Marriotts Ridge football keeps playoff hopes alive with 10-8 win at Wilde Lake

It's been an inconsistent season so far for the Marriotts Ridge football team, as it split each of its first six games to get off to a 3-3 start.But Saturday at Wilde Lake, the Mustangs got back to what they do best – run the ball and play stellar defense – and pulled out a tight 10-8 victory to stay in the playoff hunt and end the Wildecats' four-game winning streak.&quot;Coming into the season we were trying to be what Marriotts Ridge has been the last two years,&quot; said Marriotts Ridge senior Lewy Anania, who had 10 carries for 35 yards and was a key for the defense. &quot;But we've learned this team has a different personality, this team is completely different than any other team we've had, so we got back to finding our roots as a team and saying, we don't want to forget Marriotts Ridge football, but we've got to remake it to how we're going to play.&quot;It's huge for us because right now every game is a playoff game.&quot;In an overall sloppy contest that featured seven combined punts and five turnovers – including two lost fumbles and a turnover on downs for Wilde Lake (4-3) – it was the Wildecats' untimely penalties that proved to be the difference.Jordan Smith (5 carries, 8 yards) found the end zone on a 4-yard run for Marriotts Ridge (4-3) with less than 30 seconds remaining in the first half, but it was set up by a 15-yard penalty that turned a 4th and 14 into a 4th and 1, which Anania converted with a nine-yard run. Smith scored on the next play and took a 7-0 lead after Troy Hettinger's extra point.&quot;We started trying to hit them off tackle because of the way their defense was playing,&quot; said Mustangs coach Marcus Lewis. &quot;They were giving us the weak-side gap, and we got lucky with a penalty – those were big today.&quot;The Wildecats had three penalties on the seven-play, 58-yard scoring drive.&quot;The fumbles and penalties [were the difference]. On their touchdown drive we gave them 35 yards of free field position,&quot; said Wilde Lake coach Mike Harrison. &quot;You can't expect that you're going to win when you make those level of errors.&quot;Marriotts Ridge used a short field after a seven-yard punt on their second scoring drive to start the fourth quarter. Robinson Davis (6 carries, 36 yards) converted a 4th and 3 with a three-yard run, and after the following play the Wildecats were called for another 15-yard penalty, which gave the Mustangs a first down at the Wilde Lake 7. Though they couldn't punch it in, Hettinger came in and nailed a 19-yard field goal to extend the lead to 10-0 with less than eight minutes to play.&quot;[Troy] has been great. Every Wednesday we do a freeze-type of drill and I tell him that one of these weeks he's going to win us a game or two,&quot; Lewis said. &quot;Today was that day, thank God.&quot;The Wildecats weren't done just yet, though. They punted after a 3-and-out, but Smith muffed it and Wilde Lake took over at the Mustangs 28 and finally took advantage. Anthony Jenkins (10 carries, 32 yards) scored on a 4-yard run six plays later, and TJ Lyles (10 carries, 22 yards) kept the quarterback keeper and converted the two-point play to cut the deficit to 10-8.With just one timeout remaining for Wilde Lake, Marriotts Ridge needed just one first down to ice the game. Eli Turner (11 carries, 56 yards) scampered to the left for a 10-yard gain, and the clock expired two plays later.&quot;We just grinded it out,&quot; Lewis said. &quot;I think we made it a little bit harder at the end than it needed to be, but they turned the ball over a lot, which was in our favor, and we kind of minimized it until the end. Our kids just put their nose down and got after it. It's a good win for us.&quot;The Wildecats had chances in the first half with two drives into Mustangs territory. However, the first ended with a Jenkins fumble after a 20-yard gain, and the next possession was cut short when Stanley Kirkland (19 carries, 101 yards) coughed it up after a first-down run.Wilde Lake picked up three first downs on their first drive of the second half and had a 1st and 10 at the 11, but a 10 yard penalty, followed by three runs that gained just four yards, resulted in a turnover on downs at the Marriotts Ridge 17.&quot;Late in the fourth quarter we seemed to get things going but it was just too little too late,&quot; Harrison said. &quot;I don't know if it's necessarily disappointing, but we didn't play our best football game. I thought Marriotts Ridge played a tremendous game. They're a good football team. ... For whatever reason we probably weren't as focused as we couldn't been today.&quot;The Mustangs entered the day in seventh place in the 2A West standings, three spots behind Century (6-1), while Wilde Lake held the No. 3 spot in the 3A East but will likely trade spots with No. 4 Atholton after the loss.The Wildecats will travel to Centennial Oct. 21, while Marriotts Ridge hosts Glenelg.Marriotts Ridge (4-3) – 0 7 0 3 – 10Wilde Lake (4-3) – 0 0 0 8 – 8Scoring plays:Second quarterMR: Jordan Smith 4-yard run, Troy Hettinger kick [7-0]Fourth quarterMR: Troy Hettinger 19-yard field goal [10-0]WL: Anthony Jenkins 4-yard run, TJ Lyles conversion [10-8]Saturday's score:Long Reach (7-0) – 35, Glenelg (5-2) – 7Friday's scores:Howard (7-0) – 6 0 20 13 – 39Hammond (0-7) – 0 0 0 0 – 0Devin Dawkins ran for 190 yards and two touchdowns on 16, and quarterback Robby Porter connected with Cameron Hooper for two scores to help Howard overcome a slow first half and beat Hammond, 39-0. Anthony Reid also returned a kick 75 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter for the Lions, who have now won 31 straight county games.Scoring plays:First quarterHo: Robby Porter 3-yard pass to Cameron Hooper, kick failed [6-0]Third quarterHo: Anthony Reid 75-yard kick return, Michael Gillespie kick [13-0]Ho: Devin Dawkins 29-yard run, Gillespie kick [20-0]Ho: Dawkins 1-yard run, kick failed [26-0]Fourth quarterHo: Porter 6-yard pass to Hooper, kick failed [32-0]Ho: Robert Agbai 26-yard run, Gillespie kick [39-0]Atholton (5-2) – 7 7 7 0 – 21Centennial (1-6) – 7 0 0 0 – 7Eric Love ran for 100 yards and a touchdown on seven carries, and also caught three passes for 32 yards and a score to help Atholton score 21-unanswered points and beat Centennial, 21-7. Jelani Dula (8 carries, 85 yards) an John Heriot (6 carries, 42 yards) also helped the Raiders average more than 10 yards per carry, and quarterback Dominic Totaro went 8-for-11 for 93 yards and a score.Jasen Parkins also blocked and returned a punt 56 yards for a touchdown to give Atholton the lead for good. Raiders defensive backs Habib Bundu and Justin Edison each had an interception.Scoring plays:First quarterC: Matt Shoenberger 10-yard pass to Ty Dargen, kick good [0-7]A: Dominic Totaro 25-yard pass to Eric Love, Ben Lovera kick [7-7]Second quarterA: Jasen Parkins 56-yard punt return, Lovera kick [14-7]Third quarterA: Love 49-yard run, Lovera kick [21-7]Oakland Mills (3-4) – 20, River Hill (3-4) – 13: Oakland Mills ended a three-game losing streak and handed host River Hill its second straight loss in a 20-13 victory.Reservoir (1-6) – 36, Mt. Hebron (2-5) – 14: Reservoir earned its first victory of the season by scoring a season-high 36 points against visiting Mt. Hebron, which has now dropped four straight contests.

Marriotts Ridge football keeps playoff hopes alive with 10-8 win at Wilde Lake

Don't miss our 4th of July sale!
Save big on local news.

SALE ENDS SOON

$1 FOR 12 WEEKS

Don't miss our 4th of July sale!Save big on local news.

SALE ENDS SOON

$1 FOR 12 WEEKS

Don't miss our 4th of July sale!
Save big on local news.