Brown’s 3 TD passes propel Franklin onward
Indians await word on next opponent in 3A playoffs
Quarterback Vernon Brown led Franklin to a rout of Dundalk when the two teams met during the regular season. He came up big again in their playoff matchup on Friday night.
Brown threw three touchdown passes, all in the second quarter, and No. 7 Franklin took command early and rolled to a 40-8 victory over visiting Dundalk in a secondround Class 3A North Region game.
Franklin (9-2) will find out over the weekend who and where it plays in the region final next week. Dundalk (7-4) finished its season for the second straight year with a loss the Indians in the playoffs.
Brown had his way with Dundalk in the regular-season game between the two teams. The senior threw for five touchdown passes that night and paced the Indians to a 49-10 win.
He did more of the same in this playoff game, breaking things open with those touchdown passes in a 21-point second quarter that helped Franklin to a 33-0 lead. Brown was 7-for-11 passing with 169 yards and three TDs.
“We had to beat them with our speed because they can match our size,” Brown said. “We were confident. I knew we were going to be able to do it.”
Dundalk was able to move the ball several times but stalled. Then, when the Indians had possession, their speed and quickness proved too much for Dundalk.
Franklin was effective both running and passing.
“We feel like we are one of the fastest teams in the state right now,” Franklin coach Anthony Burgos said. “We’’ve Got guys who can score very quickly.”
Von Reames broke a 22-yard run on the first play of the game but fumbled, and Dundalk recovered but couldn’t move and needed to punt. On the Indians’ next play, Reames raced for a 57-yard touchdown and a 6-0 lead. way to prevail.
The Owls (9-2) got past a persistent Marriotts Ridge (8-3), thanks to touchdown runs from running backs Nate Mattingly and Erick Stranko, and a strong defensive performance in Friday’s Class 3A East second-round playoff game at Ruby Field.
“We came out with the win and that’s all that matters,” Stranko said. “It’s playoffs, we did what we needed to do and we’re on to next week.”
Wilde Lake 22, Manchester Valley 0: After ending the regular season with a 2-7 record, Wilde Lake was seeded No. 8 in the expanded MPSSAA playoffs.
The Wildecats have since accomplished what only head coach Brian Henderson, his players and coaches and a few Columbia residents believed possible — a state quarterfinal appearance.
Wilde Lake defeated host Manchester Valley, 22-0, in the second round of the Class 3A East playoffs on Friday night. The win comes a week after the Wildecats stunned No. 1 River Hill, 14-10, in the first round.
“You‘ve done something great,” said Wilde Lake head coach Brian Henderson to his players after the game. “You’ve done something great for the school, for the community and — more importantly — for yourselves.”
Wilde Lake (4-7) will be re-seeded along with the other seven winners from Friday’s action. The Wildecats will likely be seed No. 8 and play No. 1 Huntingtown (10-0) in the state quarterfinals next week.
Caron Tull scored on a 14-yard run late in the first half and added touchdown runs of three and five yards in the fourth quarter for the Patriots, who have won nine of their last 10 games since opening the season with a loss to Douglass. Their only other loss during the season came at South River.
Tull was the workhorse back for the Patriots on Friday, finishing with 105 yards on 23 carries and the three scores.
No. 15 Arundel 47, No. 6 South River 34: The fourth-seeded Wildcats pursued No. 1-seeded South River (10-1) relentlessly to rally to victory, punching a ticket to the state quarterfinal and stuffing South River’s perfect season.
Arundel (8-3) will be reseeded before the quarterfinal round to either take on new foes from Montgomery or Baltimore County, or Old Mill.