MARRIOTTSVILLE, MD — Marriotts Ridge football coach Marcus Lewis knew that before his program could change its fortunes on the field, it first had to change its mindset during the offseason.
"The senior leadership with this group has been outstanding. We finally had a group that got tired. Tired of being pushed around, tired of being the laughingstock of the county," said Lewis, whose team defeated Mt. Hebron, 34-6, Friday night to finish the regular season 7-3. "They made a conscious decision last year that this year was going to be different."
Things are so different that the Mustangs are headed to the playoffs for the first time in their 10-year history.
"We're aiming for something higher now, a state championship. That's what we're going for now, that's the next goal," said senior Jordan Chandler, who rushed for three touchdowns and a two-point conversion, and recovered a fumble in the win.
The Mustangs also finished the regular season 7-3 in 2008, but that winning campaign was followed by 32 consecutive losses spanning 2009 through 2012. The team has won only two games each of the past two seasons.
"My class made a real decision for that to not happen again. It was ridiculous and we were done. We started out with a lot of hard work. As soon as the season ended we were in the weight room and outside running," said senior Eric Skogmo, the captain of the Mustangs' defense and one of their leading receivers. "We just made sure everything stayed positive and it rubbed off on everyone."
Marriotts Ridge lost back-to-back games to River Hill and Howard by a combined score of 75-15 in mid-September.
"In the beginning of the season we weren't quite ready to step into our role yet, but those losses taught us some valuable lessons and we took that and learned from it," said Skogmo, who helped his team bounce back to earn wins over Hammond and 2013 Howard County champion Glenelg in mid-October. "We all started to completely believe and nothing could stop us after that Glenelg game."
The Mustangs are riding a five-game winning streak into the 2A South playoffs, and have defeated their last three opponents by a combined score of 118-6.
Junior Trayvon Delk and senior Asad Dar also scored rushing touchdowns for Marriotts Ridge, and junior Bladen Miller intercepted a pass against Mt. Hebron.
"I had to tell the guys, 'Smile, we're in the playoffs.' But I don't think they're satisfied with just being in," Lewis said. "They want to do some damage."
Mt. Hebron's only score came on the last play of the game on a 19-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Rickie Williams to junior John Gant.
MH (3-7) 0 0 0 6 – 6
MR (7-3) 7 7 14 6 - 34
First quarter
MR: Delk 5 run (Baig kick), :45. [7-0]
Second quarter
MR: Chandler 14 run (Baig kick), 1:37. [14-0]
Third quarter
MR: Chandler 6 run (kick blocked), 4:36. [20-0]
MR: Dar 14 run (Chandler run), 2:39. [28-0]
Fourth quarter
MR: Chandler 2 run (kick failed), 5:22. [34-0]
MH: Gant 19 pass from Williams (kick blocked), :00. [34-6]