Broadneck wins, doesn't get in

Even Josh Furman's first fumble wasn't enough to salvage Broadneck's season.

Domenick Johnson returned Furman's fourth-quarter fumble 87 yards to cut Old Mill's comeback short and power the Bruins to a 44-38 victory last night, but they fell short of the playoffs for the second straight season.

Broadneck won its last four games to inch closer to a playoff berth, but Annapolis rolled to a 44-14 victory over North County to clinch the final spot.

"We were just focused on the game," said Broadneck's Ronnie VanMeter, who took 30 carries for 198 yards. "We weren't worried about anything else. … We just needed to win today. That's what we had to do first."

It just wasn't enough.

Broadneck, which lost 28-25 to Annapolis in Week 6, transformed two turnovers into second-half touchdowns to end the Patriots' eight-game winning streak.

Brian Hanratty returned an interception 28 yards for a touchdown to give the Bruins a 28-17 lead in the third, and Furman's fumble landed right in Johnson's hands to stretch the lead to 44-31.

"We just came up short," Old Mill coach Damian Ferragamo said. "We gave up two touchdowns on offense. That's what killed us."

The Patriots locked up the third seed in the Class 4A East Region playoffs with a tiebreaker over Annapolis and will play North Point in the semifinals.

Furman rushed for 256 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries and he nearly had a fourth before the Bruins got to him at the 13-yard line.

Furman cut through the middle for an eight-yard gain on second-and-4, and a helmet jarred the ball loose. Johnson grabbed the ball and streaked 87 yards across the field for the score.

Joe Thornton threw a 34-yard touchdown to Dominic Gibson with 1:01 left, but it was too late.

"That fumble killed us," said Furman, who had touchdown runs of three, 50 and 59 yards. "We've just got to stay focused on our fundamentals. That's what we're missing right now. That's what we're going to work on Monday."

Last year, the Bruins beat third-seeded North County, 7-6, on the regular season's final day, but lost the points race with Severna Park.

"They knew it was on the line just like last year," Bruins coach Jeff Herrick said.

Broadneck took a 14-3 lead in the first quarter on Nick Storey's 21-yard strike to Kevin Brown halfway through and Deontray Lee's 10-yard run with 1:30 left.

Old Mill made a habit of answering quickly.

Furman bolted down the right side for a 56-yard gain, and Jason Clements closed the two-play, 17-second drive with a 5-yard score to make it 14-10.

Furman, who had 153 rushing yards at the half, opened the Patriots' first play of the second with a 50-yard streak down the right sideline for Old Mill's only lead, 17-14.

"Everybody knows his explosiveness," Ferragamo said. "Broadneck did a good job of bottling him up a little bit. But if you keep giving it to him, he's going to score."

James Mullis put the Bruins ahead with 6:58 left in the second on a 17-yard touchdown pass to Zach Treakle. Mullis rolled around the right side and threw an off-balanced pass on target to Treakle in the corner.

Furman's 3-yard score late in the third countered Hanratty's interception return, but Broadneck's Adam Greene made it 31-24 with a 27-yard field goal.

Two plays into the fourth quarter, Furman broke free for a 59-yard touchdown to tie the score.

"The more the line blocks during the game, the better they get at opening up in the holes and making different cuts for me," Furman said. "It just got easier and easier throughout the game."

It just wasn't enough to make up for the fumble.

"We always improve near the end of the year, and that's what we want to do," Herrick said. "That's the heart-breaking thing from a coaching standpoint because you want to play the best ball going into the playoffs. But we won't have that opportunity again."

Old Mill (8-2) 10 7 7 14 - 38

Broadneck (8-2) 14 7 7 16 - 44

First Quarter

BN - Brown 21 pass from Storey (A. Green kick)

OM - Cummings 28 goal

BN - Lee 10 run (A. Green kick)

OM - Clements 5 run (Cummings kick)

Second Quarter

OM - Furman 50 run (Cummings kick)

BN - Treakle 17 pass from Mullis (A. Green kick)

Third Quarter

BN - Hanratty 28 interception return

OM - Furman 3 run (Cummings kick)

BN - Green 27 field goal

Fourth Quarter

OM - Furman 59 run (Cummings kick)

BN - Storey 4 run (kick blocked)

BN - Do. Johnson 87 fumble return

OM - Gibson 34 pass from Thornton (A. Green)

PASSING: OM - Thornton 7-13-1-1=103; BN - Storey 3-5-1-0=30, Mullis 1-2-1-0=17. RUSHING: OM - Furman 20-256-3, Clements 8-36-1; BN - VanMeter 30-198-1, Storey 11-41-1, Mullis 11-35, Lee 5-20-1. RECEIVING: OM - Randolph 1-38, Gibson 1-34, Hicks 3-18, Clements 1-13; BN - Brown 1-21-1, Treakle 1-17-1.