The Potomac High School football was nearly upset Saturday afternoon.

Host Surrattsville played three quarters without its starting quarterback, had its starting running back injure his ankle in the second quarter and its best lineman was ejected in the third quarter.

Still, it almost defeated the Wolverines. In the end, Potomac won 14-12.

Surrattsville’s Tommie Broadwater IV returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, but the Hornets couldn’t convert their two-point attempt. It proved to be the final difference.

Hornets sophomore quarterback Robert Harris III injured his head and was taken to the hospital after scoring on a 1-yard touchdown plunge in the first quarter. Backup Mareico Greene finished the game with one completion for 32 yards on nine attempts and an interception. He also changed the call at the line of scrimmage on Surrattsville’s unsuccessful two-point try.

“He made one check that he shouldn’t have. It was there. They stacked us to the right and he checked back into the blitz,” Hornets coach Robert Harris said. “But I can’t be upset with him. He played a heck of a game and he didn’t come off the field.”

Potomac (4-2) scored all 14 of its points in the second quarter when the Wolverines deployed a no-huddle offense. Senior quarterback Antonio Washington completed six of his eight pass attempts on Potomac’s two scoring drives for 65 yards. During the drive, he connected with five different receivers and ran it in from the 1 to tie the score at six.

“I told our kids, these are character games,” Wolverines coach Ronnie Crump said. “You can’t always roll them up. We’ve got to know how to play through adversity. We fought and made a few plays to hold onto the game.”

On the final play of the first half, Washington hit senior Aaron Williams for a 30-yard touchdown in the front corner of the end zone and again connected with Williams for the two-point attempt to give Potomac a 14-6 lead at the break.

“I felt good. I was asking my team all game to just fight. Stay together,” Williams said. “It’s been hard, but we’re just making it happen. We’re fighting, staying focused and playing football.”

The game was chippy throughout as both sides seemed unhappy with the officials. A total of 27 penalties were called in the game between the two teams.

Surrattsville’s best lineman, Jaylen Harris, was ejected from the game along with Potomac lineman Alante Warrick after a scrum broke out with 9 minutes, 12 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Hornets running back Daquan West, nicknamed “meatball,” was injured in the second quarter and didn’t play consistently the rest of the way. He finished with 16 yards on six carries.

“I’m just glad that the kids got in and were able to execute what they did under the situation,” Harris said. “We lost key players in several areas and sometimes as a coach, you just don’t know how that’s going to go.”

Surrattsville will visit Crossland on Saturday and Potomac will play host to Largo.

ncammarota@gazette.net

Potomac 14, Surrattsville 12

Potomac (4-2) 0 14 0 0 — 14

Surrattsville (4-2) 6 0 0 6 — 12

S — Robert Harris III 1 run (kick blocked)

P — Antonio Washington 1 run (kick failed)

P — Aaron Williams 30 pass from Antonio Washington (Aaron Williams pass from Antonio Washington)

S — Tommie Broadwater IV 55 punt return (run failed)

RUSHING

Potomac — Darren Kelley Jr. 19-78, Calil Wilkins 7-23, Jamar Hagens 2-8, Antonio Washington 9-4, Dangelo Smith 1-(-5).

Surrattsville — Amaru Major 9-51, Mareico Greene 7-18, Daquan West 6-16, Alonzo Anderson 1-0, Robert Harris III 2-(-11).

PASSING

Potomac — Antonio Washington 11-23-127-1.

Surrattsville — Mareico Greene 1-9-32-1, Robert Harris III 1-2-25-0.

RECEIVING

Potomac — Aaron Williams 3-63, Dionzae Foote’ 3-34, Maurice Fisher 1-18, Jerome Dews 1-7, Cameron Gulley 1-6, Calil Wilkins 2-(-1).

Surrattsville — Ryan Wilcox 1-32, Mareico Greene 1-25.