Quick recaps on Southern Maryland high school football teams in first-round regional playoff action
Class 2A South Region first round
Calvert 13, Lackey 7
Just over a month after being defeated handily by the Chargers during the regular season, the visiting Cavaliers attained immediate revenge in Friday night’s win.
Calvert (5-5 overall), the seventh seed in the region, struck first when Kameron Hawkins scored from 12 yards out and Timmy Wood added the extra point with four minutes left in the first quarter.
Lackey (8-2), the region’s second seed, countered on its next possession by marching 66 yards in 10 plays with Jonathan Thompson scoring from five yards out with six seconds left in the first quarter.
The outcome of the game hinged largely on the last two drives of the second quarter.
The Chargers drove deep into Calvert territory, but were stuffed on fourth down and goal at the 1-yard line. The Cavaliers responded by going 95 yards in 13 plays and Wood connected on a 21-yard field goal with four seconds left in the half.
Hawkins promptly returned the second half kickoff 54 yards to the Lackey 33 and Calvert added to its lead when Wood connected on a 32-yard field goal with just over six minutes left in the third quarter.
The Chargers never seriously threatened to score in the second half and the Cavaliers were able to devour much of the fourth quarter on run plays from Hawkins.
Calvert earned the right to face third-seeded Potomac of Prince George's County in the second round of the 2A South playoffs at 7 p.m. Friday.
Patuxent 18, La Plata 7
The Panthers continued their winning ways from the regular season with Friday night’s win over the visiting Warriors for the team's eighth consecutive win.
Patuxent (8-2 overall), the fourth seed in the region, scored less than two minutes into the contest on a 63-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Adam Commodore to junior Trent Rocarek to lead 6-0.
The Panthers were unable to extend the lead by committing two red zone turnovers.
Just before halftime, fifth-seeded La Plata (6-4) ran a fake punt from its own 20 and senior Derez Johnson ran for 15 yards and a first down which led to the Warriors’ only scoring drive of the night.
Then, TJ Smith connected with senior Deshawn Thomas for a 34-yard touchdown on the final play of the first half and La Plata went to the break up 7-6.
After a third quarter that saw both teams being held off the scoreboard, the Warriors possessed the ball at the Patuxent 33 when the fourth quarter began.
The Panthers defense was able to stop La Plata and give the offense the ball back with 9 minutes 53 seconds left in the game.
On a third down-and-2, Patuxent senior Dajore Brooks ran for 35 yards to extend the drive, which eventually led to the game-winning score on a 10-yard pass from Commodore to Rocarek with 5:46 remaining.
La Plata, trailing 12-7, possessed the ball with a chance to take the lead with a touchdown. However, Commodore was able to jump in front of a wide receiver screen pass and run in a 39-yard interception return for a touchdown to help seal the Panthers’ playoff victory.
Patuxent will take on top-seeded Douglass of Prince George’s County, in a second-round contest next week at 1 p.m. Saturday at Wise High School in Upper Marlboro.
Potomac 42, Westlake 6
The visiting Wolverines saw their season come to a close on Friday night at Potomac.
Potomac led 7-0 after a quarter and 14-0 at halftime. The host Wolverines then doubled their lead to 28-0 after three quarters.
Westlake (4-6), the sixth seed in the region, got its only points of the night early in the fourth quarter, but third-seeded Potomac scored two more touchdowns before the game’s end.
Potomac will host seventh-seeded Calvert in the second round of the 2A South playoffs at 7 p.m. Friday.
Class 3A South Region first round
St. Charles 24, Northern 21
The host Spartans opened up an 16-0 first-quarter lead and got an interception return for a touchdown from Nicholas Fennell in the third to avenge last season's overtime playoff loss to the Patriots on Friday night.
The win was the first-ever playoff win for the St. Charles program.
St. Charles (8-2), the region's No. 4 seed, got rushing touchdowns from Klayton Batten and Justin Palmer, with successful 2-point conversion runs by Batten following each score, to open up the early 16-0 lead just 6:18 into the game.
Fifth-seeded Northern (5-5) came back with two touchdowns of its own, scoring on a 2-yard J.P. Gross run and later a 19-yard pass to Gross from Zach Crounse to pull to within 16-14 at the break.
Midway through the third quarter, Fennell returned an interception from close to midfield for a score that, with another Batten 2-point run, extended the hosts' lead to 24-14.
Northern again trimmed the gap back to a one-score game on Crounse's 32-yard pass to Cody Howard with 8:22 left in the game, but the Patriots were never able to cross midfield in two later possessions.
St. Charles will travel to top-seeded Huntingtown for a second-round region contest in the 3A South playoffs at 7 p.m. Friday.
Huntingtown 48, J.M. Bennett 0
The Hurricanes went to 10-0 on the season with their win over the visitors from Wicomico County on Friday night.
Huntingtown, the top seed in the region, led eighth-seeded J.M. Bennett 21-0 after a quarter and 35-0 at halftime en route to the shutout win.
Hurricanes quarterback Trent Connolly had eight completions with three going for touchdowns and Noah Kuntz completed one pass for 48 yards and a touchdown. Anthony Smith and Cameron Dalrymple each had two receiving touchdowns.
Connolly, Colin Wargo and Josh Stokes each scored touchdowns on the ground.
The shutout is the fourth of the season for Huntingtown. The defense has allowed just 66 points in 10 games thus far.
The Hurricanes will host fourth-seeded St. Charles in the second round of the 3A South playoffs at 7 p.m. Friday.
North Point 55, Northeast 0
The Eagles went to 8-2 on the season with their win over the visitors from Anne Arundel County on Friday night.
North Point, the third seed in the region, led sixth-seeded Northeast 28-0 after the first quarter and 42-0 at halftime en route to the win.
It was the Eagles’ first shutout of the season.
North Point will be at second-seeded Oxon Hill of Prince George’s County in the second round of the 3A South playoffs at 7 p.m. Friday.
St. Mary’s Ryken 35, Archbishop Carroll (D.C.) 12
The Knights finished up their regular season on Saturday with a Washington Catholic Athletic Conference win in Washington, D.C.
St. Mary’s Ryken (7-3, 4-0 WCAC Metro Division) led 7-6 after a quarter and 21-6 at halftime. After a scoreless third quarter, the Knights added two fourth-quarter touchdowns to pull away.
Jamaree Bowman had two rushing touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Trevor Nored.
Nored had two total touchdown passes in the win, the fourth straight for St. Mary’s Ryken, and ran in for a score.
The Knights host O'Connell (Va.) in a WCAC Metro Division semifinal contest at 3 p.m. Saturday.
