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Week 4 roundup: Saint James rallies to stun South Hagerstown in OT

daniel kauffman and andy mason, the herald-mail
·6 min read

Saturday's games

Saint James 34, South Hagerstown 28 (OT)

The Saints scored two touchdowns in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter to erase a 28-14 deficit, and quarterback Jayden Yates' 5-yard scoring run in overtime gave host Saint James (3-1) the victory in its first-ever meeting with the Rebels (2-2).

"The one thing I've learned about coaching Saint James kids is they don't quit," Saints coach John Root said. "They come together, and you never bet against them."

Saint James quarterback Jayden Yates scores on a 5-yard run in overtime to lift the Saints to a 34-28 victory over South Hagerstown.
Saint James quarterback Jayden Yates scores on a 5-yard run in overtime to lift the Saints to a 34-28 victory over South Hagerstown.

Yates threw a 5-yard TD pass to Trevor Owens with 3:54 left in the fourth quarter, cutting South's lead to 28-20. A missed extra point left the Saints needing another touchdown and a two-point conversion.

Saint James got the ball back with about two minutes left, needing to drive 75 yards. The Saints marched down the field and, with 26 seconds left, Yates' pass into the front left of the end zone was tipped before Calvin Moss came down with the ball for the 26-yard score. Yates then faked a handoff and ran over left tackle to score the conversion for the tie.

"You practice (the two-minute drill) but there's no way of replicating the emotion and everything going on," Root said. "We talk about 11 players coming together as one. You can't practice that situation and I'm really proud of our kids. A tipped ball in the end zone and we caught it, we're just blessed."

South got the ball first in overtime. On fourth-and-goal from the 6, the Rebels went for the touchdown instead of attempting a field goal. Quarterback Lance Ford rolled left looking for an open teammate or running room, and found neither.

It took two plays for Saint James to reach the end zone on its possession in overtime. On second and goal from the 5, Yates faked like he would run right, then went over left tackle again and found a huge hole for the game-ending score.

Ford threw for two touchdowns, both to Damon Breland, and ran for another for the Rebels. South led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter after Michael Owens Jr. took the opening kickoff 83 yards to the end zone and Ford threw a 26-yard scoring pass to Breland.

Yates cut the Rebels' lead to 14-7 with a 7-yard scoring run with 1:53 left in the first half. The Saints then made a goal-line stand at the end of the half, as South failed to punch in a score on three attempts from inside the 2.

Sammy Stonebraker's 5-yard TD run pulled Saint James into a 14-14 tie with 6:44 left in the third quarter.

The Rebels answered with a pair of big scoring plays. Ford faked a handoff up the middle and ran around the right end for a 25-yard score and a 21-14 lead with 1:52 left in the third quarter. On South's next possession, Ford threw to Breland in the left flat, and Breland broke a tackle and sprinted 77 yards to the end zone for a 28-14 lead with 11:01 to play.

"South is a heck of a ballclub, very tough," Root said. "They broke some long plays and have some real heavy hitters on their team."

Shenandoah Valley 47, Hancock 6

The Panthers fell to 0-3 with the road loss.

Friday’s games

Williamsport 39, Clear Spring 0

Nolan Raley threw three touchdown passes, Corry Nelson had a pair of TD runs and a TD catch and Soren Miller rushed for 137 yards as the Wildcats (2-2) rolled past the visiting Blazers (2-2).

“We wanted to come out tonight and assert ourselves in the run game,” Williamsport coach Tim Small said. “We had at least 140 yards rushing at halftime. We felt like we took some steps there. We’re still making too many mistakes and still not up to our standard yet, but I think we took a step tonight.

“Last week, we kind of lost ourselves a little bit, lost our composure (in a 36-20 loss to Catoctin). There were times tonight it got a little sloppy, but at the end of the day, they had each other’s backs out there tonight. I’m very proud of that.”

Williamsport's Soren Miller rushed for 137 yards in the Wildcats' 39-0 win over Clear Spring.
Williamsport's Soren Miller rushed for 137 yards in the Wildcats' 39-0 win over Clear Spring.

The Wildcats led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter after Raley passed to Nelson for a 16-yard TD and connected with Ceonta Wilmore for a 33-yard score.

Late in the second quarter, Nelson scored on a 36-yard run, giving Williamsport a 20-0 halftime lead.

With 9:17 left in the third quarter, Raley and Talan Lawhorne hooked up for a 40-yard TD to make it 27-0.

Five minutes later, Nelson — the reigning Washington County Offensive Player of the Year — scored his third TD of the game on a 2-yard run, upping the lead to 33-0.

“Corry just kind of does what Corry does,” Small said. “He just keeps getting better every week.”

With 2:33 remaining in the third, the final score of the night came on a 28-yard interception return by Kyle Duvall, upping the Wildcats’ lead to 39-0 to start the running clock.

Masiah Martin also had an interception for Williamsport, and Riley Thomas recovered a fumble in the win.

Blake Kramer-Horton, Kaden Selby and Jaxon Stewart each recovered a fumble for Clear Spring.

Middletown 20, Boonsboro 10

The Knights (1-3) continued their dominance in the series with the Warriors (2-2), outscoring Boonsboro 20-0 in the second half to rally for the road victory.

Middletown is 38-4 all-time against Boonsboro, and has won seven straight against the Warriors.

Trailing 10-0 at halftime, the Knights cut the deficit to 10-7 on Griffin Sheridan's 26-yard scoring pass to Clinton Lee with 7:31 left in the third quarter. Middletown took the lead on Ty Lawson's 9-yard rushing score with 10:04 left in the fourth quarter.

Gabe Cottrell added field goals of 18 and 31 yards later in the final period to extend the Knights' lead. The second kick came after a backbreaking tipped pass and interception by lineman Landon Hofgesang.

Carlos Pazos kicked a 35-yard field goal early in the second quarter to give Boonsboro a 3-0 lead. Chad Wyand broke an 88-yard run up the left sideline on third-and-14 from the Warriors 2 to set up Parker DeBaugh's 3-yard TD run that gave Boonsboro a 10-0 lead 1:10 before halftime.

The Warriors' offense struggled to get anything going in the second half and often was pinned deep in its own end.

North Hagerstown's Xavier Colbert returns a kickoff during Friday night's game at Spring Mills.
North Hagerstown's Xavier Colbert returns a kickoff during Friday night's game at Spring Mills.

Spring Mills 54, North Hagerstown 6

The host Cardinals (4-1) had a 14-0 lead over the Hubs (1-3) after the first quarter and added 20 more points in the second quarter for a 34-0 halftime advantage, coasting to the victory from there.

North's score came in the fourth quarter on a 24-yard TD pass from Luke Kercheval to Ryder Johnston.

Brunswick 35, Smithsburg 6

The Leopards (2-2) scored their points in the first quarter, trailing 14-6 after 12 minutes, but the host Railroaders (4-0) shut out Smithsburg from there.

Brunswick led 21-6 at halftime and added a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns.

Previews and predictions: Washington County Week 4 football

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Live updates from Week 4 of Washington County football