CLICK THE VIDEOS AND PHOTOS TABS ABOVE FOR HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS GAME!
By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.com
Four years ago, when senior quarterback Zack Splain and senior wide receiver Ralph George were teammates on the Olney Bears instead of the Sherwood Warriors, their roles were reversed.
It was George who was throwing the touchdown passes to Splain, who also backed up George at quarterback. It was a decent combination, but as George’s dad would tell his son after games, Splain was the smarter quarterback of the two.
Friday night’s 4A state semifinal showed the duo works much better the other way around.
Splain threw six touchdown passes – three to George – in a 45-8 win over Wise in Sandy Spring that sends the Warriors to their third state final in the past four years.
Sherwood has lost in its past four title appearances and will face unbeaten Linganore (13-0) Friday at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.
But if Splain and George keep up their connection, the undefeated Warriors (13-0) are going to be tough to beat.
“Obviously the roles have changed and it would be a waste for [George] to be at quarterback,” Splain said. “I’ve got a decent arm. I can throw him the ball and he makes all the plays.”
Splain threw for 255 yards and six touchdowns while completing 18 of 23 passes. George caught seven of those passes for 163 yards while fellow senior Chris Everett also caught three touchdown passes.
“He actually taught me to play,” George said. “He was a smart quarterback. I had the arm and everything but now he’s got the arm.”
The Warriors knew they were going to pass against Wise, a second-year varsity team from Prince George’s County who is accustomed to stopping the run with a series of blitzes. Those blitzes meant Sherwood was going to pass and it would be up to the line to buy Splain some time and then up to him to make the Pumas pay.
Splain hasn’t been asked to throw the ball much this season. He typically attempts no more than 15 passes per game. But knowing the game would largely hinge on his arm, the second-year starter met the challenge with excitement.
“I knew I’d have a pretty good game with their defense isn’t really set up for the pass, but not this good of a game,” Splain said. “You feel invincible. You feel like you can make every throw.”
Sherwood fumbled its first possession away, but mounted a long drive on its second chance. On the 11th play of the drive, one down after Splain took a sack, he found George open across the middle for a 46-yard touchdown strike. The pass hit George perfectly in stride.
Still, Sherwood Coach Al Thomas told Splain he had a lousy first quarter.
“I told him, ‘We’re only going as far as you’re going to take us so you better shape up,’” Thomas said. “If we’re going to win we were going to have to hit some big plays and we did. We had to throw the ball tonight. They gave us no option.”
The Warriors kept slinging it and Splain hooked up with George on a 41-yard touchdown pass on Sherwood’s first drive of the second quarter. Splain hit George on a short pass over the middle and the 5-foot-8, 150-pound senior did the rest, splitting a pair of defenders and cutting past a couple more.
“I like the rock in my hands, I like it, I like it,” George said. “I’m like the deep threat guy. They see when the ball’s in the air it’s always No. 2 down the field.”
Wise’s offense finally got moving on the resulting drive. The Pumas used up more than five minutes and 12 plays to score on a nine-yard touchdown run by Anthony Wright, who rushed 21 times for 106 yards.
Wise, who upset 4A South’s No. 1-seeded Eleanor Roosevelt and No. 2-seeded C.H. Flowers to reach its first-ever state semifinal, held Sherwood to a three-and-out on its next drive and once again started moving down the field.
But the Pumas fumbled the second handoff on a reverse and Sherwood junior linebacker Phillip Durity recovered, giving Sherwood 1 minute, 21 seconds left to mount an attack before halftime. Six plays later, Splain connected with Everett for a 18-yard touchdown with 15 seconds left on the clock.
“That made halftime a lot nicer,” Thomas quipped.
Sherwood ate up nearly six minutes on its first drive of the second half and Splain capped it off with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Everett to put the Warriors ahead, 27-8.
George and Everett each caught one more touchdown pass each and Andy Estrain kicked a 25-yard field goal for the final margin of victory. Don’t worry though, Splain still had a part in that score. He was the holder.
“I feel I’ve definitely got a lot better,” said Splain, who is still learning on the job. “Last year I was shaky at best. This year, every game I’ve been getting a little more comfortable. This game, even though it’s really late in the season, is a stepping stone and hopefully next week we can get it done.”
BOX SCORE
Line Score
Wise – 0 8 0 0 – 8
Sherwood – 7 13 14 11 – 45
Scoring Summary
Q1 – S – Splain pass to George for 46 (Estrain kick)
Q2 – S – Splain pass to George for 41 (Estrain kick)
Q2 – W – Wright run 9 (Burrell run)
Q2 – S – Splain pass to Everett for 19 (run failed)
Q3 – S – Splain pass to Everett for 8 (Estrain kick)
Q3 – S – Splain pass to George for 5 (Estrain kick)
Q4 – S – Splain pass to Everett for 11 (Splain run)
Q4 – S – Estrain 25-yard field goal
Stat Leaders
Passing: S – Splain 18-23-0 255; W – Smith 3-8-0 25
Rushing: S – Davis 16-67, Gamble 8-21, Chidel 3-10; W – Wright 21-106, Smith 7-29
Receiving: S – George 7-163, Everett 5-57, Oboh 1-16; W – Tabbs 2-19; Butler 1-6
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