Wolverines Lose a Heart-Breaker

Article by Brandy Simms and Sebastian Montes; photos by Sebastian Montes.

Scoring only on their first and final play from scrimmage, the Blake Bengals handed Watkins Mill a deflating 15-10 defeat Friday night—one that cost the Wolverines their starting quarterback and put a damper on their playoff hopes.

Friday’s contest pitted a pair of upstart programs looking to build toward their best season in years. One would leave Wolverine Stadium crestfallen; the other would find a well of grit and determination.

Watkins Mill got off to an inauspicious start when wide-out Aziz Baby threw an interception on Watkins Mill's first snap. On the very next play—with the Wolverines’ sideline screaming for the defense to watch for a sweep—the Bengals ran a counter that sprang junior running back Will Scott nearly untouched up the gut for a 22-yard touchdown.

The Wolverines clawed back through the first quarter, putting together two drives that pushed deep into Blake territory but sputtered at the doorstep. On the second of those drives, quarterback and kicker Patrick Schlosser nailed a 31-yard field goal to get Watkins Mill on the scoreboard with 3:48 left in the first.

Watkins Mill’s defense came up big on the ensuing drive when Baby pounced on a Blake fumble. Two plays later, Baby turned the Bengal miscue into a Watkins Mill lead by catching a quick slant from Schlosser, running through three would-be tacklers, and edging the ball over the goal line.

The 10-7 score stood over the next 35 minutes of play as the teams tussled back and forth on fruitless drives. Watkins Mill paid the bigger price in the exchange when a pair of bruising tackles combined to knock Schlosser out of the game just before halftime. Midway through the second quarter, the elusive junior took an unobstructed hit as he let go a deep pass. After sitting out for several minutes, he returned for the final drive before halftime. Another hard shot to the midsection knocked him out of the game for good.

Do-everything senior Deontray George—who scored on an interception, punt return and quarterback keeper —took the reins. Though Watkins Mill didn’t score in the second half, George orchestrated time-consuming drives and nearly put the game away.

"I felt like I did good, but I didn’t do good enough to get a win," George said. "It’s not even about my effort; it’s about the team’s effort. I just want to win with my team—that’s it."

Much of George’s success under center came as he struck a quick rapport with Baby, connecting on a pair of long passes and two other third-down conversions

"Right when we got in, we looked at each other, made that eye contact and we knew to turn it on," Baby said.

The duo appeared to give Watkins Mill a comfortable lead with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter when George hit Baby in stride up the left sideline for a 23-yard touchdown, but the play was called back for offensive pass interference.

Looking to put the game away after yet another Blake turnover, George converted a crucial third-down throw to Baby with 5:43 left. But on the very next play, he scrambled right and—as a Bengal defender bore down on him—floated a pass up the sideline that Blake junior Ricardo Malcolm tipped to himself and hauled in for an interception that gave Blake the one last chance.

The Bengals answered with a 13-play, 66-yard drive as running backs Will Scott and William Sewell pounded the ball through the teeth of the Wolverines’ defense. On third down and goal from the 11, Blake QB Julian Carr—who had twice badly overthrown wide-open receivers for certain touchdowns earlier in the game—finished off the comeback with a toss just over outstretched arms to tight end Elijah Bah with 37.7 seconds left.

Though his team gave up too many turnovers and went through long, stagnant stretches, Blake head coach Tony Nazzaro lauded his team’s persistence: "I talked to them about that after the game. I said even when it looked bleak we never gave up and that’s what I was most proud of the kids, they kept fighting, they kept competing and ultimately they found a way to win."

Their 2-1 record puts Blake in unfamiliar territory for a program that has struggled in recent years. Nazarro hopes Friday’s win can be the kind that catapults them to bigger things the rest of the season.

"To find a way to gut out a victory there at the end … it’s a huge win for our team right now," Nazarro said. "It gives us a lot of confidence, a lot of momentum. We still obviously have a lot of improvements to do but going into next week with the rivalry game with Paint Branch we’re feeling good about being 2-1. If we can find a way to win that one, we put ourselves in a great spot."

Conversely, the loss leaves Watkins Mill (1-2) with an even narrower margin for error in their bid to make the playoffs for the first time in years.

A top priority will be adjusting to injuries that have stretched their roster thin. Schlosser is Watkins Mill’s third offensive starter to go down with injury. Workhorse running back Mike Offutt and wide receiver J.R. Gibson are both sidelined by injuries suffered in .

The diminished depth has taken its toll at the end of the last two games. Combining the Damascus and Blake games, Watkins Mill had a +3 point differential in the first half. In the second half, the Wolverines have been outscored 15-0.

Their schedule leaves no time for licking wounds. Watkins Mill now faces a pair of crucial road games: first on Sept. 23 at bitter rival Clarksburg, then at Rockville on Sept. 30.

"You’ve got to regroup. What can you do?" said Coach Kevin Watson. "You’ve got to regroup and we’ve got another 4A game coming up next week. It’s more points. You’ve got to go get them. You’ve got to beat some of these 4A teams to get those points. That’s the bottom line."