Of Long Reach's three wins coming into its game against Marriotts Ridge, each was by a touchdown or less. There was little drama on Friday night at Marriotts Ridge. Junior Phillip Rhoden returned the opening kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown and made a second-quarter interception that led to a second score as the Lightning (4-1) pulled away for a 34-8 victory over the Mustangs (0-5).

“That really did help set the tone of the game, and then his interception really turned the momentum as well,” Long Reach coach Pete Hughes said of Rhoden's big plays.

Rhoden isn't considered the team's top kick returner. That distinction belongs to Oakland Mills junior transfer Adam Reed, who returned one 80 yards for a score in Week 1, or Travis Preston, who returned one 77 yards (but was kept out of the end zone) in a Week 3 loss to River Hill.

“They tried to keep it away from Adam Reed and Travis Preston because they're our two threats back there, so they figured they'd kick it short, but we still have the same amount of talent at each position,” Rhoden said. “I saw that he kicked the ball kind of short, so I fielded the ball, found the crease up the middle, hit the hole hard, and I bounced it to the outside. I kept running down the sideline to daylight. I want to thank my blockers for blocking hard for me.”

“We've got six guys back there, and any one of them can go the distance,” Hughes said.

Marriotts Ridge, which won seven games last year but is struggling with injuries and a lack of seniors, put together a solid drive on the next series. Greg Stokes, a converted lineman, ran for gains of 16 and 17 yards, and Bryce Garipay threw a short pass to Armani Dixon, who beat his pursuers to the outside, then sprinted up the sideline for a 38-yard touchdown.

The Mustangs held an 8-6 lead after the first quarter, but after Rhoden's interception and the first of Kwasi Sarpong's three rushing touchdowns, it was all Long Reach.

The Lightning defense, which held Marriotts Ridge to 125 yards rushing, was led by Adam Scanlan-Berman (11-yard sack on fourth down), Damon Daniels (blocked pass), David Dayhoff (tackle for seven-yard loss), David Foster (six-yard sack) and Anthony Brown (fumble recovery).

Long Reach ran the ball 47 times for 200 yards, led by Sarpong's 74 yards and Preston's 49.

“(Their running game) just wears on you," Marriotts Ridge coach Ken Hovet said. "We didn't help ourselves with turnovers, bad field position and special teams ... but they were tough. We have eight kids over here on the sideline (injured) out of 32 … that makes it hard to have any consistency, but the kids are doing what they can. They're playing hard.”

Long Reach        6 14 7  7  – 34
Marriotts Ridge  8  0  0  0  –  8

First quarter
LR: Rhoden 70 kick return (kick failed), 11:47.
MR: Dixon 38 pass from Garipay (Dixon run), 8:17.

Second quarter
LR: Sarpong 6 run (Sarpong run), 11:30.
LR: Sarpong 2 run (pass failed), 3:25.

Third quarter
LR: Korzienowski 1 run (Dayhoff kick), 4:41.

Fourth quarter
LR: Sarpong 10 run (Valenza kick), 10:34.

Around the league
Wilde Lake 34, Centennial 6

E.J. Gilman (109) and Khalil Vierra (107) teamed up to rush for more than 200 yards and two touchdowns each in a 34-6 win at Centennial, helping the Wildecats (3-2) rebound from a homecoming loss to Atholton last week. Centennial (1-4) scored on a 21-yard pass from Matt Harbinson to Kyle Young. Wilde Lake quarterback Joe Kelly was 6-for-6, passing for 101 yards. Jordan Mynatt (53 yards receiving) and Greg Meighen (29) each caught two passes.

Wilde Lake   0 14  14  6 - 34
Centennial   0   6   0   0 -  6

Second quarter
WL: Gilman 2 run (Seidell kick)
WL: Vierra 3 run (Seidell kick)
C: Young 21 pass from Harbinson (kick failed)

Third quarter
WL: Gilman 2 run (Seidell kick)
WL: Vierra 16 run (Seidell kick)

Fourth quarter
WL: Harris 5 run (pass failed)

Atholton 32, Oakland Mills 14

The Raiders (5-0) also kept their record pristine with a 32-14 win over visiting Oakland Mills (0-5).

Andrew King (59 yards, two touchdowns), Kendall Newsome (80, one), Anthony Ernest (80)  and Brandon Dawson (40) led a diverse Raiders rushing attack that gained 284 yards. Atholton senior Kalvin Seamonson continued his sensational season completing seven passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns. Matt Robinson led the Raiders with four catches for 99 yards and a touchdown.

Seamonson and Adam D'Amico each made interceptions for Atholton, Brian Anthony made a sack and King broke up a pass. Curtis Pumphrey (five solo, two assisted) and Adam Brown (3, 6) led the Raiders in tackles.

Oakland Mills  7   0    7  0 - 14
Atholton          13 13  6  0 - 32

First quarter
A: Raines 15 pass from Seamonson (kick good), 10:19.
OM: 4 run (Rynn-Mason kick), 6:09.
A: King 25 run (failed), 1:44.

Second quarter
A: King 2 run (failed), 9:20.
A: Newsome 8 run (kick good), 1:08.

Third quarter
A: Robinson 70 pass from Seamonson (failed), 11:34.
OM: Smith 10 pass from Montoya (Rynn-Mason kick), 8:02.

Glenelg 28, Reservoir 21

The Gladiators (5-0) had a close call but kept their perfect record intact, prevailing over a scrappy Reservoir (1-4) squad.

Senior Shannon Maura led the Glenelg rushing with 171 yards on 20 attempts. Quarterback Gage Trawick  completed eight of his 13 pass attempts for 119 yards and two touchdowns, one each to Colin Osborne and David Marsh.

River Hill 30, Howard 15

River Hill (5-0) won its 33rd game in a row, but Howard (2-3) gave the Hawks a battle. It was River Hill's closest regular-season game since a 12-0 win over Wilde Lake last October.

Howard's A.J. Bonavitacola proved his mettle against one of the state's best defenses, rushing for touchdowns of 54 and 32 yards, and scoring a two-point conversion.

Howard    7 0 0 8 - 15
River Hill 7 9 7 7 - 30

First quarter
RH: Neuberth 4 run (Shahegh kick)
Ho: Bonavitacola 54 run (Lee kick)

Second quarter
RH: Shahegh 22 field goal
RH: McMichael 11 run (kick failed)

Third quarter
RH: Erdman 11 punt block return (Shahegh kick)

Fourth quarter
Ho: Bonavitacola 32 run (Bonavitacola run)
RH: McMichael 6 run (Shahegh kick)

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