Football: Reservoir throws the reset switch on county title race

In a span of less than 30 minutes last Friday night, several major maneuvers in the race for the 2011 Howard County title were made.

First, Atholton (6-1) defeated Hammond (5-2), 40-21, in a battle between one-loss teams. Shortly after that, Reservoir (4-3) upset previously undefeated Glenelg (6-1), 19-13, in overtime.

Reservoir's win meant almost as much to Atholton as it did to the Gators.

"I heard that some people were happy, but for us it was the kind of win that we've been waiting for," said Reservoir coach Bryan Cole, whose Gators are looking to make the playoffs and finish better than .500 for the first time. "We knew we had the talent to do it, and this staff has been together for a few years now, so it felt good."

Nick Crabill got Glenelg on the scoreboard first with a touchdown run from 2 yards out, but could not convert on the extra point. Reservoir responded on its next drive with a 19-yard touchdown pass from E.J. Montgomery to Kenny Frazier. Austin Marsh then gave the Gators a 10-6 halftime lead by kicking a 25-yard field goal with less than two minutes left in the second quarter.

Marsh struck again with a short field goal late in the third quarter, but Glenelg tied the game at 13 when Mark Darden tossed a 35-yard touchdown pass to David Brookhart with less than five minutes remaining in regulation.

In overtime, the Reservoir defense stopped Glenelg on its possession, and then Montgomery's short quarterback keeper — set up by a long run by Frazier — was the clincher for the Gators.

With three weeks left, Atholton and Glenelg are locked in a two-team race for the county title. Atholton's remaining games are at Wilde Lake (4-3) Saturday at 1 p.m., home against Mt. Hebron (2-5) Oct. 29 and at Centennial (0-7) on Nov. 4.

Atholton's Kenny Thomas, who rushed for 120 yards and two TDs in the win over Hammond, said, "We definitely have some things we need to work on, but I think the only team that can beat us is ourselves. The momentum we have, we'll just keep carrying it over to each game and treat every team like they're the same and we'll be all right. We just need to keep getting better. We'll never be as great as we think we are."

Glenelg, meanwhile, faces Howard (5-2) and River Hill (5-2) over the next two weeks before its regular- season finale against Marriotts Ridge (0-7).

The race for the regional playoffs, on the other hand, is open to more than half the league. Atholton (3A East) and Glenelg (2A South) have essentially locked up postseason tickets, while Hammond, Howard and River Hill (all 5-2) jockey for the remaining spots behind Atholton in the 3A East. Stephen Decatur, at 5-2, sits in the fourth and final spot in that region — behind River Hill and Hammond — with Howard, Reservoir and Wilde Lake all in contention.

In the 2A South, Long Reach (4-3) is hoping to win out for a shot at the playoffs, but the road will be perilous, starting with Hammond on Saturday, Oct. 22.

"That's our goal. That's what the kids believe in," Long Reach coach Pete Hughes said.

Two of Long Reach's losses, 38-37 to Howard and 23-20 to Glenelg, have been by three points or less.

"We know that we can play with any team in the county," Hughes said.

Hammond coach Dan Makosy, for one, is planning on a November rematch with the Raiders.

"We'll hopefully get to play them one more time, so we'll be ready for them," he said.

This week features plenty of action between the playoff hopefuls — Atholton at Wilde Lake, Howard at Glenelg and Hammond at Long Reach — but all those games are on Saturday afternoon. Ther only games Friday night feature River Hill at Centennial and Mt. Hebron at Marriotts Ridge.