The Longest Yard
By Sheldon Shealer
COLLEGE PARK -- Semaj Richardson accounted for 186 yards in the Class 4A state final, but he will be remembered for the last yard he gained.
Gaithersburg's Richardson, while battling Sherwood linebacker Paul Lucas, lunged across the goal line with six seconds remaining, lifting Gaithersburg to a 24-21 victory over Sherwood on Friday, Dec. 1.
The Trojans, trailing 21-18, had no timeouts and were on the Sherwood 13. Quarterback Robert Graham rolled to his left, spun around and threw a pass to Richardson, who was coming out of the backfield on a swing play. Richardson caught the ball at the 5 and muscled his way into the end zone for his fourth touchdown of the game.
Lucas scored all three touchdowns for Sherwood.
Gaithersburg finished at 13-0, making Kreg Kephart the first rookie head coach
to post a perfect season and win a state title in Maryland. The contest was the ninth
since 1986 featuring a pair of Montgomery County teams battling for the 4A crown.
The last time it happened, Sherwood defeated Gaithersburg in 1995. Sherwood finishes
11-2 with both losses to Gaithersburg. The result denied Sherwood coach Bob Milloy
a ninth coaching state title.
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
F |
|
| Sherwood |
7 |
7 |
0 |
7 |
21 |
| Gaithersburg |
0 |
6 |
12 |
6 |
24 |
| Scoring Summary |
| S -- Paul Lucas 44 run (Clayton Mullinhoff kick), 4:38 |
| G -- Semaj Richardson 1 run (kick failed), 8:34 |
| S -- Lucas 1 run (Mullinhoff kick), 3:58 |
| G -- Richardson 10 run (pass failed), 7:28 |
| G -- Richardson 5 run (pass failed), 4:32 |
| S -- Lucas 2 run (Mullinhoff kick), 9:54 |
| G -- Richardson 13 pass from Robert Graham (kick blocked), :06 |
| TEAM STATISTICS |
Sherwood |
Gaithersburg |
| First Downs |
14 |
15 |
| Rushes-Yards |
45-123 |
44-188 |
| Passing (Cmp-Att-Int.) |
6-11-0 |
9-10-0 |
| Passing Yards |
53 |
134 |
| Total Offense |
56-206 |
54-322 |
| Fumbles-Lost |
2-2 |
2-1 |
| Penalties-Yards |
4-25 |
3-33 |
| Time of Possession |
23:17 |
24:43 |
Passing (Comp-Att-TD-Int-Yards): S -- Shai Warsaw 6-11-0-0-53. G -- Robert
Graham 9-10-1-0-134.
Rushing (Carries-Yards-TD): S -- Paul Lucas 24-131-3, Eddie Beccles 11-64.
G -- Semaj Richardson 25-141-3.
Receiving (Rec.-Yards-TD): S -- Eddie Beccles 2-27, Johnny Elder 2-15. G --
Semaj Richardson 2-45-1, Kevin Riordan 2-37, Mike Myers 3-17.
Total Recovery
By Sheldon Shealer
COLLEGE PARK -- One month and one day after undergoing quintuple heart bypass surgery, Calvert coach Jerry Franks stood on the Byrd Stadium field wearing a do-rag and clinging to the Class 3A state title trophy after the Cavaliers pulled away from Annapolis, 34-22, on Saturday, Dec. 2.
Calvert claimed its first title in the school's 37-year history, and the first for the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference since 1990.
"A lot has been written and said about me (and the surgery) and I appreciate that, but this was for the kids," said Franks, who has been coaching in Maryland for nearly 30 years and had never before won a state title.
Annapolis led 14-7 when Calvert received a game-altering break late in the second quarter. Just as it appeared Annapolis would go into the half with a lead, it fumbled inside its 15 yard line. Dervon Wallace had a 12-yard run, moving the ball to the 2, and on the next play Sean Mizzer scored. Mizzer then laid out to make a great catch on the two-point conversion pass from Orion Canine to tie the score at 14 right before the half.
Calvert then took the second half kickoff and marched 45 yards, capped by Art Roberts' 4-yard run, to take the lead for good at 20-14. After stopping Annapolis on three plays, Calvert's Taros Harris broke a 66-yard punt return for a score and a 26-14 lead with 5:31 left in the third quarter.
Annapolis made a final threat, but Calvert's defense stopped the Panthers at the 1.
Calvert used its ground game to win several games leading to the final, but in the championship quarterback Canine went 17-of-23 for 134 yards, one touchdown and two two-point conversion passes.
Calvert finishes 12-1 while Annapolis settles on an 11-2 season, losing its first
and last games of the year with an 11-game win streak in between.
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
F |
|
| Calvert |
6 |
8 |
12 |
8 |
34 |
| Annapolis |
7 |
7 |
0 |
8 |
22 |
| Scoring Summary |
| A -- Charlie Dammeyer 1 run (Eric Venerable kick), 6:02 |
| C -- Travis Herrick 8 pass from Orion Canine (kick failed), 2:11 |
| A -- Eric Venerable 3 run (Venerable kick), 5:55 |
| C -- Sean Mizzer 2 run (Mizzer pass from Canine), 2:22 |
| C -- Art Roberts 4 run (kick failed), 7:13 |
| C -- Taros Harris 66 punt return (pass failed), 5:31 |
| C -- William Smith 3 run (Dervon Wallace pass from Canine), 8:51 |
| A -- Kevan Simms 10 run (Camaron Henson pass from Dammeyer), 5:28 |
| TEAM STATISTICS |
Calvert |
Annapolis |
| First Downs |
15 |
17 |
| Rushes-Yards |
24-77 |
50-235 |
| Passing (Cmp-Att-Int.) |
17-23-0 |
6-10-0 |
| Passing Yards |
134 |
81 |
| Total Offense |
47-211 |
60-316 |
| Fumbles-Lost |
1-0 |
2-1 |
| Penalties-Yards |
3-25 |
7-55 |
| Time of Possession |
25:44 |
22:16 |
Passing (Comp-Att-TD-Int-Yards): C -- Orion Canine 17-23-1-0-134. A --
Charlie Dammeyer 6-10-0-0-81.
Rushing (Carries-Yards-TD): C -- Art Roberts 9-53-1. A -- Kevan Simms 18-93-1,
Eric Venerable 16-53-1.
Receiving (Rec.-Yards-TD): C -- Tim Carle 3-39-0, Travis Herrick 2-38-1. A
-- Eric Venerable 2-47, Phil Boyd 2-39.
Hawks Fly High, Again
By Sheldon Shealer
COLLEGE PARK -- The first time Josh Brown stood on the field at Byrd Stadium, he was a starry-eyed middle schooler handling the water boy chores for Linganore. On Saturday, he was back again, this time as a teary-eyed senior capping an amazing high school career.
Brown completed 14-of-21 passes for 144 yards and four touchdowns. He kicked two field goals and five extra points as Urbana throttled Gwynn Park, 49-8, for its third straight Class 2A state title and upped its state-best win streak to 38 games.
"I finally looked back," Brown said, explaining an emotional outpouring. "It's been a great four years. ... We were born and raised for Urbana football and now it's time to say goodbye. Those were tears of joy."
The group of Brown, Alex Herbert, Brad Meador, Chris O'Connor and Sean Mondichak never lost during their three-year varsity careers.
Urbana set the tone early, recovering a Gwynn Park fumble on the opening kickoff and turning it into three points. Gwynn Park committed eight turnovers and Urbana cashed in on the short field scoring opportunities. Meador and Pat Ferguson each had two interceptions for the Hawks (13-0).
Herbert rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns. He also hauled in a scoring pass from Brown. Billy Gaines had six receptions for 66 yards and a score.
Urbana's run defense again proved its mettle, holding Gwynn Park to 59 yards -- most of them coming on quarterback scrambles. The Hawks allowed only 40 points all season, and Gwynn Park's second-quarter touchdown marked the first time Urbana allowed a first-half score and it was the first time any team had scored on the Hawks first-team defense in 2000.
Although Gwynn Park's score made it 17-8, Urbana tacked on two more touchdowns for a 32-8 halftime lead, and the outcome was never in question.
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
F |
|
| Gwynn Park |
0 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
| Urbana |
10 |
22 |
7 |
10 |
49 |
| Scoring Summary |
| U -- Josh Brown 27 FG, 8:28 |
| U -- Alex Herbert 63 run (Brown kick), 1:26 |
| U -- Herbert 12 run (Brown kick), 11:07 |
| GP -- Matt Daniel 3 run (Derrick Smith pass from Michael Alston), 9:20 |
| U -- Harry Boumel 27 pass from Brown (Brad Anderson pass from Chris O'Connor), 6:53 |
| U -- Billy Gaines 7 pass from Brown (Brown kick), 1:20 |
| U -- Herbert 5 pass from Brown (Brown kick), :00 |
| U -- Brown 22 FG, 6:23 |
| U -- O'Connor 1 pass from Brown (Brown kick), 6:00 |
| TEAM STATISTICS |
Gwynn Park |
Urbana |
| First Downs |
9 |
13 |
| Rushes-Yards |
27-59 |
34-138 |
| Passing (Cmp-Att-Int.) |
7-20-0 |
14-23-0 |
| Passing Yards |
123 |
144 |
| Total Offense |
47-182 |
57-282 |
| Fumbles-Lost |
4-4 |
2-1 |
| Penalties-Yards |
10-60 |
4-16 |
| Time of Possession |
23:48 |
24:12 |
Passing (Comp-Att-TD-Int-Yards): GP -- Dominique McCree 5-13-0-1-99. U
-- Josh Brown 14-21-4-0-144.
Rushing (Carries-Yards-TD): GP -- Dominique McCree 11-27-0. U -- Alex Herbert
22-124-2.
Receiving (Rec.-Yards-TD): GP -- Dominick Hunter 2-24-0, Derrick Smith 1-43-0,
Seth Mitchell 1-25-0, Kellen Pruitt 2-24-0. U -- Billy Gaines 6-66-1, Alex Herbert
3-32-1, Harry Boumel 1-27-1.
Simply Perfect
By Sheldon Shealer
COLLEGE PARK -- Forestville made Elkton sweat it out, but in the end, the Golden Elks literally ran away with the Class 1A state title, winning 21-8 on Friday, Dec. 1.
John Triplett rushed for 162 yards and three touchdowns -- the final one sealing the outcome with 2:02 left in the game -- as Elkton won its first state title and capped a 13-0 season. The victory marked the first football title for Cecil County.
Just as dominant as Triplett on offense, Dain Culver controlled the defense for Elkton. Lineman Will May was a two-way standout.
Elkton held Forestville's big-play offense in check, allowing only two big runs that led to the Knights' only score.
Elkton led 7-0 on Triplett's first touchdown, but Forestville -- a runner-up in 1998 and champ in 1999 -- took an 8-7 halftime lead on a 41-yard run by Leonard Morton followed by a two-point conversion run by Larry McClain. The two-play drive amounted for nearly one-third of Forestville's total yardage output for the game.
The Golden Elks regained the lead with Triplett's 2-yard run in the third quarter.
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
F |
|
| Forestville |
0 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
| Elkton |
0 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
21 |
| Scoring Summary |
| F -- John Triplett 8 run (Tony Weaver kick), 4:27 |
| F -- Leonard Morton 41 run (Larry McClain run), 2:00 |
| E -- Triplett 2 run (Weaver kick), 5:49 |
| E -- Triplett 10 run (Weaver kick), 2:06 |
| TEAM STATISTICS |
Forestville |
Elkton |
| First Downs |
7 |
19 |
| Rushes-Yards |
34-138 |
59-232 |
| Passing (Cmp-Att-Int.) |
3-13-1 |
4-12-1 |
| Passing Yards |
69 |
69 |
| Total Offense |
47-201 |
71-301 |
| Fumbles-Lost |
0-0 |
3-1 |
| Penalties-Yards |
9-54 |
5-35 |
| Time of Possession |
21:05 |
26:55 |
Passing (Comp-Att-TD-Int-Yards): F -- Kairon Trowell 3-13-0-1-69. E --
John Russell 4-12-0-1-69.
Rushing (Carries-Yards-TD): F -- Larry McClain 18-76-0, Leonard Morton 13-691-0.
E -- John Triplett 32-162-3, John Russell 15-57-0.
Receiving (Rec.-Yards-TD): F -- Larry McClain 2-33-0, Leonard Morton 1-30.
E -- Shane Earl 3-49, Jim Guyton 1-20.