by Lem Satterfield
There’s excitement within Oakland
Mills’ football, yet again, and that’s something that hasn’t been a
part of that program for years.
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.
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“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.
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“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.”
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“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
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