The Rockets giveth, the Devils taketh away

Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2005

The Richard Montgomery High football team had one thing on its mind Saturday afternoon — wrapping up a berth in the Class 4A West Region playoffs.

Well, the Rockets wrapped something, all right. But it was the football, in shiny paper and a big bow, with a gift tag that read, ‘‘To: Springbrook.” On senior day at Montgomery College-Rockville, the Rockets committed seven turnovers. Springbrook took full advantage, turning just 228 yards of offense into an 18-15 victory.

‘‘I tell you, I think the whole game was just turnovers,” Richard Montgomery coach Mike Bonavia said. ‘‘You can’t give the ball away that much and expect to win.”

In 10 offensive possessions, Richard Montgomery (6-3 overall, 3-3 in the Montgomery 4A East Division) didn’t punt once. Credit the Blue Devils with finding other ways to stop drives — four interceptions and three fumble recoveries. Sophomore Darius Hill sacked Gary Tillman on fourth and 3 to end the Rockets’ opening drive, the only one that didn’t end in points or a turnover.

But if seven turnovers is an eye-catching statistic, the Blue Devils (5-4, 2-3 4A East) have one to match it — they did not convert a single one of those miscues into points. Springbrook’s first scoring drive followed Hill’s fourth-down sack; the other two were in immediate response to Richard Montgomery touchdowns.

The Blue Devils’ ability to come up with big plays at key times was nearly as important a theme as the turnovers. Quarterback Harold Brantley engineered a key first-down conversion on each of their scoring drives.

On the first, Springbrook faced third and 8 from its own 39-yard line. Brantley hit Ben Simmons on a curl route for the first down, and Simmons broke two tackles and raced 54 yards to the Rockets’ 7. Hill punched it in two plays later.

Trailing 7-6 midway through the third quarter, Springbrook faced third and 10 from midfield. Brantley connected on a 13-yard screen to Derek Overton. Three plays later, on third and 5, he hit tight end Darryl Kornegay for 24 yards and another first down. Overton ran it in two plays later.

After Richard Montgomery reclaimed a 15-12 lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Brantley, on second and 10, took off on a quarterback draw, racing 31 yards into Rockets’ territory and setting up Overton’s game-winning 20-yard touchdown run.

‘‘The quarterback draw wasn’t a called play, but Harold saw an opening and that was a huge play,” Springbrook coach Rob Wendel said. ‘‘He stepped it up.”

Brantley completed all four of his passing attempts in the game, all on third down, three of which moved the chains. With that exception, though, the Rockets’ defense was stout, allowing just 135 yards on the ground and forcing a fumble of their own early in the second half to set up their first touchdown.

Richard Montgomery’s turnovers may not have handed Springbrook any points, but it sure made stopping the offense easier. Seniors Kevon Calhoun (16 carries, 101 yards) and Gary Tillman (8 of 14, 140 yards, 2 TDs) were effective — when they held onto the ball.

To his big sack and rushing touchdown, Hill added a fumble recovery and a tipped pass that resulted in an interception. Junior cornerback Nick Oates picked off Tillman once and Calhoun once, on a halfback option pass.

‘‘We believe we’re one of the best corner corps in the county,” Oates said. ‘‘Our line gets pressure up front, and we do the rest. ... They’ve got a lot of athletes. I think it’s poor coaching, and a lot of individuals instead of a team.”

Tillman and senior Malik Simmons each fumbled once. Tillman was intercepted three times, including twice in the fourth quarter after the Rockets fell behind.

But Richard Montgomery had one last gasp. With 1:17 to play, Tillman hit Calhoun on a crossing pattern into Springbrook territory. It looked like a first down, but Calhoun fumbled when he was hit. The Blue Devils recovered to seal the win.

‘‘We were fortunate on the turnover side,” Wendel said. ‘‘If we’re going to win the game, we said coming in, ‘If the ball hits the ground, we have to be the first ones on it.’”