Football 4A West Finals: Sherwood 31, Quince Orchard 10

By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.com

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Sherwood needed a crucial first down on a late scoring drive and it looked like senior Steven Gamble was going to be stopped in the backfield on third-and-2. Instead, Gamble lowered his head, took on two tacklers – one on each shoulder -- and drove them backwards.

On the next play, Dominique Davis sealed Sherwood’s 31-10 victory over defending state champion Quince Orchard in Friday’s 4A West region final in Sandy Spring.

Gamble’s play was the perfect example of how the hard-nosed fullback and linebacker made his impact Friday night. Gamble never reached the end zone, but he made sure his teammates did and Quince Orchard didn’t.

“It doesn’t matter to me if I’m not scoring touchdowns if we’re winning games and I’m helping Dominique [Davis] get his touchdowns,” Gamble said. “To beat a state championship team last year twice, it’s unbelievable.”

The Warriors (12-0) topped the Cougars, 14-6, on Oct. 17, but as even Coach Al Thomas felt, many considered some of that result to be good fortune on Sherwood’s side. Luck played no part this time, however.

After the convincing win, the Warriors now advance to the state semifinals for the third time in four years, where they will play either Arundel, who defeated Severna Park Friday night, or Henry Wise at home next Friday. Sherwood lost to Quince Orchard twice last season, including in the regional final.

“Right now I’m shocked,” Thomas said. “I was praying for a win, but not by three touchdowns.”

Gamble captained a defense that held Quince Orchard to 141 yards of total offense and just eight first downs. He paved the way for the Sherwood offense that piled up 333 yards and 18 first downs, including rushing 12 times for 91 yards himself.

After going into halftime tied at 10, Sherwood scored 21 unanswered points in the second half.

“We went into the locker room, we was scared to death,” said Davis, who ran 22 times for 189 yards and two touchdowns. “We just came out and we executed.”

But while Davis certainly did his part in putting points on the scoreboard, each of Sherwood’s first three touchdown drives was set up by Gamble.

He broke off a 32-yard run on Sherwood’s second drive that put the Warriors on the 2 yard line. Three plays later, quarterback Zack Splain rushed around the right tackle to put Sherwood ahead 7-3 near the start of the second quarter.

Then, with the game tied at 10 following a 83-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Quince Orchard’s Pernell Brantley, Gamble rushed 12 yards on fourth-and-2 to extend a Sherwood drive. Davis took the next play from scrimmage 9 yards into the end zone to give the Warriors a the lead for good with 1 minute, 32 seconds left in the third quarter.

Next came Gamble’s bulldozing first down. Sherwood was leading by just one touchdown with nearly nine minutes remaining in the game, plenty of time for Quince Orchard to make a stop and march back down the field. The Warriors faced a third-and-2 from the Cougars’ 44 yard line.

Gamble took the handoff and was immediately met by two of Quince Orchard’s biggest hitters, Cody Schecter and Roger Hawkins. Gamble, a two-time state runner-up wrestler, lowered his head and drove his legs forward, picking up three yards and enough for the first down.

“I had that kid on my back and I was like, ‘We need this,’” Gamble said. “‘This is one of the biggest plays in the game. Even though we’ve got some time, if we make this play it could potentially be the game-winning play.’”

Davis’ speed was the compliment to Gamble’s power. The speedster tore down the left sideline 41 yards to give Sherwood a 24-10 lead on the next play.

On Quince Orchard’s first play following the touchdown, Sherwood’s Ralph George intercepted Kevin Adams, who stepped in for temporarily injured Travis Hawkins for the first time since injuring his collar bone in the regular season.

About four minutes later, Sherwood scored its final touchdown on a 21-yard pass from Splain to Chris Everett that all but ended the game. Splain extended that drive with a 4-yard rush on fourth-and-3.

“We’ve always kind of been in the state running and it’s a reality now,” Sherwood senior center Matt Emerson said. “We really want it this year. I feel this year, I definitely feel it in my heart, that we can go and win states.”