(Enlarge) Oakland Mills junior Neko Rynn-Mason tries to avoid a tackle by Hammond sophomore Malaky Drummer during the first half Sept. 20 at Hammond High School. Oakland Mills won, 9-7. (staff photo by Todd Spoth)

Despite having the build of a defensive end, Oakland Mills senior Nate Frimpong will always be the victim of a stereotype.

"Nate Frimpong. He's from England. The kid's got a hell of a leg. He was a soccer player," said Oakland Mills coach Jim Riss when asked about his field goal kicker.

Frimpong struck a blow for his under-appreciated position mates across the globe when he kicked a 41-yard field goal as time expired to give Oakland Mills a 9-7 win Sept. 20 at Hammond.

"I always dreamed about doing the game-winning kick. The feeling's amazing," he said.

Frimpong moved to Columbia from England in 2006 when his parents divorced. He and his mother moved here to live near her family.

"I wanted to play football, but I had been playing soccer most of my life. I kicked (at tryouts) and I could kick further than anyone else," Frimpong said.

The 6-foot, 180-pound senior played defensive end as a sophomore, but didn't get to kick much as the team struggled for scoring chances. He played soccer last season, but returned to football.

In the season opener against Marriotts Ridge, Frimpong kicked a 37-yard field goal.

"He cleared the thing by like 15 yards," Riss said. "We know (if) we get around the 30-yard line or shorter, this kid can hit."

As the Oakland Mills and Hammond defenses battled the others offenses to a virtual stalemate for much of the game, it looked as if a field goal by either team would be all it would take to win.

Nate Gant (nine tackles, two for loss, sack), Anton Haynes, and Plazak (25-yard interception return) led the Hammond defensive effort, while Khalil Norris, Maurice and Marcus Hockaday, Glen Ashe and Gage Ealy led the Scorpions' defense.

Neither team got into the red zone until Hammond made a push to the 10-yard line with less than three minutes left in the first half. Two incomplete passes and an illegal substitution penalty set the Golden Bears up for a 30-yard field goal attempt, but it was blocked.

In the second half, the two teams battled between the 20-yard lines until just over five minutes left in the game when the Bears, playing in front of their homecoming crowd, mounted a 16-play, 67-yard drive to the Oakland Mills 7-yard line. On fourth-and-2 from the 7, Hammond went for it, but Damon Daniels made the tackle for a 3-yard loss and Oakland Mills took over on downs.

"Defense played a (great) game all day, they really did. Offense? We kept shooting ourselves in the foot. We'd get something going and then shoot ourselves in the foot," Riss said.

Hammond broke the scoreless tie after a 30-yard punt gave the Golden Bears the ball on the Oakland Mills 45-yard line. On the ensuing play, Samuel Plazak tossed a short lob to Kopnitsky up the middle for a 45-yard TD. With only three minutes left in the game, it looked as if the 7-0 lead would hold up.

"We really played hard today and gave everything we had," Hammond coach Tim Cullen said.

But Oakland Mills responded with an 86-yard drive, culminating with a 31-yard touchdown pass from a scrambling Neko Rynn-Mason to Shamal Marryshow, who tip-toed up the sideline to stay in bounds with 44 seconds left in the game.

Down, 7-6, and Frimpong available on the sideline, Oakland Mills could have tied the game with an extra-point kick attempt, but Riss opted to go for two and the win. The line collapsed on the two-point conversion and Rynn-Mason was sacked, leaving Oakland Mills one point behind.

"The rule of thumb is when you're on the road, you go for the win," Riss said.

Oakland Mills' last chance for a win came down to Frimpong, who caromed an onside kick off of a Hammond player and then recovered the ball.

"As soon as I recovered that fumble, (my teammmates) were like 'You're going to be kicking soon'," Frimpong said.

Sure enough, he got his shot. The Scorpions got the ball to the Hammond 27-yard line after passes of 22 and 4 yards to Adam Reed, setting up Frimpong's game-winning field goal.

"I'm nervous, but I just have to shut that out. It's just the snapper, holder and me. (I kept telling myself) just drive straight through it, don't even look up. In that direction, hit it as hard as I can," he said. "Right then, I didn't even realize how far it was."

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