BOONSBORO – They say “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
It may be true, but when the going gets tougher, it’s the really tough keep going … probably while absorbing a few extra cuts and bruises for their efforts.
Boonsboro’s Parker DeBaugh and Blake Main each doled out as much punishment as they took in the closing minutes of a 35-26 win over North Hagerstown on Friday in a matchup of two of the top teams in Washington County.
“Football takes sacrifices. Sometimes that’s what you gotta do,” said Blake, Boonsboro’s quarterback. “It is just to run hard and fight through adversity. It’s what our coaches teach us.”
The sacrifice was worth it as DeBaugh scored two rushing touchdowns, and Main threw two touchdowns to Jayden Paugh and helped Boonsboro maintain possession of the ball with three big keeper plays, including a critical 16-yard effort on a fourth-and-4 play that effectively iced the game.
“Our kids work really hard in the summer,” said Boonsboro coach Mark Wadel. “If you look at our summer attendance, most of these kids here all summer long, so they are lifting, getting stronger and we’re running them so they are more resilient. It’s just the way we work out. We aren’t big in many positions, but the kids are strong. They’re muscular. That certainly helps.”
It was the edge the Warriors (5-3) needed to salt away the win in a game they led for most of the way, but never quite far enough ahead to become too comfortable.
It made the plays all the more compelling.
Boonsboro was clinging to a 21-14 lead with 2:40 remaining in the third quarter when first DeBaugh and then Main toughed out the key plays to tough out the victory.
For DeBaugh, it started by turning a nearly botched punt return into a bulldozing 44-yard return as he bounced off two huge hits by North’s coverage before being shoved out of bounds at the North 36. Five plays later – the fifth coming on the first snap of the fourth quarter – Main connected with Paugh on a 19-yard TD pass in the back, right corner of the end zone to give the Warriors a 28-14 lead.
North answered with a Colt Butts-to-James Johnson 20-yard TD pass to move the Hubs back to 28-20 with7:17 remaining.
But on the second play after the ensuing kickoff, DeBaugh again exhibited the unwillingness to be knocked down, with a run around left end, where he broke free of a pair of would-be tackles to bust loose for a 69-yard TD. Justin Pazos’ fifth extra point gave the Warriors a 35-20 lead with 7:12 remaining.
“This week in practice, I emphasized running really hard and it carried over to the game this week,” DeBaugh said. “In my head, I said not to go down. I wanted to put the guys in the best position possible.
“(On the punt return) I was up a little closer than I anticipated when he kicked it. It went over my head a little bit and I bobbled it when I picked it up, but I saw an opening and I went and I wasn’t going to go down. I think if I didn’t go out of bounds right there, I think I could have taken it all the way.”
But North didn’t fold. The Hubs (5-3) put together eight-play, 75-yard drive by using their trademark run game to move back within 35-26. Ty’Qwell Fauntleroy ran five times on the drive, finishing it by power over from the 2 for the TD.
With 4:10 remaining and trailing by nine points, the Hubs attempted an onside kick. North recovered it, but it was nullified as it touched the ball before it had traveled 10 yards.
Boonsboro began milking the clock but ran into the fourth-and-4 at North’s 44. After a North timeout, Main took the snap and went off right tackle. He stayed up off a hit along the line of scrimmage and ran 16 yards for a first down at the Hubs 28.
“We saw that they loaded the box and didn’t have many linebackers,” Main said. “As soon as I could get past the line, I just had to break one tackle and I was able to fight through.”
From there, Boonsboro ran five plays to run out the clock. Again, Main was featured with some fourth-down heroics by hitting Edward Boakye with a 19-yard pass on a fourth-and-12 play to set up two kneel down snaps to end the game.
“It is what it is. Boonsboro made plays, they won the game,” said North coach Nathan Butts. “I don’t want to hear any excuses from our guys. We didn’t make enough plays tonight.
“Great effort … I loved the effort that our kids had. We just didn’t make enough plays tonight.”
The game featured two of the top running teams in the county, but North changed its look. The Hubs entered anchored by Fauntleroy, who had rushed for 810 yards in the first seven games, but decided to look to open up the attack with passes.
“I had a conversation with an assistant coach last week and I just felt that every time we put an athlete on the field, we had to take one off,” Butts said. “We had to figure a way to get them all on the field at the same time. Stewart and James are great athletes no matter if you hand it to them or throw it to them. They made lot of plays for us tonight.”
Boonsboro, conversely, tried to keep the ball out of Fauntleroy’s hands.
“I talked to our defensive coordinator and he had a great plan – make them throw,” Wadel said. “If they could beat us throwing the ball, then good for them. They are a run team, let’s make the quarterback beat us.”
Yet, Boonsboro set the tone on the second play of the game by scoring a touchdown.
Jadon King took a handoff and patiently waited for a hole to open on the line before bursting through on a 67-yard run to the goal line for a quick 7-0 lead.
North answered on its first possession with Colt Butts finding Tai Gilliam along the sideline for what became a 49-yard TD pass. Fauntleroy ran in the conversion to give the Hubs an 8-7 lead with 8:51 left in the first quarter.
Boonsboro used an 11-play drive culminating in a 14-yard run for DeBaugh’s first TD to give the Warriors a 14-8 lead with :41 left in the quarter. Main converted two fourth-down passes to keep the drive alive.
The Warriors led 21-8 at the half when Main hit Paugh over the middle on a 15-yard TD pass with 2:09 before halftime. North helped prolong the 13-play drive with a roughing the kicker penalty.
DeBaugh unofficially finished with 11 carries for 94 yards and the two TDs, while King picked up 98 yards and a TD on 12 carries. Main rushed for 13 yards and threw for 147 yards and the two TDs. Paugh caught four passes for 48 yards and two scores.
Fauntleroy unofficially had 110 rushing on 21 carries with a touchdown and a conversion. Colt Butts passed for 188 yards and two TDs.
