Week 3 football: South Hagerstown posts victory two days after head coach steps down

Thursday was a busy night of football for Washington County’s high school teams with six games on the Week 3 slate.

South Hagerstown showed its resiliency, prevailing under trying circumstances.

Smithsburg also won, while Boonsboro and Clear Spring suffered their first losses and North Hagerstown and Williamsport also fell.

On Saturday, Saint James rallied for an overtime victory on the road.

Thursday's games

South Hagerstown 35, Tuscarora 15

Lance Ford had a pair of touchdown passes and ran for a score, leading the Rebels (2-1) past the visiting Titans (0-3) in Juwuane Sandridge’s first game as South’s interim head coach.

Sandridge took over for Dave Lawrence, who resigned on Tuesday after five-plus seasons at the helm.

“These guys are resilient,” Sandridge said of his players. “They’ve been put in a real tough situation that not many teams have to go through. It just shows how resilient they are. We were able to come together and be successful out here today. It’s a great day for South High football.

“We’re just trying to right the ship, just make sure everything’s OK,” he continued. “These guys, it’s all about them. It’s not about me, it’s not about the coaching staff or anybody else. It’s about those guys right there. We always try to do what we can to put them in the best situation to be successful on and off the field. That’s what we’re focused on going forward.”

The Rebels went up 7-0 with 4:29 left in the first quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run by Michael Owens Jr.

South extended its lead to 14-0 on the first play of the second quarter on a 5-yard run by Ford.

Tuscarora cut it to 14-7 on a 40-yard TD pass from Jack Urschel to DeMonte Mckinnie with 2:14 remaining in the second period.

With no time left on the clock, Owens scored on another 1-yard run, giving the Rebels a 21-7 halftime lead.

South upped it to 28-7 late in the third quarter on a 15-yard TD pass from Ford to Cahauri Alford.

The Titans reduced their deficit to 28-15 with 5:35 left in the game on a 12-yard TD run by Davin Cruz and a two-point-conversion run by Kenwon Addision.

The Rebels completed the scoring with 2:48 remaining as Ford passed to Alford for another 15-yard TD.

South kicker Nathan Myers went 5-for-5 on extra-point tries.

“I’m happy with their effort, proud of them and so, so happy for them under these circumstances,” Sandridge said.

Brunswick 31, Boonsboro 14

For the first 18 minutes of an early-season matchup between undefeated teams, the host Warriors looked ready to make it three wins in three games. But the Railroaders owned the final 30 minutes, their size and running game ultimately wearing out Boonsboro.

Ben Wells ran for fourth-quarter touchdowns of 42 and 66 yards as Brunswick (3-0) put away the Warriors (2-1).

Boonsboro struck first on Colin Telemeco's 27-yard TD pass to Logan Frantz midway through the first quarter for a 7-0 lead.

The Warriors' defense was strong early. It was only on Brunswick's final drive of the first half that things began to turn, but even then, Boonsboro minimized the damage to a 31-yard field goal by Sam Verosto and took a 7-3 lead into halftime.

The Roaders outscored the Warriors 28-7 in the second half. They took the opening kickoff and marched down the field again, this time finding the end zone on a wild fourth-and-1 play from the Boonsboro 10-yard line. Russell Colliere and Bradley Badger appeared ready to sack Ethan Houck, but he managed to get away a high-arcing pass that Jacob Genos grabbed for the touchdown and a 10-7 lead four minutes into the third quarter.

On their next drive, the Roaders got into the red zone on Houck's 64-yard pass to Peyton Dean, then on third-and-16 from the 18, Houck lobbed another scoring pass, this time to Mark Cooke, for a 17-7 lead with three minutes left in the third quarter.

On its next possession, Brunswick gave Boonsboro life when the Roaders fumbled the ball away at their 18. The Warriors took advantage, with Telemeco connecting with Frantz for another TD, this time from 2 yards out, to cut the deficit to 17-14 with almost 10 minutes left to play.

Brunswick leaned on Wells to close the game out. His first touchdown restored a 10-point lead with seven minutes left. Boonsboro responded by driving into the red zone, but the Roaders intercepted a pass in the end zone, and Wells' second TD ended all drama with less than two minutes to play.

Covered: 2023 Washington County high school fall sports central

Smithsburg 16, Century 6

Ashton Redman ran for 127 yards and two touchdown as the host Leopards improved to 2-1 with a victory over the Knights (0-3).

Smithsburg led 8-0 at halftime and 16-6 at the end of the third quarter.

Thomas Johnson 42, North Hagerstown 6

After Luke Bragunier's 5-yard touchdown run cut the Hubs' deficit to 7-6 early in the second quarter, the Patriots (2-1) scored 35 unanswered points.

North (1-2) trailed 21-6 at halftime and 34-6 at the end of the third quarter.

A.J. Allen led TJ, passing for 126 yards and two touchdowns and running for 132 yards and three TDs.

For the Hubs, Bragunier ran for 132 yards on 29 carries, Luke Kercheval completed 11 of 22 passes for 159 yards with an interception, and Ryder Johnston caught four passes for 80 yards.

Catoctin 36, Williamsport 20

Haydn Mathews passed for 258 yards and four touchdowns to lead the visiting Cougars (1-2) past the Wildcats (1-2).

For Williamsport, Nolan Raley passed for 341 yards, a single-game school record, and two touchdowns. Corry Nelson had five catches for 162 yards and a TD in the loss.

Southern-Anne Arundel 35, Clear Spring 0

The Blazers (2-1) suffered their first loss of the season on the road against the Bulldogs (1-1).

Saturday's game

Saint James 28, Mount Carmel 21 (OT)

The Saints (2-1) rallied for an overtime win over the Cougars (2-2).

With a minute left in regulation, Jayden Yates passed to Zach Molloy for a 12-yard touchdown to tie the game, 21-21.

Saint James got the ball first to start overtime with a first-and-goal from the Mount Carmel 10-yard line, and Yates scored on a 10-yard run.

The Cougars’ then got their turn from the 10 but failed to score.

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This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Washington County high school football: South, Smithsburg win