Vikings
0
(2-2)
Blue Devils
14
(3-1)
6:30 PM, September 23, 2011
Springbrook Memorial Field,
Springbrook High School, Silver Spring,
MD
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
T |
|
WHI |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
SPR |
7 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
14 |
Vikings Shut Out at Springbrook, 14-0
Wayne Hunley
Silver Spring, MD - -
After a day of heavy rain, it was easy to expect a defensive battle where turnovers and field position would dominate, and Whitman’s game at Springbrook did not disappoint. Unfortunately, the turnovers went the Blue Devils’ way too many times, and Whitman came out on the short end of a 14-0 score.
Whitman dodged two bullets early in the first quarter. On Springbrook’s first possession, a long TD run was called back on a holding call, forcing a punt. The Blue Devils got the ball back almost immediately on a first down fumble at the Viking 27, but a Mark Hunley sack and another holding call (Springbrook had trouble all night with Whitman’s d-line) led to a punt. As would become the case for most of the night, though, Whitman punted the ball back after one first down, and Springbrook closed out the quarter with a touchdown run that topped off a 62 yard drive that was aided by a horse collar call.
The second quarter settled into an exchange of punts as both teams had trouble maintaining any offensive rhythm as players repeatedly slipped in the midst of cuts. The Vikings seemed to be getting the best of the play, with a strong push up front and hard running by Val Djidotor, but the momentum would come to a halt with penalties and the inability to sustain any passing game in these conditions.
The third quarter opened with near disaster, as the Blue Devils executed a perfect pooch-style onside kick that not only resulted in their recovering the ball at the Whitman 25, but knocked Val Djidotor out of the game with an ankle injury. With Springbrook inside the Viking 10 and seemingly on the way to putting the game out of reach, the Viking D stiffened again, drawing yet another holding call and then forcing a fumble. At that point, Whitman got its only real drive of the night going, with Arsalan Nejad breaking a run to midfield. Just when the Vikings seemed about to mount a threat, the penalty snake bit them again, with a nice run negated by a motion penalty, followed by a hold that effectively killed the drive.
Zach Morton’s punting and tough defense kept Whitman in the game for a while, but when Springbrook went up two scores on a 73 yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, the issue was settled.