The Saint Patrick Shamrocks opened the 2007 football season by taking their biggest rivals, the Dons of Notre Dame on August 25. The Dons downed the Shamrocks 34-14 on the strength of several big plays in their passing game.

The Dons took the opening kickoff and scored when on a third and ten from their own 47, quarterback Zach Abraham threw a ball up for grabs deep down the middle of the field. Two Shamrock defenders collided going for the ball, and Notre Dame’s Joe Gutierrez hauled the ball in for a 53-yard touchdown.

The Shamrocks went three and out on their first possession, but the Shamrock defense quickly stopped the Dons as well. The Shamrocks got the ball back at their own 28, and on the first play, Mike Fabrizio took a shot downfield, but AJ Fedoruk stepped in front of Eddie Ortiz to intercept the ball, and Notre Dame took over at the Shamrock 46. The Shamrocks had the Dons stopped again, but a personal foul penalty kept the drive alive for Notre Dame, and on another third and ten, the Dons hit another big play. This time, Abraham hit Mark Gustafson on a quick slant, and when the Shamrock safety slipped down, Gustafson was gone for a 39-yard touchdown. Matt Hansen blocked the extra point, so it was 13-0 in favor of the Dons with 2:09 remaining in the first quarter.

The teams went back and forth for the next few possessions, with nobody able to mount a drive. Abraham then hit Ryan Irwin for a 34-yard score on a jump ball that Irwin took away from a Shamrock defensive back.

The Shamrocks responded with their best drive of the half, covering 66 yards on 13 plays and taking 7:25 off the clock, but they failed to score. On fourth and 11 from the Dons’ 14, Fabrizio lobbed a pass to Eddie Ortiz in the right corner of the end zone. Ortiz stretched as far as he could, and he had the ball in his hands, but he was unable to hold on when he hit the ground. The Dons ran out the clock, and the game went to halftime with Notre Dame leading 19-0.

The Shamrocks got the ball coming out of the half, but they were unable to move it. Abraham took over at his own 25, and quickly drove the Dons to another touchdown, connecting with Gutierrez for 37 yards, and hitting Gustafson for 34 yards before Greg Lucchesi capped the drive with a four yard run to make it 27-0.

The Shamrocks got on the board on the next drive. Fabrizio connected with Jeff Dicks for a 15-yard touchdown pass to finish off a nine play, 65 yard scoring drive. The Shamrock defense got a quick stop, and it looked like Saint Patrick might mount a comeback, but on the second play of the drive, Fabrizio’s pass deflected off of Luis Sanchez into the arms of Ricky Szukala. Szukala returned the ball 60 yards to set up a second Abraham to Irwin touchdown pass, this one from four yards out, and the game was officially out of reach at 34-7 early in the fourth quarter. Fabrizio hit Ortiz for a 13-yard touchdown later in the fourth to make the final score 34-14.

Fabrizio finished the game 12 of 27 for 118 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions, while Abraham was 11 of 17 for 236 yards and four touchdowns. Luis Sanchez was the game’s top rusher, gaining 72 yards on 17 carries. The Shamrock defense completely stymied the Dons’ rushing attack, holding them to negative 17 yards on 24 carries for the game. Mike Labek had four tackles to lead the Shamrocks, while Tim Platt, David Giese, Eric Silva, Conor Joyce, George Vitzileos, and Nick Casey all added three tackles. Matt Hansen blocked a kick and intercepted a pass in his varsity football debut.