'I love the effort': Auburndale showcases talent in spring football, wins 41-7 over Miners
FORTE MEADE — A year later with a brand-new head coach in Antonio Thomas made the Auburndale Bloodhounds look like a team that is on a mission Thursday night at Fort Meade High School.
The Bloodhounds blew out the Miners 41-7 in a spring football game on a warm and muggy spring night. Thomas said his team still has to climb the hill despite clicking on all cylinders.
“We got a long way to go right now. … I’m worried about getting through the next phase of the process of the summer,” Thomas said. “I thought we had a good showing today in the summer. … But we made a lot of mistakes. We’re not even close to where we need to be as a team. But we have a long way to go. … I’m OK with effort. I love the effort. (We) pride ourselves off of attitude and effort. I love the effort today.”
The effort was there from the start, especially offensively for the Bloodhounds. On the first drive of the game, Auburndale culminated a seven-play, 61-yard drive with a starting quarterback Chad Williams 30-yard touch pass touchdown to wide receiver JoJo Howard Jr. with 8:27 to go in the first, which put Auburndale up 7-0 after the made extra point. In a microcosm that would last until at least the end of the first half, Williams looked the part of the quarterback: completing an intermediate 11-yard throw that would continue to move the chains.
Following the defense generating pressure on Fort Meade that led to a quick three and out, Auburndale’s offense came back out on the field on the second offensive possession and culminated a 10-play, 55-yard drive with a Williams 5-yard touchdown to Sammy Etienne with 11:56 left in the second.
The game finally balanced out a little with both Auburndale and Fort Meade defenses playing exceptional.
But then Auburndale struck again: The Bloodhounds running back Darion Jiles broke loose for a 50-yard touchdown with 8:22 to go in the third to eventually put his team up 21-0.
Blue vs. Gold: Auburndale 'trying to build a competitive culture' in first scrimmage under new coach
Forte Meade would go on to answer thanks to a spectacular 12-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Omari Russell to Davion Borders. Russell, who played wide receiver last year, looked as if he was bottled up, but he spun back to the inside and dashed all the way to the opposite end of the field and delivered a dime pass to Borders. The Miners are in a transition period at quarterback after losing Carson Montesdeoca, who had a terrific 2023, leading the Miners to a 9-1 record.
Auburndale would go on to put up touchdowns thanks to a 3-yard touchdown from Jason McGough Jr. with 32 seconds left in third, a Jayden Blocker 65-yard touchdown run with 8:52 left in the fourth and a Peirson Kell 25-yard pick-six touchdown to put the score up to 41-7.
Leading these late drives was Auburndale quarterback Amari Turner, who also looked the part of a quarterback: He was able to complete some sizzling, dime, intermediate throws in the middle of the field on a rope.
Auburndale has a good quarterback situation moving forward.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Auburndale football showcases talent in 41-7 rout over Fort Meade
