Glenelg defeats River Hill again in 3A East
No. 14 Glenelg defeated rival River Hill for the second time this season, 38-7, at home Friday night behind 211 yards and three touchdowns from sophomore running back Wande Owens to win its second Class 3A East title in the past three years.
“I knew we had a lot coming back and I know a lot of people in the county didn’t think we really did,” Gladiators coach Butch Schaffer said. “But I knew I had a good group of kids who worked hard and were going to play hard every day, and they’ve done that. That’s all I can ask for.”
Owens broke free for a 73-yard touchdown run on the second play of Glenelg’s first drive and it held the lead the rest of the way. Quarterback Hunter Forsyth scored on a 1 yard plunge in the second quarter to extend the lead to 14-0, and he kicked a 27-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
They pushed the lead to 24-0 on the first drive of the second half. The Gladiators went 61 yards on eight plays and Owens capped it off with a 9-yard score. He scored his third touchdown –an 8-yard run – on his last carry of the night on the next possession to make it 31-0 midway through the third quarter.
The two teams traded scores in the fourth quarter.
“It feels great,” said Owens, who added to his Howard County-rushing record and now has 2,440 yards and 28 rushing touchdowns this season. “With most of our team coming back and the offensive line – they’re all seniors – it feels great for them, too. I can’t do anything without the O-line — I’ll be flat-out honest. When they get their surge and we push down the field, we are going to score.”
NO. 8 HOWARD 42, NO. 11 MERVO 6: Devin Dawkins capped a five-play opening drive with a 27-yard touchdown run as the host Lions (11-1) beat the Mustangs (9-3) to capture their third consecutive Class 4A North title.
“We usually start off a little slow, so we wanted to start off quick like we did against Bel Air and Atholton. And [if we did that] we felt like the game would flow the same way it did last time,” said Dawkins, who finished with 157 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns before leaving the game midway through the second quarter with a shoulder injury.
After the running game did the damage early, Howard capitalized through the air to really break things open. Lions quarterback Robby Porter finished the night throwing for 153 yards and a pair of scores.
HAVRE DE GRACE 19, SURRATTSVILLE 14: The host Warriors (9-2) rallied behind Clay Harris who kicked four field goals and a defense that kept the Hornets (6-6) in check in a Class 1A North final.
Harris’ first field goal of 29 yards came early in quarter two, pushing the Warriors lead to 10-0.
“It’s amazing, knowing that I go through so much practice, I put in so much time and effort in the offseason and during the week,” Harris said. “To go out here and execute and just score points to help my team win is just amazing.”