WILLIAMSPORT, Md. — North Hagerstown’s three-game winning streak came to an end Friday night as the Hubs struggled to generate offense in a 24-7 loss to Williamsport.
The Wildcats (5-1) celebrated homecoming with their fourth straight victory, holding North (3-3) scoreless over the final three quarters and outgaining the Hubs 330-175.
North’s Michael Stewart rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries, but the Hubs managed little offensively outside of his 59-yard run in the first quarter.
Williamsport’s defense, led by Xavier Bowie and Tyson Cleary, limited North to 128 rushing yards on 34 attempts and held the Hubs to just three completions in 11 passing attempts.
“Bowie is a game-wrecker. We knew that coming in. We had to have a plan for him,” North coach Nathan Butts said. “We just weren’t good enough tonight. I told them that it starts with me. I call the offense. I have to do better, so we’ll get it cleaned up.”
The teams traded touchdowns in the first quarter.
Williamsport struck first on Colten Hahn’s 5-yard touchdown run, but North answered just 70 seconds later. Stewart broke loose for a 59-yard gain and followed with a 3-yard touchdown run on the next play to tie the game at 7-7 with 2:58 remaining in the period.
The Wildcats regained the lead in the second quarter with a 99-yard touchdown drive. Taemyji Boyce-Brown capped the possession with a 13-yard scoring run, giving Williamsport a 14-7 advantage with 4:44 remaining before halftime.
North never scored again.
Williamsport extended its lead to 17-7 on Wyatt Younker’s 28-yard field goal late in the third quarter, then put the game away on Logan Durham’s 19-yard touchdown run in the fourth.
Boyce-Brown led the Wildcats’ ground attack with 177 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries and added three catches for 45 yards. Williamsport rushed for 275 yards on 49 attempts, controlling the game on the ground while its defense kept North from mounting a comeback.
Stewart accounted for most of the Hubs’ offensive production. In addition to his rushing performance, he caught a 19-yard pass and led North’s defense with 12 tackles, including two for loss and a sack.
Quarterback Ronnie Savage completed 3 of 11 passes for 47 yards with one interception. Mykai Bostic added 10 tackles for North.
Butts said the Hubs failed to play with the aggressiveness that had helped them win their previous three games.
“We have to get back to our mentality where we were the last couple of weeks,” Butts said. “We were very reactive tonight on both sides of the ball. We did a lot of sitting and catching instead of imposing our will on the opponent.”
The schedule doesn’t get any easier for North, which will host unbeaten Fort Hill (6-0) next Friday. The Sentinels have won four of the last five Maryland Class 1A state championships and finished as state runners-up last season.
“We have a tough opponent coming to town, so we’ve got to be better,” Butts said.
