Offensive Player of the Week: Dayne Bolt, Blair
Bolt notched a 75-yard run in Blair’s 28-26 overtime upset win over defending 3A champion Damascus. Bolt ran for 210 yards on just 13 carries.
Runner Up: Zack Splain, Sherwood
Splain threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in Sherwood’s big win over Gaithersburg that clinched the top seed in the Maryland 4A West region playoffs. Splain finished with 137 yards on 10-of-22 passing.
Defensive Player of the Week: Cody Schecter, Quince Orchard
Schecter returned an interception 43 yards for a touchdown to give the Cougars their first touchdown in what originally looked like a close game. Schecter feels most comfortable playing his first love, defense.
Special Teams Player(s) of the Week: Whitman
The Vikings pulled off a 21-19 upset of Springbrook behind a blocked extra point in the first quarter and blocked 30-yard field goal attempt with less than two minutes remaining in the game.
Offense Play of the Week: Victor Wang, Blair
Wang broke off a 10-yard run in overtime and then ran it in for a two-yard conversion that proved to be the difference as Damascus scored a touchdown in overtime but was held short on its conversion attempt.
Defensive Play of the Week: Joe Rankin, Seneca Valley
Rankin returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown with about nine minutes remaining in a tight game against Churchill. It’s the second straight week Rankin has essentially sealed a close game for the Eagles.
Hit of the Week: David Katembwe, Northwest
The Jaguars have quite a player in Katembwe, who was all over the field hitting Quince Orchard.
Quote of the Week: Dawuan Genies, Quince Orchard
“I know I can’t pop [a big play] every run, but every chance I get, I take it.”
Blair 28, Damascus 26 (OT)
The Blazers cemented a non-losing season after going 0-10 last year with a win over a defending state champion, who seemed playoff bound but will now play Paint Branch for a 3A playoff spot. The two teams traded punches all evening but the Blazers had the biggest final punch on a Victor Wang two-point conversion run.
Clarksburg 41, Landsdowne 6
The Coyotes continued their undefeated season behind 218 passing yards from Cody Martin. One week the passing game looks great, the next it’s the running game. This week, back to passing. That’s a good thing.
Einstein 54, Bethesda-Chevy Chase 30
Terrence Love and Malcolm Crockett combined for 298 yards rushing as the Titans improved to 5-4 on the season.
Magruder 50, Blake 23
The Colonels offense ran wild. Marquis Morgan ran for 131 yards and two touchdowns. Griffin Eldridge and Karim Jones connected on two touchdown pass of 21 and 11 yards, respectively.
Northwood 28, Walter Johnson 23
The Wildcats couldn’t quite close out a second win on the season as Northwood comes out victorious.
Paint Branch 36, Watkins Mill 6
On Halloween night, Frank-enstien took over. Frankie Poulos and Franklyn Paris each rushed for two touchdowns as Paint Branch forced a critical Week 10 game against Damascus that will determine which team reaches the playoffs.
Quince Orchard 28, Northwest 14
The Cougars showed they can beat a good team without Travis Hawkins on offense. Imagine what they can do if he’s completely healthy come playoffs.
Rockville 31, Poolesville 0
It will be interesting to see how sophomore Crusoe Gongbay improved the next couple of years. It’s hard to imagine. Gongbay rushed for 274 yards and four downs on just 12 carries. Now that’s explosive.
Seneca Valley 32, Churchill 21
The Eagles scored three straight touchdowns to come from behind against the Bulldogs. First it was a 7-yard pass from George Lerch to Mark Henderson, then a 40-yard pass from Lerch to Yassara. Finally, Joe Rankin returned an interception 100 yards to seal the victory.
Sherwood 41, Gaithersburg 0
In a traditional rivalry game, Sherwood manhandled the Trojans. Sherwood locked up the top seed in the 4A West region and is certainly looking like the team to beat.
Wheaton 23, Kennedy 13
The Knights get their first win on the season to stave off what could have been a second-straight 0-10 campaign.
Whitman 21, Springbrook 19
The Viking may have spoiled Springbrook’s playoff chances with a gritty win over the Blue Devils. Two blocked kicks made the difference (see Special Teams Player(s) of the Week)
Wootton 68, Richard Montgomery 38
Note to Wootton: This is football, not basketball. You should not be putting up 68 points in a game. Two words. Holy Cow!
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