Moving forward
Eagles move to 5-0 with win over Cavaliers
Chelen Garnes may not have known exactly how Thursday night’s game at Calvert was going to transpire for he and his North Point teammates. May not have known what the final score was going to be or how many yards he and his Eagles teammates would surrender. He did know it was going to be different than the last time North Point traveled to Calvert.
“Last year we came down here and got our bells rung,” he said, referencing the Eagles’ 28-7 loss at Calvert in 2016. “This year we’re just practicing as a team, staying together and learned how to beat them.”
This year North Point left Prince Frederick with a better taste in its collective mouth, showcasing it explosive offense in a 50-14 Southern Maryland Athletic Conference nondivision win over the Cavaliers.
After taking a 22-0 lead into the half, the Eagles ran just 10 offensive plays in the second half. Those 10 plays equaled 28 points, as the visitors ran away from an injury-depleted, but tenacious Calvert squad.
“It was a tough game. Calvert’s a tough team,” North Point head coach Tom Petre said. “[Calvert head coach] Ricky [Sneade] does an outstanding job with his kids. They’re tough and physical.
They’re weight room kids . ... They were running the ball a little bit. We made some adjustments. Offensively, I thought we were able to get some things going tonight. We had some pretty good consistency tonight on that side of the ball.”
For all of the offensive success North Point (5-0 overall) enjoyed, its first drive ended without any points despite the Eagles driving 92 yards.
After driving all the way to the Calvert 1-yard line from their own 7, the Eagles series went for naught when Calvert’s Corey Watson picked off a pass in the end zone. Instead, North Point’s defense put the first points on the board, getting a safety on the Cavaliers’ subsequent possession for the early 2-0 lead.
The Eagles’ offense didn’t leave many points on the field after that.
Malik Lawrence scored on a 42-yard rush with 4 minutes 51 seconds left in the first quarter, while Joshua Crumb and quarterback Jemichael Jones both scored rushing touchdowns in the second quarter to increase the Eagles’ advantage to 22-0 by the half.
It was more of the same opening in the second half, as Jones connected with Lawrence on a 74-yard touchdown pass to cap a three-play series just 1 minute 34 seconds into the third quarter.
Calvert (2-3) then responded with a 72-yard touchdown drive, culminating with Dre Mackall’s 20-yard scoring run. The Cavaliers then recovered an onside kick and scored again on TJ Prathers 4-yard run, slicing the gap to 29-14.
North Point quickly dismissed any comeback aspirations the hosts may have had, as Garnes hit Lawrence on a 46-yard halfback pass for a touchdown three plays into the Eagles’ next series. Then, after a Garnes interception set the Eagles up at the Calvert 30, Jones raced to the end zone from 30 yards out on the next play to push the lead to 43-14. Later, North Point capped the scoring with roughly four minutes left in the game when Asa Williams found Evan Patterson for a 12-yard touchdown.
For Jones, the Eagles’ performance on Thursday night was a positive step, especially for him after he sat out the previous week’s game with a shoulder injury.
“I think we performed well,” he said. “Offensive-wise we moved the ball. It was good for me coming back from my shoulder injury. It was really good for me to come back and us to put up 50 points. We’ve been working hard in practice,
in films, weight lifting. We’ve just been focused throughout the year.”
The North Point quarterback threw for close to 200 yards and a touchdown while also running for 46 yards and two scores as part of a rushing attack that rolled up in excess of 260 yards. The Eagles were equally adept through the air, gaining 263 passing. Lawrence led all receivers with over 150 receiving yards, caught a pair of touchdown passes and rushed for another.
The sledding was much tougher for Calvert, as injuries forced the Cavaliers to go to a quarterback-by-committee approach headed up by Cade Meredith, who opened the week as a quarterback on the junior varsity team. Still, the Cavaliers performed admirably in pushing one of the top teams in the conference for three quarters. Calvert is scheduled to play at Thomas Stone at 7 p.m. Friday against a Cougars team that fell 19-15 to Westlake in Week 5.
“I think our kids’ effort was as good as it can be,” Sneade said. “We did have a lot of adversity. [Meredith] was a JV quarterback just three days ago. [Prather] hasn’t played quarterback all season. [David Allwine] was a quarterback up until about the fourth practice of the season. For them to come out and try to do that by committee, hat’s off to them. The coaches did a nice job getting them ready to go.
“North Point has a ton of weapons. They’re good, very explosive. They’re a great group of guys, their coaches, their players. I always enjoy battling with them because you’re going to get a tough fight and you’re going to get a class act. All in all it’s just a good night for football. Obviously we’d like to win. It would be a huge, huge win for us considering how green we are, but there’s nothing we can be upset about with the kids’ effort. It was arguably one of the better games we’ve played this
year. It’s something to build on for sure.”
North Point is scheduled to be in Calvert County again with its Week 6 game at Huntingtown at 7 p.m. Friday against a Hurricanes team that fell 21-7 to Northern in Week 5. The Eagles completed the first half of the regular season unbeaten and surrendered just 37 points through the five-game stretch, but the first five games are nothing more than the starting point, according to Petre.
“I’m happy with where we’re at,” Petre said. “Early on, it’s funny, you get a couple shutouts and have to get the kids’ train of thought right. You’re going to give up some scores here and there. You’re in a competitive, tough conference, so that’s going to happen. I’m pleased with where we’re at.
“We just talked with the kids about it. Your first five-week goals are behind us. Now it’s time to set new goals and move forward.”