After a tough loss the previous week to St. Charles in the final minutes, the Northern Patriots were looking to bounce back on Friday night and earn a win on homecoming night hosting the Chopticon Braves.
“This one was important for our kids after the tough loss last week to get up off the mat,” Northern head coach Steve Crounse said. “I thought our kids responded pretty well.”
The Patriots overcome a slow start to top the visitors 33-12 in a Southern Maryland Athletic Conference Potomac Division matchup.
“We are having a little issue with the beginning of games and getting started,” Crounse said. “I think that is something we are going to have to try to rectify.”
On its first possession of the game, Northern sophomore quarterback Zach Crounse was intercepted by Chopticon freshman Jaquariee Chase on the first play from scrimmage.
After a run by junior Devyn Vukovich, the Braves were poised to take an early lead with first down-and-goal from the 1-yard line. The Patriots relied on their defense to get a stop and held the visitors scoreless on the possession.
“The kids made plays when we had to,” Steve Crounse said. “We started to stretch it out and our defense started standing up a little bit.”
Both teams were held off the scoreboard in the opening quarter, but Chopticon was able to strike first with 6 minutes 35 seconds left to play in the first half on a 37-yard touchdown run by senior Trent Holton.
Northern (4-1, 2-1 SMAC Potomac) wasted no time answering the Braves’ score with a 75-yard touchdown pass from Crounse to senior wideout Rex Fleming just 21 seconds later. The Patriots took an 8-6 lead after a 2-point conversion rush by senior Marquise Spriggs.
Before halftime, the Patriots were able to add onto their lead with a 31-yard touchdown strike through the air from Crounse to senior wide receiver Julian Colon with 2:19 left in the second quarter.
Chopticon (2-3, 1-2) received the ball to start the second half, but was forced to punt after going three-and-out.
The Northern offense was given a short field after a blocked punt put the Patriots on the Chopticon 1 to begin their first drive of the second half. Two plays later, Crounse punched in a quarterback sneak for a 1-yard rushing score with 9:20 left in the third quarter that put Northern ahead 20-6.
“I thought mistakes killed us, especially in the second half,” Braves head coach Anthony Lisanti said. “We came out and got the ball down eight points and get a couple of penalties, a bad snap and that took a lot of wind out of us. Of course a blocked punt will break your back quicker than anything.”
On Chopticon’s next possession, the Patriots were able to recover a fumble by the Braves offense which set up the hosts inside the red zone on their second offensive possession of the second half.
Senior JP Gross punched in a 15-yard touchdown run on the first play of the drive that put Northern in front 26-6 with 6:57 left in the third quarter.
“In the second half, I would have liked to have gotten them off the field a little bit more, but like I said, the kids made big plays in the second half with a blocked punt and forcing a fumble to give us short fields,” Steve Crounse said.
The Braves were able to chew up almost 11 minutes of game time on their next possession and capitalized with points on a 5-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Dominic Crampton to senior tight end Ryan Wheeler.
“We got out-executed, but we were in that game,” Lisanti said. “Making enough plays to win kind of escaped us tonight. I did like the way the guys competed, but we just have to compete a little smarter.”
Chopticon trailed 26-12 with 8:04 left in the game, but a 22-yard touchdown run by Patriots senior Keith Parks helped the hosts ice the contest and avoid a two-game losing skid.
“Our kids played hard and I am really proud of them,” Steve Crounse said. “This is a good step for us to get back on track.”
Chopticon is slated to host Huntingtown at 6 p.m. Friday versus a Hurricanes team that went to 5-0 with a 21-20 win at St. Charles in Week 5. Northern is scheduled to be at Patuxent at 7 p.m. Friday against a Panthers squad that won their third game in a row in a 21-14 victory over La Plata in Week 5.
Twitter: @johnniswander2
