All season long, Glenelg football has espoused a team-first credo.
On Friday, the Gladiators got a chance to prove it on the field.
Glenelg was without top running back Nick Crabill coming into the game, and his replacement, Jared Jacoby (47 yards on nine carries), left the game with an injury after a collision late in the first quarter.
In place of Crabill and Jacoby, Ryan Perry (100 yards), Glenn Lucas (39) and Drew Dziwulski (23) stepped in to drive the Gladiators' running game.
"Whoever we've got we're going to play and our kids are going to play hard, that's something about this team, they're young and they're going to give you everything they've got every play," coach Butch Schaffer said. "That's what we preach and that's what they do."
Glenelg (9-2) earned its first playoff win since 2003, defeating visiting Gwynn Park (8-3), 17-14, Friday night.
"We just put some other people in, we adjusted some things and we got the job done," Lucas said. "We all play different positions, we're just a team."
Gwynn Park scored first, on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Jay Adams to Vanderbilt-bound receiver Brandon Banks (3 catches, 92 yards) with 26 seconds left in the first half. But Glenelg answered on the ensuing kickoff when Perry fielded the ball inside Glenelg's 20 and handed off to sophomore David Brookhart (2 returns, 97 yards), who ran up the home sideline for a go-ahead touchdown after Alex Paul's extra point.
Glenelg extended its lead with a 1-yard run by Glenn Lucas in the third quarter and a 32-yard field goal by Alex Paul midway through the fourth.
Gwynn Park answered that score by passing its way down the field and scoring on a 6-yard pass from Adams (9/18, 183 yards) to Marc Bronson. The Yellow Jackets were successful on the 2-point conversion to make it a 3-point game, but they never got the ball back as Glenelg squeezed all of the time out of the clock with a four-minute, 45-yard drive to the Gwynn Park one-yard line, where the game ended.
"The thing about this team is they're unselfish, they play as a group, they don't care who gets the credit and they're going to step up when asked," Schaffer said. "Ryan Perry and the offensive line and Glenn Lucas and those guys did a tremendous job and the defense played awesome all night."
Glenelg fumbled the ball away twice, including once on Gwynn Park's goal line on the first drive of the game. But the Gladiators were penalized only three times for 15 yards while Gwynn Park lost 70 yards on ten penalties. Glenelg also possessed the ball nearly twice as long as the Yellow Jackets.
Crabill was injured in a collision during a game Oct. 28 at River Hill, but was on the sideline for Friday night's playoff game, and could be back as soon as next week.
Glenelg junior kicker Luke Brister, who kicked a game-winning field goal as time expired Sept. 30 at Hammond and threw a touchdown pass in a 23-20 win over Long Reach against Long Reach a week later, is also out, with a leg injury. His replacement, Alex Paul, was 2-for-2 on extra points Friday night in addition to the 32-yard field goal.
"We might get (Brister) back next week, but Alex Paul had a tremendous game tonight, it's good to have a little depth," Schaffer said. "We're just fortunate to have them both."
Next Friday, Glenelg, the No. 2 seed, will host fourth-seeded Douglass (9-2). Douglass defeated top-seeded Patuxent, 26-20, in the other 2A South semifinal game.
Douglass defeated Gwynn Park, 14-6, earlier this season. In 2009, Douglass defeated Glenelg in the opening round of the playoffs, 24-12.
"It'll be a battle just like it was tonight," Schaffer said. "There aren't any easy games in the South region."
GP (8-3) 0 6 0 8 - 14
G (9-2) 0 7 7 3 - 17