Churchill senior quarterback Lansana Keita scored three touchdowns Friday night to lead the Bulldogs past Gaithersburg, 24-6, in a 4A West Region semifinal matchup in Potomac.
Keita ran for two scores and threw for another as Churchill eliminated Gaithersburg from the postseason.
“We just played our brand of football and we won this game,” said Keita.
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Said Gaithersburg coach Kreg Kephart:
“We knew we had to play well to beat them, and we didn’t play well.”
Find out what's happening in Gaithersburgfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Churchill won the regular season meeting between the two teams, 15-13, but the rematch was one-sided as Gaithersburg had several key players sidelined with injury.
“Gaithersburg came in a little bit short-handed, we knew that,” said Churchill coach Joe Allen. “We’re a better ballclub than when we played them the first time and we just wanted to show that tonight.”
The Bulldogs have won seven straight games after taking a 32-6 loss to Seneca Valley on Sept. 23.
Churchill, the No. 2 seed in the 4A West, advanced to play top-seeded Quince Orchard next weekend in the region final. The Cougars (11-0) defeated No. 4 B-CC on Friday night, 52-7.
“I think QO is a very good team,” said Allen. “Everybody knows how good they are but the thing is no one knows how good we are so we’re going to continue to do the things we do best and we’re going to be ready to play.”
The Bulldogs dominated Gaithersburg from the onset, scoring in the first quarter on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Keita to junior wide receiver Dominique Williams. Churchill (10-1) added another touchdown early in the second quarter when Keita broke several tackles on a 34-yard touchdown scamper that gave the Bulldogs a 14-0 advantage.
Churchill took a 17-0 lead into the locker room when Nadim Elhage booted a 41-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
The loss was Gaithersburg's sixth in the last seven games after starting the season 4-0.
Keita’s one-yard dive put the Bulldogs ahead, 24-0, with 9:28 remaining in the fourth period before Gaithersburg drove 72 yards and scored on Billy Brown’s leaping 2-yard touchdown grab from quarterback Lincon Reyes.
Churchill halted a pair of Gaithersburg drives in the second half with interceptions by Jonathan Lee and Jaylen Rawlings. Churchill linebacker Bret Sickels and Nadim Elhage, a defensive lineman, also registered sacks.
“Our defense was phenomenal,” said Allen. “They’ve been pretty consistent all year but I feel tonight was the best they’ve played all season long and looks like we’re peaking going into the playoffs at the right time.”
