FALL SPORTS
South River knocks off unbeaten Broadneck in football, 28-21
Westminster tops South Hagerstown, 24-21; Owls sweep in region volleyball
South River stared down No. 3 Broadneck and rolled past the Bruins, 28-21, in the Class 4A East regional semfinal on Friday night. The Seahawks improved to 7-4 and Broadneck fell to 10-1.
“We schedule tough teams … and these guys aren’t going to back down,” Seahawks coach Ed Dolch said. “That was our mindset coming over here.”
Led by quarterback David Foust’s two touchdowns, the Seahawks claimed the Class 4A East Region semifinal game, 28-21, extending their state championship dreams for another week.
Senior running back Joe Foy spurred the Seahawks on the ground, totaling 30 carries for 203 yards and a touchdown.
“Recently, they released the BTC All-Star roster, and he wasn’t on it. I think he’s been on a mission ever since to prove them wrong, that he is the guy in this county [to watch],” Dolch said. “Last few weeks, he’s put the offense on his back and pushed us into the playoffs.”
South River (7-4) advances to face North Point (11-0), which defeated Arundel, 43-13, on Friday night.
For Broadneck, though, the loss ended its playoff run and a 10-game unbeaten streak, led by freshman quarterback Josh Ehrlich.
Westminster senior quarterback Christian Etchison led the Owls down the field on their first drive, but the Rebels came up with a pair of defensive stops to force the Owls to attempt a field goal. Junior kicker Joey Long’s 20-yarder was sent through the uprights to give the Owls a 3-0 lead in the first quarter.
The Owls held the Rebels to two three-and-outs on their first drives, containing senior running back Jayswah Sanon. Owls senior Jaden Louis sneaked through the Rebels’ defense for a 6-yard score with 3 minutes, 46 seconds left in the first half, but the extra point was sent high over Long’s head and fumbled.
It didn’t take long for Sanon to find his feet.
The first half neared its end when Sanon caught a Westminster punt and returned it 52 yards for a touchdown. He sprinted down the left sideline, cut in through the center and into the end zone to put the Rebels on the board. The Owls held a two-point lead at the half, 9-7.
Senior quarterback Timmy Townsend found Naeem Watson for a 20-yard touchdown to open the second half scoring for the Rebels (8-3) and the home team led 14-9.
The Owls responded on their next drive after the Rebels were handed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Etchison connected with senior receiver Tavian Montgomery on a 13-yard scoring catch, and the Owls converted a 2-point conversion to pick up a 17-14 lead.
Girls volleyball
“We just brought all of our energy, all of or focus,” said senior setter Emily Bartlett. “We just went all out.”
Westminster won its 12th consecutive match thanks to a collective effort — Bartlett handed out 34 assists and let her big hitters do the damage.
“Two of our best, most cohesive matches for sure,” Benish said. “And I think the biggest thing that has been consistent throughout the match is that next-play mentality. It doesn’t matter what happened the play before, you’ve got to move on and you focus on this one.”
Facing a Wildcats squad that ended South River’s playoff run a year ago and defeated the Seahawks, 3-1, in the recently-held Anne Arundel County championship match, Samanta Tarabella and Savannah Doctor combined for 45 punishing kills, largely through 46 assists delivered from Emily Speciale, to lift South River, 27-25, 25-18, 23-25, 25-20, in what was a tightly-contested match throughout.
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