Washington County football Week 9: Rebels, Warriors shut out rivals
Friday
South Hagerstown 28, North Hagerstown 0
Teriq Morris had the first word and the last word for South Hagerstown.
And that was all that needed to be said.
The stealth-like receiver broke a pair of big plays to score the first and final touchdowns of the game as the Rebels claimed a resounding victory to repeat as city champions and keep the Gridiron Classic Trophy on South Potomac Street for another year.
It was nothing but a party when the Rebels were presented with the hardware by Hagerstown Mayor Emily Keller after the game.
South (3-6) took a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, using three big plays to make the early statement. Morris’ late TD completed the shutout.
It took just 19 seconds for South to take the lead as Morris fielded a bouncing kick at the 10 and broke through two waves of North’s coverage — starting with a spin move to elude the first — before heading down the right sideline for 90 yards and a 7-0 lead.
“I had to work,” Morris said. “I had to push (a tackler) away. He almost got me.”
The Rebels doubled the lead after it seemingly looked like they were pinned in their half of the field. But on the second play of the drive, quarterback Lance Ford ran a keeper sweep to the right and beat the Hubs’ defense to the edge for an 81-yard TD run and a 14-0 lead with 5:31 left in the quarter.
The third big play came on a muffed punt snap by the Hubs (3-6, giving South a short field. The Rebels grinded out a touchdown, capped by a 1-yard burst by Sean Eisenhower to complete the 21-point first period.
North tried to battle back but was plagued by ineffective running and a number of dropped passes before South picked off three Luke Kercheval passes.
The score remained 21-0 until Morris’ next dynamic play with 5:09 remaining in the game.
The Rebels, who began to run exclusively to milk the clock, called Morris’ number with a jet sweep to the right side. The Hubs met him on the edge and corralled Morris, who again escaped with a spin move. After backpedaling, he broke left and outran the Hubs to the end zone for a 46-yard score and the final points.
“You can never give up,” he said. “This is a great way to end (the regular) season.”
Ford completed 8 of 11 passes for 87 yards and also led South in rushing with 94 yards on nine carries. Damon Breland had four catches for 38 yards for the Rebels, while Eisenhower led the defense with 12 tackles.
For North, Kercheval completed 7 of 23 for 70 yards, Van Spence ran for a team-high 69 yards on 14 carries, Ryder Johnston had four catches for 40 yards and Damean Thomas had 10 tackles.
Boonsboro 31, Smithsburg 0
Chance Haga and Luke Churchey each scored two touchdowns, and Boonsboro’s defense forced seven turnovers in a shutout of the host Leopards in the teams’ regular-season finale.
It was the Warriors’ 12th straight win in the rivalry series, which they now lead 35-21.
Boonsboro (6-3) led 7-0 at halftime on Haga’s 55-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter.
Josh Hegbe made back-to-back big plays in the second quarter for Smithsburg to keep it a one-score game at the break. On third down at the Leopards’ 8-yard line, Hegbe sacked Warriors QB Matt Summers for a 10-yard loss. Hegbe then blocked Boonsboro’s 35-yard field-goal attempt.
It was all Warriors in the second half.
With 5:29 left in the third quarter, they extended their lead to 14-0 on a 19-yard TD pass from Summers to Churchey.
Four minutes later, on fourth-and-5, Boonsboro went up 21-0 on a 20-yard TD run by Churchey.
With 7:09 left in the game, Summers connected with Haga for an 8-yard score to make it 28-0.
After another interception by Haga, Owen Hardy — who was 4-for-4 in extra-point kicks — booted a 35-yard field goal to cap the scoring.
Saturday
Saint James 42, Sidwell Friends 6
Saint James was up front with visiting Sidwell Friends.
And that counted a lot for the Saints in their quest to stay tied for the Mid-Atlantic Conference lead.
Saint James’ linemen dictated practically all the action — blowing holes open on offense and suffocating the Quakers on defense — in a rout.
The Saints made their statement on their first defensive sequence.
After a bad snap put Sidwell Friends on its goal line, Saint James cashed in with Devan Houstan tackling a Quaker runner in the end zone for a safety at the 6:59 mark of the first quarter.
The 2-0 lead was just the start of it as Saint James (5-3) ran off the first 42 points of the game. The Saints led 36-0 at the half and played with a running clock in the second half.
From there, Will Gisriel and Joshua Farquharson-Seaforth ran for touchdowns before Jack Ashby-Jacobs caught two touchdown passes to give the Saints a big lead.
Gisreil scored from the 2 and Farquharson-Seaforth swept in from the 9 as Saint James jumped to a 15-0 lead. Farquharson-Seaforth rushed for 100 yards in the first half.
Ashby-Jacobs snagged an 11-yard pass from Jayden Yates in the end zone, just 43 seconds before Trevor Owens scored on an interception to give the Saints a 29-0 lead with 8:02 left in the half.
Ashby-Jacobs scored on Yates’ 5-yard out pass to make it 36-0 at the half.
In the second half, Kyle Simon-Guerin scored on a 57-yard sweep midway through the fourth quarter.
Sidwell Friends averted the shutout with a touchdown with 9:00 remaining.
Thursday
Williamsport 41, Pikesville 0
Williamsport played one of those “get well” games.
It was a “forget last week, prepare for next week, keep everybody healthy and win easily” kind of game.
The Wildcats (6-3) shook off any ill effects from last week’s 42-16 loss to Mountain Ridge, paying it forward a bit in a shutout of Pikesville (1-8).
Ceonta Wilmore and Cole Rourke scored two touchdowns each as Williamsport ran off to a 34-0 halftime lead and cleared the bench in the second half, protecting the roster from injury as it prepares for the first round of the Class 2A-1A playoffs.
Williamsport entered the game ranked No. 3 in the West region and secured a home game next week.
Another high point was the return of Eli Fleming, Williamsport’s starting quarterback, who missed the last two games with a concussion.
Fleming alternated with Corry Nelson under center for the first half. Both gave way to Rourke for most of the second half.
Fleming passed for two touchdowns and proved he was ready to go in the first half with a run where he took on contact.
The Wildcats took a 13-0 lead in the first quarter on a pair of touchdown catches by Wilmore.
The sophomore caught a short pass over the middle by Nelson and turned it into a 65-yard score for a 7-0 lead at the 9:09 mark.
Fleming rolled right and found Wilmore with 1:05 left in the quarter for a 23-yard score. The lead was 13-0 after the extra-point attempt hit the upright.
The Wildcats extended the lead with three big plays that led to three scores.
The first was a 60-yard sweep left by Juelz Smith, who broke free at the Pikesville 40 and raced to the end zone virtually untouched with 9:53 remaining in the half.
Jaiden Bowins scooped up a Pikesville fumble and returned it to the 2. Rourke scored the touchdown at the 7:43 mark to make it 27-0.
Lineman Mason Wolfenberger blocked a punt, which was recovered at the Panthers 10. Two plays later, Fleming hit Gavin Spielman slicing down the middle for a 15-yard score and the 34-0 lead with 3:08 remaining.
After a scoreless third quarter, Rourke took a snap and scrambled 54 yards for the final score with 2:20 remaining.
More coverage
Battle lines drawn in the name of civic pride for Week 9 of Washington County football
Terrific 10: Playoffs bring out the best in county athletes
Which teams are moving on in the postseason?
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This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Maryland high school football: Washington County scores Week 9
