Patuxent quarterback Tazman Davis dives into the end zone for one of his five rushing touchdowns against La Plata on Friday night. La Plata led 24-0 early, but the Panthers made things interesting in the second half before eventually falling short 38-34 in the SMAC clash.
La Plata quarterback Jordan Sinclair dives into the end zone in the second quarter as the Warriors forged a 24-0 lead. Patuxent made things interesting in the second half but Sinclair and the Warriors lasted for a 38-34 last Friday evening in the SMAC clash
Patuxent quarterback Tazman Davis dives into the end zone for one of his five rushing touchdowns against La Plata on Friday night. La Plata led 24-0 early, but the Panthers made things interesting in the second half before eventually falling short 38-34 in the SMAC clash.
Photo by Rob Worman
La Plata quarterback Jordan Sinclair dives into the end zone in the second quarter as the Warriors forged a 24-0 lead. Patuxent made things interesting in the second half but Sinclair and the Warriors lasted for a 38-34 last Friday evening in the SMAC clash
On a night when the La Plata High School football team scored the game’s first 24 points in less than 13 minutes, the Warriors needed several late key plays from quarterback Jordan Sinclair on the ground to forge a 38-34 victory over Patuxent on Friday night in a Southern Maryland Athletic Conference Chesapeake Division contest to secure their first winning season in almost 20 years.
La Plata third-year head coach Rod Milstead admitted afterward that the Warriors football program and winning records had hardly been used in the same sentence over the past two decades. But Friday night the Warriors owned a 24-0 lead early then edged the visiting Panthers despite five rushing touchdowns from junior quarterback Tazman Davis.
“All week long I reminded the kids that La Plata football had not had a winning season since 1998,” said Milstead, who played for the Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins during a brief NFL career. “La Plata football and winning records and playoffs probably have not been synonymous in a long time. But the guys really worked hard to get to this point.”
La Plata (6-3, 4-1 SMAC Chesapeake) needed slightly more than two minutes to score on its opening drive with Sinclair and Peytyn Gray running the ball effectively and Sinclair scored from two yards out. Then after the Warriors were stuffed inside the Patuxent 5-yard line, La Plata’s Jason Slater recovered a fumble and raced into the end zone for a 16-0 lead.
Patuxent (2-7, 2-4) crossed midfield on its next possession but again came up empty by committing its third turnover of the half. La Plata needed only three plays to go 58 yards and Sinclair again did the damage with his feet, racing 28 yards for his second rushing touchdown of the half on the second play of the second quarter.
“Our offensive line really deserves a lot of credit,” Sinclair said. “Patuxent made some adjustments and took away the middle, so we had to bounce some plays outside. Our line has done a great job all year. We’ve been able to run the ball and they’ve given me time to throw when I drop back.”
Patuxent, however, wasted little time getting back into the contest. On the Panthers’ next play from scrimmage, Davis found a hole up the middle, bounced the play toward the left sidelines and outraced the La Plata defenders to complete an 80-yard touchdown run that gave the visitors life after they appeared on the verge of being knocked out early.
“Our guys had a great week of practice and they knew we only had two games left to finish the season on a high note,” Patuxent first-year coach Nick Allen said. “Tazman and Dajore [Brooks] both had a great game. Tazman has the ability to make some explosive plays with his feet. He’s truly a special player and he’s got another year and Dajore still has two more years.”
Davis, however, was hardly finished. On the Panthers’ next possession, Davis and Brooks did ample job on the ground. Davis converted on fourth down near midfield, then Brooks ran for 24 yards followed by Davis completing the drive with a 25-yard run with 1 minute 22 seconds remaining in the first half.
Patuxent promptly opened the second half with a 15-play drive that lasted nearly seven minutes and ended with Davis scoring from three yards out to trim the gap to 24-20. Neither team scored over the last five minutes of the third quarter, but both offenses made big plays during a frenetic fourth quarter that accounted for nearly one-half of the total points scored.
La Plata forged a two-score advantage, needing only four plays to go 76 yards as Sinclair completed two passes for 21 yards and Nico Stout raced 64 yards for a touchdown. The Panthers refused to go away quietly as Davis capped another quick drive with a 64-yard touchdown run of his own to bring the visitors within 32-26.
La Plata again relied on Sinclair to do most of the damage on the next drive with his feet, rushing three times for 48 yards and found the end zone from 32 yards out. Patuxent again responded with an 80-yard drive as Davis carried the load on the ground and scored from 16 yards out for his fifth rushing touchdown of the game, albeit in a losing cause.
“Our line always does a great job,” Davis said. “[Brooks] likes to power up the middle. When the defenses collapse on him, that allows me to get to the outside. We wanted to win these last two games for our seniors. It was a heck of a battle. Even when we fell behind, we just wanted to go out there and keep fighting and see what we could do and finish on a strong note.”
The Panthers wrap up the regular season at home versus St. Charles at 7 p.m. Friday. The Spartans (4-5) come into the contest with a two-game winning streak after defeating Leonardtown in Week 9, 28-14.
La Plata, still with playoff aspirations heading into the final week, host Westlake (7-2) at 7 p.m. Friday. The Wolverines saw their six-game win streak end in a 30-7 loss to Lackey in Week 9.
