HAGERSTOWN, Md. – There were no cigarettes or blindfolds, but the South Hagerstown football team was eliminated by execution on Thursday.
The Rebels didn’t have any casualties – unless you count their record falling to 2-5 – but falling to Williamsport was like death by a 1,000 paper cuts.
It was an execution by a lack of execution.
The Wildcats proved why they are now 6-1, just by their offensive efficiency, as they scored on their first four possessions for a big lead in a 40-8 victory over South during Senior Day at School Stadium.
The 28-0 lead Williamsport built came off of big-play payoffs, all knocking the Rebels on their heels.
“In a game like this, it’s all about emotions,” said South coach Juwuane Sandridge. “So, when you’re doing things the right way, you get a little bit of momentum and you believe that you’re the best on the field. And that’s exactly what happened.
“That’s the issue. We weren’t consistent enough, good enough. We play three great downs and then they get a fourth down, a third down or a (short-yardage situation) and we miss a tackle or we jump offside. Something just undisciplined, not mentally focused at all.”
Mark Hall caught two of his three touchdown passes from quarterback Colton Hahn and Tae’myj Boyce-Brown ran for the other two scores that gave Williamsport the 28-0 lead through the first 22½ minutes of the first half.
The Rebels stalled on their first two drives of the game, opening the door for Williamsport’s aggressive, almost free-wheeling, offense.
The Wildcats struck quickly on their third play of the game. Hahn hit Hall flying down the left side of the field after an early delay of game penalty for an 83-yard touchdown with 6:31 to go in the first quarter. The conversion run failed, but Williamsport led 6-0.
Then, after holding South to a three-and-out sequence, Boyce-Brown scored on a 12-yard run around right end on a drive aided by a South facemask penalty. Xavier Bowie bulled in on the conversion to make it 14-0 with 2:16 left in the first quarter.
Then came what might have been the emotional linchpin for both teams – a lift for Williamsport and a slide for South.
The Rebels mounted a drive off the ensuing kickoff, starting from their 34. They opened the second quarter with a 16-yard run by Damein Campbell to get a first down at the Williamsport 4.
After quarterback Lucas Semler ran for three yards on first down, South tried to score three times from the 1 and failed. In fact, the Rebels lost a yard on fourth down.
“Obviously, that’s disappointing … That’s disappointing,” Sandridge said. “We had a chance to kind of get back into it. We just talked about momentum. We would have had the momentum after that. We had a big play to get us down there.
“And, you know, we just, again, didn’t execute. I think that’s what the game was about. We didn’t execute consistently enough.”
Williamsport didn’t waste any time rubbing salt in that wound.
The Wildcats moved from their 2, largely on a 55-yard pass-and-run play from Hahn to Boyce-Brown to get into South territory. Boyce-Brown then culminated the drive with a 14-yard run on a drive aided by a pass interference call on the Rebels.
Hahn ran a keeper for the conversion to give Williamsport a 22-0 lead with 6:46 remaining in the half.
South turned the ball over on downs on the ensuing possession, which turned into a 63-yard march for the Wildcats. Hahn hit Hall for an 18-yard score along the left hashmarks to make it 28-0 with 1:37 remaining to the half.
The Rebels got a quick score with a one-play drive. Semler hit Percell Clay III on a 38-yard touchdown pass after Williamsport squibbed a kickoff because of an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Semler then hit Clay on the conversion as South broke the ice to close to 28-8 with 1:24 remaining.
Williamsport retaliated quickly. Boyce-Brown broke a 65-yard run from the 35 on the first play after the kickoff, but it was called back on a holding call.
No problem. Hahn found Hall on a 75-yard pass on the next play with 52.4 seconds remaining for a 34-8 halftime lead.
As it turned out, Williamsport’s goal-line stand made sure the momentum stayed on the Wildcats’ side.
“We had to kind of reel it back in a little bit. We did put some drives together,” Sandridge said. “I thought we had some momentum turning.”
The only score of the second half came on a 12-yard scramble by Hahn at the 1:32 mark of the third quarter. It ended a nine-play drive for 61 yards, aided by two South penalties.
“There’s always a lot of emotions going into this game. Even last year, it was the same way,” Sandridge said. “You know, (the players on both teams all) know each other and, with the social media, the things going back and forth. You don’t know what’s going on.
“For the most part, we did a good job holding our heads together … for the most part. We just want our guys to keep a cool head. We’re not out here to give personal fouls or anything. We’re out here to play football. That’s something to be addressed.”
