Fardan Carter caught a 33-yard touchdown pass with 1:07 left in the game to lift No. 15 Oakland Mills to a 19-18 victory over No. 5 Howard yesterday.
The catch capped an eight-play, 93-yard drive and completed Oakland Mills' comeback from an 18-6 fourth-quarter deficit. The win clinched a share of the county championship for Oakland Mills (7-2 overall, 6-0 league).
Carter, who had scored Oakland Mills' first touchdown on a 9-yard counter in the third quarter, beat the double coverage of Turrae Jones and DaLawn Parrish on a post pattern and made a leaping catch in the end zone.
Parrish complained that Carter pushed off on the play.
"It was a jump ball and I did push off a little," Carter said. "But I was the one who had blocked below the knees on the punt that backed us up to our 7-yard line and I was anxious to make up for it."
The catch left Howard (7-2, 5-1) stunned. The Lions led 12-0 at halftime and had twice turned away Oakland Mills inside the 5-yard line -- once on an interception and once on downs.
"It really came down to extra points," Howard coach John Quinn said. "I can second-guess myself why I didn't kick after the second or third touchdown."
The game's only successful extra point was a kick by Oakland Mills' Dennis Locke that was partially blocked and cleared the crossbar by six inches.
Jake Daft (17 carries, 107 yards) sparked the winning drive with runs of 8 and 14 yards on the first two downs.
"One of the keys to the drive was that we had all three of our timeouts so we weren't forced to pass right away," Oakland Mills coach Ken Hovet said.
Oakland Mills quarterback Irving Conwell, who lost two fumbles and threw two interceptions, came to life after Howard scored its third touchdown.
The Scorpions went 74 yards on five plays, including a 33-yard pass to Daft and a 14-yard touchdown toss to Sam Smith.
On the winning drive, Conwell (5-for-9, 115 yards) connected with Lang Wethington for a 24-yard screen pass, and then with Carter for the winning touchdown.
"I was worried about the blitz in the first half, but in the second half I didn't get much pressure," Conwell said. "The winning pass was supposed to go to Smith [who was single covered] on an up-and-out, but Fardan was on fire and really wanted it so I went to him."
Oakland Mills' defense, led by Tajuan Hall (12 tackles), Casey Moffitt (nine tackles), Daft (eight tackles) and Smith (seven tackles), held Howard to 59 yards offense in the second half.
Moffitt's third-quarter interception at Howard's 25-yard line -- Howard's only turnover -- changed the momentum. Oakland Mills scored its first touchdown three plays later on Carter's run.
Moffitt and Hall also made a crucial tackle of Parrish at the 6-inch line on a two-point conversion attempt.
Hammond 19, Mount Hebron 0
Josh Zillmer rushed for 108 yards and scored two touchdowns as Hammond (4-5) beat visiting Mount Hebron (0-9). Jimmy Spruill rushed for 172 yards and a touchdown.
Centennial 47, Atholton 7
Robbie Hauff rushed for 168 yards and four touchdowns as Centennial (7-2) routed Atholton (4-5). Quarterback Brian Dowell went 8-for-9 for 143 yards and two touchdowns for Centennial,
which totaled 415 yards of offense.
Wilde Lake 34, Glenelg 12
Sean Jefferson scored two touchdowns and Dain Lewis rushed for 119 yards and a touchdown lifting host Wilde Lake (5-4) past Glenelg (2-7). Barrett Ragg and Alan Anderson each scored a touchdown for the Wildecats.