ATHOLTON’S TUMBLE CAUSES JUMBLE

The Raiders’ upset loss to Marriotts Ridge, coupled with victories by Wilde Lake and Howard, should shift things around a bit in the Class 3A East Region. Oakland Mills defeated Mount Hebron for its second straight win after 24 consecutive losses.

But that’s going to change with last weekend’s results, as the Raiders were upended, 12-7, by a Marriotts Ridge team that was coming off of a 28-20 loss to Howard, which the Raiders defeated, 17-6, on Sept. 21.

Meanwhile, North Harford (5-1), Howard (5-1) and Wilde Lake (5-1), an earlier 28-10 winner against
Atholton, were all victorious. That’s going to cause some juggling when the new classification points are released early this week.

The state association’s playoff system awards a point — called a bonus –to a team every time a previously vanquished opponent wins a game. So, in this circumstance, Atholton’s loss awarded a point to Howard which the Lions otherwise would not have received.

Wilde Lake, an earlier 45-12 winner against Marriotts Ridge, was guaranteed a point since it has victories over both teams.

Marriotts Ridge over Atholton: Derek Coleman of Marriotts Ridge (4-2) scored twice against the Raiders — once on a 34-yard scoring reception from Kevin Seker in the first quarter, and, again in the third quarter, after recovering a fumble in the endzone, according to Atholton coach Chuck Fales.

In between, Atholton running back Odocha Kelechi ran for a 66-yard touchdown, followed by Rick
Rappaport’s extra point kick.

Marriotts Ridge, nevertheless, remains in a tight race in the Class 2A South Region, where Patuxent (6-0), River Hill (6-0), Southern (4-2), Douglass (4-2) and Gwynn Park (4-2).
 
Wilde Lake over Rerservoir: The Wildecats bounced back from its 25-8 loss to four-time county champ River Hill (6-0) with Saturday’s 25-7 victory over Reservoir (3-3), a loser for the third straight week.

The Wildecats, aiming to avoid missing the playoffs as they did with last year’s 8-2 record, received
scoring runs of 9 and 12 yards from Jarrell Epps; Vaughn Stamper’s 1-yard TD run as well as his two-point conversion run; Juma Richards’ 15-yard TD reception from Danny March; and an extra point kick from Graham Spicer.

	Howard 34, Hammond 21: Junior Jeff Kalsi was 6-for-10 for 84 yards and scoring passes of 16 and 35 yards to Taylor Landrum, with a 20-yarder to Jeff Javier. A.J. Bonavitacola had touchdown runs of 1 and 7 yards, and Kevin Ford was 4-for-5 on extra points and, defensively, recorded two sacks. Also playing well defensively for the Lions were Matt Randolp with three sacks; Brandon Yurechko and Aaron Jamison with fumble recoveries, and Javier and Mike Whyms with interceptions. Hammond is 1-5.
ALL SMILES: Howard High junior quarterback Jeff Kalski (left) threw two TD passes to Taylor Landrum, and a third to Jeff Javier in Saturday’s 34-21 victory over Hammond. The Lions, 3-7, and, 2-8 the past two seasons, are now sitting at 5-1.

Oakland Mills 22, Mount Hebron 14: The Scorpions overcame a 6-0 first-quarter deficit, but took a permanent lead, 14-6, at the half against the Vikings (0-6).

Quarterback Justin Sottilare was 19-for-33 for 334 yards and threw an 81-yard scoring pass to
Ricky Kersey (seven receptions, 176 yards).

Sottilare also ran for a two-point conversion, and Ramonte Crowder rushed for scores of 1 and 2
yards as the Scorpions (2-4) won for the second straight week.

The Scorpions play host to Glenelg (2-4), also a winner of two straight games, on Saturday at 1 p.m. for Oakland Mills’ homecoming.

The Scorpions ended a 24-game winning streak with last week’s 43-27 win over Hammond, a victory that came a week after Sottilare set a single-game passing yardage record with 448 yards and four TDs.

SCORPIONS’ STING

Bram Wilson came off of the bench to lift Oakland Mills to a 1-0 victory at Howard County rival Atholton.

The junior midfielder scored the only goal the Scorpions would need in Thursday night’s 1-0 victory at Howard County League rival Atholton.

“I’d have to say that was the surprise of the night,” said Cutler, whose defense made the first-half goal stand up against surprising pressure from the Raiders (1-8-1).

Cutler also credited junior goalie Josh Yarn for making seven saves, and defender, Freddy Pina, for making one each in diving kick saves during each half.

“Freddy cleared the ball right off the line both times,” Cutler said.

The Scorpions were coming off of Tuesday’s 3-1 victory at Glenelg, during which sophomore Kevin Sullivan scored twice, and senior Cory Marcon scored his team-leading eighth goal to go with four assists.

Also contributing against Glenelg were senior Joe Millar, junior David Jannati, and sophomore Ben Caffey with assists.

In last Thursday’s 1-0 shutout of Mount Hebron, Sullivan was assisted by senior Jared Yarn as the Scorpions defeated a team that is the defending county, region and Class 3A state champion.

Prior to the Mount Hebron game, the Scorpions had lost, 3-2, in overtime to Mariotts’ Ridge, after blowing seperate leads of 1-0,and, 2-1.

Oakland Mills now has victories over co-Class 4A state champion, Thomas Johnson of Frederick County, and defending 2A state champion, Hammond, its county neighbor.

At 7-1 in the county, the Scorpions (9-3 overall) are in the mix for the lead atop the league standings.

On Tuesday, River Hill improved to 6-1 in the league, and 7-4 overall, with a 2-1 victory over Atholton (1-8-1).

Also on Tuesday, Reservoir (3-2-2, 5-2-2) scored a 2-0 shutout over previously unbeaten Marriotts Ridge.

River Hill and Marriotts Ridge (6-1-1 league) meet on Friday night. On Tuesday, River Hill meets Reservoir, which is 3-0-1 in its past four county games.

The Reservoir Gators may be playing their best ball, having yielded only four goals in seven county
contests.

GLADIATORS OVERCOME THE ‘BEAST’

Despite a game goalie in Oakland Mills’ Margo Santiago, Glenelg won Tuesday’s Howard County League girls’ soccer match, 2-1, on the road.

That’s why her coach, Susan Rosner, admiringly called her, “a beast.”

“Margo comes up huge in the goal,” said Rosner. “But she’s been that way for a couple of years.”

She was that way on Tuesday evening against Glenelg, the defending Class 2A state champion,
in Howard County League girls soccer action.

Although visiting Glenelg eventually solved Santiago for a 2-1 victory — being out-shot, 23-6, led to  that — coach Dean Sheridan said his Gladitors’ never truly tamed her.

“Of the shots we took, most of them were between the posts and in danger of going in, but their goalie was on so many of those balls,” Sheridan said of Santiago, whom he credited with seven saves.

“At one point, she stopped a header by one of our girls,” Sheridan said. “I turned around, looked at our bench and said, ‘now that was a save.'”

But it was the Gladiators (4-6-1 overall, 3-4 league) who left the game victorious, having received goals from sophomore midfielder Ellen Axenfeld and senior midfielder Rachel Dewberry, the latter off an assist from sophomore Hope LaHayne.

Splitting time in the goal for Glenelg were seniors Kerry Kramer and Malena Cahall, who combined
for three saves.

The game was scoreless at halftime, after which Axenfeld converted 10 minutes into the second
half.

The Scorpions (2-4-1, 3-5-2) tied the game on a score by Dana Wiedel, but Dewberry’s game-winner
clinched it with six minutes left to play.

SOTTILARE: A SOLITARY INSPIRATION

Oakland
Mills quarterback Justin Sottilare, a 6-foot-3 senior who was once a
5-6, backup freshman, soared into the state passing record books and, a
week later, guided the Scorpions to a long-overdue victory.

And at the center of most of
the renewed enthusiasm is rangy, 6-foot-3 senior quarterback Justin
Sottilare, who, as a 5-6 freshman, served as a back up, and who missed
all of his sophomore season due to academic ineligibility.

Sottilare’s
success began two weeks ago on Sept. 29, when he set a single-season
state passing record of 448 yards to go with four scoring passes in a
50-26 loss at Howard County rival Marriotts Ridge (3-2).

In
that game, Sottilare threw touchdowns scores of 25 and 91 yards to
freshman Adam Reed (183 yards); another of 16 yards to senior Rick
Kersey (108 yards); and still another of 20 yards to senior Bryson
Cramer.

A fourth player, senior Lyle Williams, totaled 111
receiving yards against the Mustangs, with Sottilare completing 23 of
37 passes.

Although the Scorpions lost — for the fourth time
this year, and for the 24th straight time since 2004 — Sottilare and
his second-yearcoach, Seth Willingham, later saw the passing record as
a silver lining.

But they didn’t discover it until long after the game, after totaling up Sottilare’s stats.

“It
was frustrating to lose another game, but after the game, my coach
[Seth Willingham] watched film and added up all of the stats,”
Sottilare said.

“And then, I found out I broke a state record,”
Sottilare said. “Until that point, that had been the highlight of my
season because we had been losing every game. I think it gave us a
little momentum, helped our morale a lot.”

A week later, Sottilare went one better to give the Scorpions’ fans,
let alone his teammates, even more to cheer about.

Sottilare
led the Scorpions to a come-from-behind, 43-27 victory over visiting
Hammond, ending a 24-game losing streak that dated back to end of 2004.

Sottilare
again lit up the sky against Hammond, going 25-for-42 with for 358
yards and another scoring pass to Reed (96 receiving yards). But this
time, Sottilare also rushed for for four TDs — all on quarterback
sneaks within five yards of the goal line.

	“In the week following the Marriotts Ridge game, I think the rest of my teammates developed a lot more confidence in me,” said Sottilare, whose 1,432 passing yards for nine TDs already have surpassed last year’s 1,367 yards and six passing scores. In two years, Sottilare has passed for seven two-point conversions, rushed for nine TDs and rushed for a pair of two-point conversions. But he’s most proud of the passing numbers and the relationship he’s developed with his receivers. “Our main receiver is Adam Reed. He’s our deep play guy. He may not have the greatest hands, but he’ll take a hitch and take it 80 yards,” said Sottilare.
“In the week following the Marriotts Ridge game, I think the rest of my teammates developed a lot more confidence in me,” said Oakland Mills QB Justin Sottilare, who established a state record against the Mustangs, and, a week later, ended the Scorpions’ 24-game losing streak with a win over visiting Hammond. “There’s a good feeling on the team that we can continue winning.”

   “Lyle, he’s probably got the best hands on the team.
He’s a big guy, around my size,” Sottilare said. “Myself and Ricky
Kersey, we’re definitely pretty good at reading defenses. We’re getting
better at it all the time, and we’re on the same page.”

Sottilare said the difference in the four years from his freshman season until now is his physical and mental maturity.

“The
big difference is my height. I think when I was a freshman, I was about
5-6. But between my sophomore year and my junior year, I shot up to
like 6-2,” Sottilare said.

 “And of course, my coach has really
helped me out a lot, confidence-wise. I’ve improved my arm strength,
and I’m playing smarter,” Sottilare said. “I’m getting rid of the ball
quicker when I need to. Coach Willingham definitely gives me pointers
on how to be a quarterback.”

But if Sottilare is an unlikely
hero, then just as unlikely are the two scources of his heroism —
rival Hammond and Marriotts Ridge.

Hammond, ironically, is the
last team Oakland Mills defeated before last weekend. The Scorpions
ended their season in 2005 with a 30-17 victory at home over the Bears
Nov. 5 of that year.

The irony with Marriotts Ridge stems
from its coach Ken Hovet, a 1979 Oakland Mills graduate who earned
All-Metro Coach of The Year in 1998 when he guided the Scorpions to
their lone state championship in Class 1A over Forestville of Prince
George’s County.

In addition, Willingham     served to seasons
as an assistant to Hovet when he still was at Oakland Mills. Further
adding to the drama is that fact that the Mustangs’ quarterback, Kevin
Seker, is considered one of the league’s best, having last year thrown
for nearly 1,900 yards and 11 TDs.

“It was a wierd feeling,
being on the opposite sideline between Ken and Marcus Lewis, with whom
I had a great relationship because we actually taught physical
education together,” said Willingham, a 6-3, 235-pounder who
quarterbacked for coach Doug DuVall at Wilde Lake before graduating in
1994.

“We knew going in that they had Seker as a QB, and that
they had a real good running back that we had to stop,” said
Willingham. “But our best opportunity was to spread the ball around and
get the ball to some of our best athetes. Our receivers made some big
plays, and, of course, our quarterback had a great day.”

Sottilare
eclipsed a state record of 430 yards established in 2001 by North
County’s Billy Largent in a 55-32 loss to Arundel, during the same year
in which Mount St. Joseph’s Nick Tanis threw for 408 yards against
Steubenville, OH.

The only other Marylander to eclipse the
400-yard barrier was North County’s Mike Evans, with 404, against
Chesapeake-Anne Arundel County in 1996.

Another who has thrown for more than 400 yards are Mount St. Joseph’s Nick Tanis, at 408, in 2001.

“It’s
definitely a great feeling coming off of a win, which is something we
haven’t experienced in a long time,” said Sottilare, whose Scorpions
next visit winless Mount Hebron. “There’s a good feeling on the team
that we can continue winning if we continue to work hard to achieve
that goal.”

OM STATS

PASSING, YDS, TDS, RUSH TDS, 2pt

Justin Sottilare       94/166 (57%)     1436            9           6                   7

RECEIVING,  YARDS,  TDS,  2PT

Ricky Kersey             25           357                2                   3

Lyle Williams            23            350                1                   1

Adam Reed               24           479                5                   1

Bryson Cramer          11           151                 1

Ramonte Crowder       2             8                           

Maurice Hockaday       2           12                            

Bryant Pullins              2          23

CARRIES, YDS, TDS       

Ramonte Crowder         33
         142             1

Mike Brown                   8           11

Bryson Cramer               4           9

Adam Reid                    4           0

Ricky kersey                  1           1

Bryant Pullins               27         132

Lyle Williams                 1          30

PUNTING, ATMPS, YDS, AVE

Ricky Kersey                  16         624         39

 KICK RTNS, YDS, AVE

Bryson Cramer               11             134             12.1

Adam Reid                     5               57              11.4

Mike Sanchez                  1               15               16

Maurice Hockaday           8              201               25

THE NO. 1 STUNNERS

Oakland Mills’ 1-0 win over Class 3A state champ Mount Hebron continued its trend of taking down top teams. “We’ve beaten the co-Class 4A state champions, Thomas Johnson. We’ve beaten the defending 2A state champions, Hammond,” said Scorpions’ senior midfielder Cory Marcon.

The win was the fifth for the Scorpions in six league games, raising their overall record to 7-3.

The Scorpions were coming off of Friday’s 3-2 overtime loss to Mariotts’ Ridge, a game, during
which Oakland Mills blew seperate leads of 1-0, and, 2-1.

Senior midfielder Cory Marcon, who scored the Scorpions’ second goal against Marriotts’ Ridge, called the win over Mount Hebron, “a huge victory,” and, “a big, confidence booster.”

“Now, we’ve beaten the co-Class 4A state champions, Thomas Johnson. We’ve beaten the defending
2A state champions, Hammond, and, now, we’ve beaten the defending 3A state champions,” said Marcon, who leads the Scorpions with seven goals and four assists.

“For us to do those things, it gives us a lot of momentum,” Marcon said. “Now, we have to prepare for next week’s games at Glenelg on Tuesday and at home here against Atholton on Thursday.”

Mount Hebron, winner of last year’s county, region and Class 3A state tournaments, slipped to 3-3-1
overall, and, 3-2-1 against Howard County League rivals.

The Vikings had to play short a man over the game’s final 19 minutes after one of its top players received a red card for unsportsmanlike play.

“Our team played hard, but we had two mental lapses. One on just not playing good, transition defense, and one just being out of control and not disciplined,” said Mount Hebron coach Mike Linsenmeyer.

“We’re not good enough where we can’t be disciplined, and that’s where lost the game,” Linsenmeyer
said. “Once we start getting disciplined and start playing hard and smart, we’ll start actually winning
games.”

The decisive scoring sequence developed as Scorpions’ junior forward Francis Ekiko, a transfer from Cameroon, brought the ball down the left side of the field, according to Cutler.

The 6-1, 218-pound Ekiko “attempted to serve the ball, and it kind of got knocked down and pushed across the middle,” said Cutler.  “It kind of bounced around and sort of happened to land on Kevin’s foot.”

Ekiko said that after receiving a cross from senior midfielder Thomas Consiglio, he “jumped for the ball and flicked it on with my head” to senior defender Jared Yarn.

From there, Jared Yarn fed the ball to Sullivan.

“The ball came to Jared, but he had a man on him, so he cut it back to me as I came in behind him from the 18,” said Sullivan, a slender, brace-toothed, 6-foot, 143-pounder with red hair.

“I was a little less than 18 yards out at that point, maybe 15 yards out,” said Sullivan. “I was able to place it into the left side corner. To me, this was the game of the week. So it’s a big win.”

Not counting tournament losses to Urbana and Fallston of Frederick and Harford counties, respectively, the Scorpions have won seven of their past eight games.

The shutout was the fifth for Scorpions’ junior goalie Josh Yarn, who made four saves behind his defense of sophomore sweeper J.C. Abarcar, freshman Sean Wassel, junior David Jannati and senior Freddy Pina.

That defense shut out the Vikings’ top two scorers who have combined for eight each in goals and assists.

“Last year, we lost to these guys in a well-played game, 1-0, in the first overtime,” said Cutler, whose Scorpions were 9-5-1 last season.

 “We ended up losing to Atholton at their place in the regional semifinals, but we had actually beaten
Atholton and Hammond in the regular-season,” said Cutler. “Hammond ended up [beating Atholton] in the regional final and going all the way, so the playoff loss was a little disappointing in that we didn’t go farther.”

Cutler called the county race, “completely upside down,” adding that, “everyone can beat everyone.”

“Mount Hebron beat River Hill, which is one of the strongest teams in the county. Mount Hebron
tied Marriotts’ Ridge, which beat us. And then, we beat Mount Hebron,” Cutler said. “I just tell the kids that we have a chance to win as much as we have a chance to lose every time out.”