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Post by Tomgruneberg on Oct 18, 2023 21:57:53 GMT -2
Week 8
Parity is the name of the game this season in Howard County. Outside of Hebron, Centennial and Hammond, you don’t know what is going to happen. 3 teams are currently 5-2 and 4 teams are currently 4-3. That’s a huge log jam in the second/third tier teams. Any given week those teams could beat one another. Last week we had our biggest upset when OM dropped the Raiders. What the heck can we expect this week?
All Games except 1 are on Thursday night. River Hill @ Glenelg gets the Friday night feature. I would expect a huge crowd.
RIVER HILL (4-3) @ GLENELG (5-2). I got a lot of flack for picking against my hawks last week. But the previous 2 weeks of film didn’t lie-they were getting gashed on the ground. But they cleaned up some things and responded with a 35-7 dismantling of Marriotts Ridge. The Hawks are getting hot at the right time. They are getting players back off the walking wounded squad. The Glads, however, are no slouch. They are a physical team that has been running a lot more double tight and pro sets and just pounding opponents. RH showed last week they are capable of stout run defense. They will need to do it again to win this game. Hawks in a nail biter on Burntwoods.
RESERVOIR (5-2) @ LONG REACH (5-2). Well here’s where I’ll be Thursday night. It’s the quietest 5-2 team vs the loudest 5-2 team. I think you know who’s who. Reservoir has been shut out the past 2 weeks after winning their first 5. The Lightning have won their last 3, granted the combined record of those 3 teams is 1-20, but still. Whichever teams makes the least amount of boneheaded mistakes will win. I like long reach in a low scoring slugfest at home.
HOWARD (4-3) @ MOUNT HEBRON (7-0). Can anyone explain what’s happened on old Annapolis Road? The Lions started the season 4-0, but they’ve dropped their last 3! Can they get back on track with an upset of the Vikings? Survey says? NO. Hebron will run the gauntlet for an undefeated regular season. Is it the first time ever? Likely. Would need @aka_themamba to confirm.
HAMMOND (0-7) @ ATHOLTON (4-3). Atholton moves to 5-3. They should be pissed off after getting embarrassed by a winless team last week. Guilford Park JV would be a better matchup for the raiders.
OAKLAND MILLS (1-6) @ WILDE LAKE (4-3). Big win for OM last week. Can they ride that momentum? I don’t think so-WL gets their 5th win
MARRIOTTS RIDGE (3-4) @ CENTENNIAL (0-7). Ridge will even up their record here against the eagles.
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Post by themamba on Oct 19, 2023 8:37:12 GMT -2
The Vikings can clinch their first county title in 41 years, dating back to their only other share (w OM) in 1982. The Vikings have never finished with an undefeated regular season record. In ‘82, the Vikes finished 10-2, the only season they’ve ever won nine games or more. The Vikings are also looking for their first two-win post-season.
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Post by lionatheart on Oct 20, 2023 10:02:41 GMT -2
What a year in Howard Co. Oakland keeps the upsets rolling 22-15 over Wild Lake. Rivalry game so not a total shocker. Then Howard upsets Mt. Hebron!
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Post by Tomgruneberg on Oct 21, 2023 13:19:25 GMT -2
Week 8 postmortem
3-3 on the week, 34-14 overall.
Insanity continues in the county. There will be not be an undefeated team this season, as Mount Hebron is upset by the Howard Lions. Howard played hard, had no turnovers, and converted all of their kicks. A few penalties at the end made it dramatic, but Howard prevails 18-14. A nice win for former Vikings head coach Ross Hannon and staff. Hebron is still guaranteed at least a shared county championship so hats off to Coach Frederick, Coach AD and the rest of the Vikings. They win it outright if they beat reservoir next week.
Oakland mills gets their second win in as many weeks knocking off Wilde Lake in an afternoon matinee. Scorps are getting hot at the right time, and with only Hammond remaining on the schedule, there is a good to excellent chance they finish the regular season with 3 straight wins.
Reservoir beats Long Reach in a back and forth, closely matched affair. TJ Welsh called a good game offensively for the gators to get them out of a 2 game shutout streak. The play of the game though, has to be the horrifically botched call. Resi is at their own 16 yd line and throw a short pass that is batted down by a LR defender . Play is dead at this point, every player on the field and every coach on the sideline knows this. Well, lo and behold these clown refs let the play go and a gator scoops the ball up and runs for a TD. No one attempts to tackle him or even block for him. Both sidelines are clearly stunned. Resi ends up winning by a point. Clownery. Reservoir can win a share of the county title next week if they can knock off Mount Hebron.
River Hill wins the battle up front and dominates Glenelg 20-7. The score would have been worse without some RH fumbles. It was a sellout packed house on Burntwoods and the home faithful had to be disappointed in this performance. Glenelg moved the ball at times, but couldn’t seem to decide what they wanted to do offensively. They would have success with something and then switch out of it. Blitz master Breaon had em flummoxed. Huge win for the hawks with current MD terrapin football star Beau Brade in attendance. Hawks getting hot at the right time.
Marriotts ridge blanks Centennial
Atholton smacks Hammond
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Post by themamba on Oct 22, 2023 13:02:51 GMT -2
The Lions took that 15-14 lead into intermission because of a high snap on the Lions first extra point attempt. The snap clipped the top of the holder’s hand, took one end-over-end bounce and landed into the hands of Lions kicker Sean Myers, who raced 14 yards to the pylon to give the visitors an 8-6 lead.
With that two point margin, it allowed the Lions to take a two possession margin on their next score (15-6), with Myers successful kick. Then, his 42 yard field goal gave the Vikes some more cushion in the third quarter.
While the Lions defense came up big four times in the second half, including their last three plays on the field where they held the Vikes to -1 yards on second and third down, and no yards on fourth, the Vikings doomed themselves countless times.
While the Lions earned the victory, the Vikes probably feel they gave it away with penalties, and mishandles on direct snaps.
On three separate drives, the Vikings had first down inside the ‘red zone’ and came away scoreless on each of those incursions.
Last drive of the first half - First and ten at Howard’s 15 yard line. After a two yard gain, Hebron gets a 15 yard penalty, pushing them back to the 28 yard line, essentially foiling that drive.
Third quarter - First and ten at Howard’s 12 yard line. Mishandle on the snap, puts it at the 18, before another fumble in the backfield pushes the Vikes back to the 32 yard line. Those miscues were followed by a sack on fourth down. Three plays, -33 yards.
Final drive - After an apparent 48 yard score from Hallums on a fourth and two, and while the Vikings and their contingent were wildly celebrating, it’s learned there was a holding call downfield on the Vikings.
After a meeting, the call stood, but did allow some consolation to the Vikes, as the spot foul was marked off and gave the Vikings the ball at the point of the line of gain needed, at the Lions 46 yard line.
After some nice runs, another Vikings mis-snap was covered up by an offsides by the Lions, giving the Vikes a first and ten at the Lions 17 yard line, with 1:30 to play. Hallums went for seven yards, giving the hosts a 2nd and 3 at the ten yard line. Then, the Lions defensive front delivered, stuffing three straight Vikings runs.
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Post by themamba on Oct 23, 2023 22:56:31 GMT -2
Sports can split a family for a day. Or week. We’ve had family v family in our family too many times. Two of my good friends, two former co-workers with me, two former Scorpions like myself, and two dudes I unleash a barrage a texts to throughout the season will be on opposite sidelines for the Howard County championship game in Valhalla on Friday night. And, if you are playing the parlay - yes, both will be serving as the ‘OCs’ for their respective teams.
We shed blood, sweat, and tears on Kilimanjaro, and I shared blood, sweat, and tears with both at Homewood Center for years. I highly vouch for both as good men. TJ Welsh runs the offensive game for the Gators, while CJ King runs the offensive scheme for the Vikings. TJ helped lead the Scorpions to our only state championship in ‘98, and won HoCo OPOY honors. CJ was a two-time All-County, 1,000 yard running back for the Scorps a handful of years later. I have both by 15 and 20 years, but if you know anything about Kilimanjaro, you know we are one.
Let the best team win!!
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Post by lurker on Oct 25, 2023 14:22:26 GMT -2
I cannot help but think back to an Oakland Mill season where OM had Patuxent all but dead to rights in the 1st half of a playoff game only for Pax to come back down from a million points it seemed like to win in the coldest night game I had been to.
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Post by themamba on Oct 26, 2023 18:11:22 GMT -2
I cannot help but think back to an Oakland Mill season where OM had Patuxent all but dead to rights in the 1st half of a playoff game only for Pax to come back down from a million points it seemed like to win in the coldest night game I had been to. I was there on Kilimanjaro that night (of course). It was cold as hell. I was there with about eight other former Scorps. We had all had just come from a funeral, and all had suits and overcoats on. I caught a chill just now thinking about that night. A tale of two games. One of the craziest playoff games I’ve seen (or played in) on Kilimanjaro. The Scorpions scored at will in the first half, and led 35-25, but got ran through in the second half and lost 60-41. David Pindell was spectacular, throwing for more than 300 yards, and rushing for 100+, accounting for 433 yards and all six Scorpions touchdowns. They Scorps only had one quality linemen (Larry Aaron - Marshall), and their defensive front was exposed. Pindell did have two outstanding threats on the perimeter in Tre Hopkins and Shawn Harris, both juniors that season. I rank Pindell as the greatest quarterback to ever play on the home sidelines on Kilimanjaro. With me that night was one of the two greatest before Pindell. Tony Coates (c/o ‘82), who ran the wishbone and threw for 1,000 and rushed for 1,000 yards his senior year, garnering All-Met honors in the Sun. Rushed for 275 yards and four touchdowns on Hebron, who were very good those few years. Tony started at receiver at Northwestern. The other was the late Chet Gee (c/o ‘79), who started at Duke for three seasons, before playing six seasons in the USFL. Gee was named the first team All-Met quarterback in the Sun, beating out Wilde Lake’s Jim Traber, who was being recruited by Jimmie Johnson at Oklahoma State, and Jackie Sherrill at Pitt. Traber went with Jimmie, and played both football and baseball for the Cowboys, before playing for the Orioles for several seasons. Traber took the All-Met nod at safety. A year after Gee and Traber graduated, Gee’s younger brother Darryl was rated as the top high school soccer player in the country, and after leading the Scorps to the state title, was the #2 overall pick in the NASL Draft. The world renown New York Cosmos immediately traded for the phenom’, and Gee played six seasons in New York. Gee was the youngest player to ever be selected by the USMNT, and became the first American-born Black player to play in the NASL. As a teenager. |
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Post by Tomgruneberg on Oct 26, 2023 19:07:25 GMT -2
I agree on Pindell-best OM QB we ever had to game plan for.
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Post by lurker on Oct 26, 2023 20:24:57 GMT -2
I cannot help but think back to an Oakland Mill season where OM had Patuxent all but dead to rights in the 1st half of a playoff game only for Pax to come back down from a million points it seemed like to win in the coldest night game I had been to. I was there on Kilimanjaro that night (of course). It was cold as hell. I was there with about eight other former Scorps. We had all had just come from a funeral, and all had suits and overcoats on. I caught a chill just now thinking about that night. A tale of two games. One of the craziest playoff games I’ve seen (or played in) on Kilimanjaro. The Scorpions scored at will in the first half, and led 35-25, but got ran through in the second half and lost 60-41. David Pindell was spectacular, throwing for more than 300 yards, and rushing for 100+, accounting for 433 yards and all six Scorpions touchdowns. They Scorps only had one quality linemen (Larry Aaron - Marshall), and their defensive front was exposed. Pindell did have two outstanding threats on the perimeter in Tre Hopkins and Shawn Harris, both juniors that season. I rank Pindell as the greatest quarterback to ever play on the home sidelines on Kilimanjaro. With me that night was one of the two greatest before Pindell. Tony Coates (c/o ‘82), who ran the wishbone and threw for 1,000 and rushed for 1,000 yards his senior year, garnering All-Met honors in the Sun. Rushed for 275 yards and four touchdowns on Hebron, who were very good those few years. Tony started at receiver at Northwestern. The other was the late Chet Gee (c/o ‘79), who started at Duke for three seasons, before playing six seasons in the USFL. Gee was named the first team All-Met quarterback in the Sun, beating out Wilde Lake’s Jim Traber, who was being recruited by Jimmie Johnson at Oklahoma State, and Jackie Sherrill at Pitt. Traber went with Jimmie, and played both football and baseball for the Cowboys, before playing for the Orioles for several seasons. Traber took the All-Met nod at safety. A year after Gee and Traber graduated, Gee’s younger brother Darryl was rated as the top high school soccer player in the country, and after leading the Scorps to the state title, was the #2 overall pick in the NASL Draft. The world renown New York Cosmos immediately traded for the phenom’, and Gee played six seasons in New York. Gee was the youngest player to ever be selected by the USMNT, and became the first American-born Black player to play in the NASL. As a teenager. Oh, it was 35-25 at the half! I thought the margin was a lot greater like a 30-point difference for OM at half it seem like to me. But I do vividly recall the loss disposition of the OM faithful. That same Patuxent coach and school has a monster of a team on a unfinished business mandate for states this season. |
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