start off their campaign.

The game was played at a neutral site as a part of the Pigskin Classic game series in Delaware. The first quarter went by, and the Gaels were off to a quick start, up 15-0 to start it. Quarterback Ben Raines threw for two touchdowns in the first quarter. The Gaels defense was standing strong as well, not allowing the Trojans to get anything going on offense for the whole first half. In the second quarter, the Gaels were able to extend their lead over the Trojans and make it 29-0, going into halftime.

The Gaels slowed down a little bit in the second half, allowing Saint Thomas Aquinas back into the game, but ultimately shut the door in the fourth quarter with a sack from senior Sean Curtis, ending the game. The final score was 36-26, taking second-year head coach Donald Davis and the Gaels to 1-1 on the year.

The Gaels have their first conference contest this week versus the Gilman Greyhounds from Baltimore, Maryland. The Greyhounds have struggled in recent years in the MIAA A conference, with a combined 2-19 record in league play over the past 5 seasons. The Gaels are looking to continue their success this Saturday, as they have not lost to the Greyhounds in almost a decade.