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(Enlarge) Atholton junior offensive lineman Colin Gordon, surrounded by teammates, celebrates the Raiders' ninth win Friday night. The Raiders defeated visiting Glenelg, 14-13, scoring the winning point with 30 seconds remaining. (Photo by Brendan Cavanaugh)

It was only an extra point, and it was only a Week 10 game with no playoff implications, but little things can add up to a lot in high school football.

With a 14-13 win over visiting Glenelg (8-2) Friday night, Atholton improved to 9-1 for the first time ever.

Records are spotty from the 1960s and 1970s, but it appears nine wins is a record for the school. The Raiders won eight games in 2005, and that was their first playoff trip since 1985. That season, they also won eight games, and it was the school’s first trip to the playoffs.

“Going 9-1 is a tremendous accomplishment, 5-0 at home, and we came out relatively healthy, so there’s a lot to be gained from this,” said first-year coach Kyle Schmitt.

The game was tied, 7-7, going into the fourth quarter after a second-quarter touchdown pass from Glenelg’s Gage Trawick to Shannon Maura, and a third-quarter touchdown run by Atholton’s Andrew King.

The Gladiators took the lead with less than five minutes left on a fourth-down, 8-yard touchdown pass from Trawick to Shane Kellaher, but missed the extra point.



Atholton then got the ball on its 35-yard line after Glenelg’s kickoff went out of bounds. The Raiders put together an 11-play, four-minute clutch drive that culminated in an Andrew King 2-yard touchdown plunge to tie the score at 13.



Brett Haas, a sophomore called up to the varsity in midseason, then calmly kicked the extra point with 30 seconds remaining for the 14-13 margin.

“That’s a young guy, but he plays like an old dude, he’s fantastic,” said senior captain Ryan Raines, who ran for 14 yards on a reverse on the game-winning drive. “He sunk that kick when they couldn’t get theirs, and that (was) the game right there.”

Glenelg still had a chance after Colin Osborne returned the ensuing kickoff to his 45-yard line, and almost broke free for more. After a short pass play to midfield, Trawick spiked the ball and then tossed a pass intended for Shane Kellaher at the goal line that was broken up by Matt Robinson as the clock expired.

“We had this game. We definitely had this game, but they’re a good team,” Trawick said. “I thought we played them well. I think we’ll be able to keep our heads (up) because it was a close game and we were in it. It wasn’t like we came out and laid an egg. We played as hard as we could.”

Glenelg was 2-0 in one-point games this season before Friday’s loss.

Glenelg coach Butch Scahffer was confident his players will rebound for next week’s playoff game.

“We played hard all year, and we have nothing to be ashamed about,” he said. “Our kids will bounce back. We’re resilient, we’re tough kids, and we’re going to play hard next week.”

The Raiders' first three drives ended with turnovers. Two interceptions and then a fumble on Glenelg's 15-yard line. After his two early picks, quarterback Kalvin Seamonson took to the ground and ran for a game-high 147 yards, including 65 on the Raiders' two touchdown drives.



"We put a couple quarterback runs in this week, so we wanted to take advantage of that, and Kalvin's gutsy," Schmitt said. "I didn't think he played his best game -- he had those two quick picks early -- but he willed it."

Based on the records coming into this week, Wilde Lake will visit Atholton, and Douglass (PG) will travel to Glenelg in the first round of the playoffs. Defending state champion River Hill, which defeated Centennial Friday night, will host J.M. Bennett. River Hill beat Atholton last week to win their seventh straight county title.

"We took a tough one from River Hill last week. It was really important to bounce back and start winning football games again," Raines said. "You don't want to be satisfied with the feeling of losing, you definitely want to get back that winning feeling and roll right into the playoffs."



Glenelg   0  7  0  6  - 13
Atholton  0  0  7  7  - 14

Second quarter
G: Maura 22 pass from Trawick (Brister kick), 3:41.

Third quarter
A: King 1 run (Haas kick), 2:39.

Fourth quarter
G: Kellaher 8 pass from Trawick (kick failed), 4:52.
A: King 1 run (Haas kick), :30.

Around the league

River Hill 41, Centennial 21

The Hawks (10-0) completed an undefeated regular season to clinch the county title outright, but Centennial (4-6) made it interesting by scoring three touchdowns. The Hawks last allowed three touchdowns in a 2006 state championship game loss to Friendly (37-18). They extended their winning streak to 38 games.

Long Reach 34, Oakland Mills 0

Adam Reed scored two touchdowns against his former team -- on a 48-yard run and a 50-yard reception from Tim Sloan (6-for-7 passing) -- as the Lightning put up almost 500 yards of total offense (410 rushing yards, 88 passing) in the shut out. Phillip Rhoden (113 yards) also scored twice, including a 51-yard run, but Kwasi Sarpong (153 yards) was Long Reach's leading rusher. Reed had 96 rushing yards on only four carries.

The win ended a three-game losing streak for the Lightning (6-4) and helped them finish the season with a positive scoring differential (182-156).

The Scorpions (1-9) gained a first down only once in 11 third down situations.

Long Reach
     7  14  13  0 - 34
Oakland Mills
  0    0   0   0 -  0

First quarter
LR:
Rhoden 4 run (Dayhoff kick), 3:46.

Second quarter
LR: Rhoden 51 run (kick failed), 4:20.
LR: Reed 50 pass from Sloan (Rhoden run), :41.

Third quarter
LR: Reed 48 run (Dayhoff kick), 10:12.
LR: Montag 5 run (kick failed), 4:30.

Wilde Lake 28, Reservoir 7

The Wildecats (7-3) held their third straight opponent to a touchdown or less, and have allowed only 40 points in six games since a Week 4 loss to Atholton (34-30). The Gators (3-7) scored at least once touchdown in every game this season.

E.J. Gilman (105) and Khalil Viera (104) both rushed past the century mark for the Wildecats, and A.J. Harris added 74 more. Devin McCoy and Antoine Barnes each picked off passes for Wilde Lake, and Eric Smith (2) and Mike Smith combined for three sacks.

Reservoir     0  7  0  0 -  7
Wilde Lake   6  8  7  7 – 28

First quarter
WL: Gilman 6 run (kick failed)

Second quarter
WL: Viera 5 run (Gilman pass from Kelly)
Re: Dennis 1 run (Marsh kick)

Third quarter
WL: Harris 1 run (Seidell kick)
WL: Viera 4 run (Seidell kick)

Howard 28, Mt. Hebron 14

The Lions (5-5) ended a two-game losing streak in which they allowed 49 points, limiting the Vikings (4-6) offense -- which was averaging 25 points per game — to two scores.

Hammond 32, Marriotts Ridge 21

Hammond (3-7) had its second-highest scoring output of the season, ended a four-game losing streak and handed Marriotts Ridge its first winless season. The Bears' three-win season is their best since they won four in 2005. The Mustangs scored a season-high 21 points.

This story has been updated.


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