GORC again rules county youth football roost

For the fourth consecutive season, the Gambrills-Odenton Recreation Council can lay bragging rights to the most county football championships.

GORC won the Anne Arundel Youth Football Association's first-ever unlimited weight class division for 12-year-olds. The county championship was the second of three on the day for GORC, which also captured the 90-pound and 13-unlimited titles at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

"It just says alot about the commissioner, Danny Burns, and the commitment of the players and the parents," GORC 12-unlimited coach and AAFYA commissioner Rick Peacock said. "They work hard, they come out and it's one of the goals to be here. We're just fortunate."

The GORC 12-year-olds have won county championships since they were 80-pounders.

"We'll be back again next year trying to go for five in a row," Peacock said.

Pasadena was also a multiple winner, as the Chargers won the 100- and 110-pound championships in contrasting styles.

The 100-pound Chargers edged Crofton, 6-0, and the 110-pound Chargers scored 33 points.

"Pasadena is an organization that I came to because they're just serious about their football and the parents and the community is as good as I've been around," Pasadena 110-pound coach Donnie English said. "I'm just real proud to be a part of Pasadena Chargers."

Crofton's 80-pound team captured the day's first title, defeating GORC and keeping the Wildcats from sweeping four county titles.

"I'm just proud of all that helped put this together," Peacock said. "The parents come out and support it. It's about the kids. I'm just grateful to be a part of it, to be in the position where we can put something on like this and have a good time for the kids. This is a nice day."

80-POUND CHAMPIONSHIP

CROFTON 6, GORC 0: Quarterback Shane Green scored the game's only touchdown on a 1-yard sneak with five minutes remaining to lead Crofton.

The two teams were stuck in a defensive battle until Crofton used its combination of a wishbone and power-I attack to mount the game-winning drive.

Running backs Xavier Lockwood, Jacob Perreten and Matt Mancuso all contributed key runs while Jack Davis and Alexander Reno anchored an offensive line that opened some nice holes.

GORC came close to tying the contest and forcing overtime, as quarterback Corbett Glick broke a long run to the 5-yard line. However, Glick got hurt on the play and was forced to leave the game and the backup quarterback was sacked on the next play to end the threat.

"It was a hard-fought battle, as I knew it would be," said Crofton head coach Tom Perreten, whose squad defeated GORC 7-6 during the regular season. "Our kids just fought and fought. They were not going to be denied today."

Davis and Reno were also standout defensive linemen for Crofton, which finished with a perfect 12-0 record. Defensive end Jacob Jarosz and cornerback Matt Elder, who came up with a clutch interception, were other key defenders for the Cardinals.

"It was a great bunch of kids that worked hard and was very coach-able," Perreten said. "We had a bunch of close games like this and the reason we won is that we out-worked other teams."

GORC, led by head coach Ricky Boliek, was the defending champion at the 80-pound class. Linebacker Andrew Robinson, running back-linebacker Derek "D.J." Brown, wide receiver-cornerback Nick Hopkins and defensive end-tight end Josh Brannan were some of the key players for the Wildcats (9-3).

90-POUND CHAMPIONSHIP

GORC 19, UPPER QUEEN ANNE'S 6: Quarterback Brett Baucia scored a touchdown on a 4-yard run and sealed the victory with a late interception as GORC completed a third consecutive undefeated campaign.

Running back Eric Allen got GORC started by breaking a 30-yard touchdown run off a jet sweep. GORC added to its lead midway through the third quarter after recovering a Queen Anne's fumble at the 5-yard line. Two plays later, Jason Labbe dove over from 1-yard out to give the Wildcats a commanding 19-0 lead.

Queen Anne's refused to quit, intercepting a pair of passes to stay in the game.

The Lions got on the board with less than four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter on a 6-yard run by Garrett Bowen. That touchdown was set up by a 46-yard run by Matt Barrasso, who broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage, made another defender miss, then raced down the sidelines before being tracked down.

"I give the Queen Anne's players and their coaching staff a lot of credit. They really improved from the first time we played them," GORC coach Rick Schmidt said. "I was very impressed with the Queen Anne's defense. They made it much more difficult for us to move the ball."

GORC owns the longest winning streak in Anne Arundel County, having won 37 straight games spanning three years. This was the third county championship for this particular team, which previously captured the 70- and 80-pound titles.

"Our guys are disciplined and execute real well on both sides of the ball," Schmidt said. "We run a lot of misdirection and it's hard for teams to match our overall speed."

100-POUND CHAMPIONSHIP

PASADENA 6, CROFTON 0: Rashay Moore caught a 12-yard fade from quarterback David Marrocco Jr. with about six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter for the game's only score.

"It's very rewarding," Pasadena coach Pete Boone said. "I preached all year long that there are some things that we can't bring to the field for our kids - hard work, determination and effort. These kids brought that for all four quarters. I'm very proud of my kids."

The Chargers (12-0) handed the Cardinals (10-2) their only losses this season. Pasadena won their earlier meeting, 7-0.

Safety Dylan Stein came up with an interception for Crofton, and quarterback Jeffery Hirata and tailback Tyler Perreten kept the Cardinals in the game with strong offensive play.

110-POUND CHAMPIONSHIP

PASADENA 33, CHESAPEAKE BAY 7: Big plays were the theme for the Chargers (12-0), who exploded for two first-quarter touchdowns to set the tone.

Both teams traded early fumbles before Pasadena's Zach Scott's 4-yard touchdown run culminated a six-play, 59-yard drive. Scott ran in the point after and then recovered the ensuing onside kick.

On the next play from scrimmage, Robert Branch caught a 51-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline from quarterback Beau English, and Pierre Johnson ran in the conversion for a 14-0 Pasadena lead.

"The early big scores were huge for us," Pasadena coach Donnie English said. "It's important to get up on a team like Chesapeake early. They're such a good quality team that runs the ball well."

Beau English found Branch again for a 14-yard touchdown pass on the Chargers' first series of the second quarter. Donovan Franklin's successful run padded Pasadena's lead to 21-0.

The Piranhas (10-2), playing in their fifth straight county title game, cut into the lead when Cameron Harrell caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Zach Smith. Zach Goodrich caught the conversion from Smith on a fake kick to make the score 21-7 before halftime.

On the first possession of the second half, Franklin came up big on defense. After coming up with a big tackle on third-and-1 to force fourth down, Franklin intercepted a pass and took it 54 yards down the sideline for a touchdown and a 27-7 lead.

Franklin sealed the game with less than three minutes left, running for a score from 21 yards out on fourth-and-5. He juked right and broke to the outside for the game's final points.

"He's our Reggie Bush," Donnie English said. "When we're able to throw the ball and able to just flip it to him...It's hard to defend the pass and the run when you've got a back like Donovan."

12-UNLIMITED CHAMPIONSHIP

GORC 19, PANTHERS 0: The Panthers handed the Wildcats their only loss of the season by running the ball and controlling the clock. GORC changed things up this time.

Dominique Drake rushed for a touchdown, and his tough, hard-nosed running style gave GORC (11-1) a tremendous advantage in time of possession. Greyson Torain and Devin Salisbury also contributed from the backfield to lead the Wildcats.

Drake's 1-yard run with 10 seconds left in the first half gave GORC the game's first tally.

It was his 37-yard run down the right sideline that set up GORC with a first down at the 29-yard line.

Torain took the next carry 22 yards down the left sideline to the 7-yard line with 33 seconds left in the half.

After a screen pass to the 1, Drake took the inside handoff for the touchdown.

"We knew we needed to take care of the ball and flip the script," Peacock said. "Dominique was a big part of it. He runs hard. The three of them did a great job."

GORC quarterback Syeed Mahdi took a keeper up the middle for a 1-yard score with four minutes remaining in the third quarter to give the Wildcats a 13-0 edge.

Salisbury tacked on a late, short touchdown run for the final score of the game.

Quarterback Zach Abey was strong under center and Marcus Hicks ran well for the Panthers (10-2), but the offense could not repeat its earlier success against the Wildcats' defense.

The Wildcats are 48-2 with four county titles over the last four years.

13-UNLIMITED CHAMPIONSHIP

GORC 14, CAPE ST. CLAIRE 6: The Wildcats jumped out to a 14-0 halftime lead en route to a finishing off a perfect 11-0 season.

They recovered a fumbled punt at the Cape St. Claire 5-yard line, and a few plays later, Dillon Tighe caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Young for a 6-0 GORC lead.

As the first quarter expired, Young found Devon Hawkins in the back right corner of the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead after the successful kick.

Samuel Leak's 31-yard touchdown run with 6:29 left in the third quarter pulled the Cougars (8-3) within 14-6.

The Cougars had a remote chance at the end of the game, getting the ball back on their own 19-yard line with 16 seconds remaining and no timeouts left.

Quarterback Spencer Coyle completed a pass to John Jennings down to the Cougars 40 with eight seconds left. After a defensive holding penalty advanced the ball to the GORC 39, the Cougars got an untimed down.

Coyle completed another pass to Jennings down to the 10, but the play was nullified by an offensive holding penalty, and GORC held on for the victory.