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After two series of Friday's 4A West Region football championship game, a 31-10 win for host and top-seeded Sherwood did not seem the likeliest outcome.
The Warriors' first drive went for 6 yards and a punt. Second-seeded Quince Orchard (10-2) marched 70 yards in 6 minutes, 18 seconds and kicked a field goal for a 3-0 lead.
In retrospect, it seems like a set-up. The Warriors (12-0) built from that start into a complete execution of every phase of the game.
They rushed for 256 yards, despite giving away more than 50 pounds per man at the line of scrimmage. They faced an attack that two weeks ago set a state record for yardage in a game, and held it without an offensive touchdown. They committed only two penalties, both for illegal motion, on back-to-back snaps.
It was, in short, a master class of playoff football, on a night when sub-freezing temperatures and pregame snow flurries just added to the big-game atmosphere.
"We knew we were going to have to do this through the run game," Sherwood senior Steven Gamble said. "To go against three D-I guys, for our linemen to get a push, we had an amazing game. The second half was unbelievable."
The 170-pound Gamble paved the way, both emotionally and literally, for Sherwood's rushing effort Friday. Senior halfback Dominique Davis, asked how he managed to run for 130 yards and two touchdowns against those big Cougar lineman, replied simply, "just follow Steven Gamble."
Gamble, at fullback, added 91 yards on 12 concussive carries. From his linebacker spot, he called the signals that silenced the Cougars after that first drive.
The game hung in the balance at halftime, tied at 10. Amine Dakkouni and Andy Estrain traded field goals; Sherwood quarterback Zack Splain's rushing touchdown was answered by a Pernell Brantley kickoff return touchdown for Quince Orchard.
But in the second half, the Warriors outgained the Cougars, 222-47, and outscored them 21-0. Sherwood ate up big chunks of frozen real estate on scoring drives of five, four and seven plays.
Davis found the end zone on runs of 9 and 41 yards, and Splain put the nail in the coffin with 4 minutes to play, faking to Gamble on play action and hitting a wide-open Chris Everett for a 21-yard score.
"They really made some great adjustments at halftime; they came out and took the momentum from us," Quince Orchard coach Dave Mencarini said. "We got beat by a better team. I hope they win a state championship; I'll be rooting for those guys."
Sherwood's next hurdle is 4A South Region champion Henry A. Wise (9-3), of Prince George's County. A win there would put the Warriors into their third state final in the last four years, against either 4A North champ Linganore (12-0) or 4A East winner Arundel (11-1).
Having been to M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore twice, and come home empty both times, is definitely on the Warriors' minds.
"We want to go to states and win states so bad," senior Matt Emerson said.
"My senior year, it's amazing to be in the state playoffs, to beat a great team like that and to get so close to a state championship," Gamble said.
The Cougars are the team that knocked the Warriors from the playoffs a season ago, on their way to an unbeaten state title. It was supposed to be that way again this year. A large senior class will send at least four members to Division I college teams, and had last year's playoff experience to draw on.
But they just couldn't get past Sherwood; a 14-6 regular season loss forced them to travel again Friday. The return trip proved even harder.
"I'm proud of what our kids accomplished," Mencarini said. "Obviously, I wish the outcome was a little bit different. It's just tough that this is the last time I'll ever coach these guys. You think about it, this senior class throughout high school lost three games, from JV to varsity. … They have a lot to be proud of."
Sherwood, in turn, can take a lot of pride from having beaten such an opponent.
"Even though I guess we're No. 1, I still think we are underdogs," Gamble said. "We don't have the best players, the biggest guys going D-I. … For us to play as a team the way we do, we kind of do deserve the No. 1 ranking."
