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Reginald Woods scores his first of two rushing touchdowns in Flowers' 29-6 victory over Suitland.
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By James A. McCray III
Prince George's County, Content Manager

Round 1 of the Suitland Rams versus the C.H. Flowers Jaguars went to Flowers. Albeit in a closely contested overtime matchup, the Jaguars defeated the Rams 20-14 in the first contest between the two on Nov. 1.

The win in November gave Flowers home-field advantage for the semi-final game. However, due to weather conditions, the game originally scheduled for this past Saturday was played Monday night at High Point High School.

The venue may have changed, the date may have changed, but the result remained the same as Flowers defeated Suitland 29-6 to advance to the 4A South regional championship game.

"We were not even thinking about that," Flowers head coach Michael Mayo said of being given another chance to host a playoff game, the regional championship. "The only thing we were thinking about was playing this game and taking it one step at a time. That was it.

"We have not thought about who we were playing or if we were hosting it. ... We knew we had to come out tonight and play or none of that would have mattered."

In the last meeting between the two teams, Flowers fell behind 14-0 to Suitland before scoring 20 un-answered points to go on to victory. This time around, Flowers was able to jump out to an early lead and protect it en route to its victory.

A scoreless first quarter followed the blue print of the first meeting between the two in terms of high intensity. But midway through the second quarter, Flowers put the first points on the board as quarterback Dwayne Powell hooked up with John Clark from 3-yards out, and after a Powell conversion run, put the Jaguars up 8-0.

Flowers scored again on its next offensive possession as running back Reginald Woods scored from 17 yards out to give the Jaguars a 15-0 lead and in turn providing all of the scoring cushion the Jaguars would need.

"We dominated all four quarters," Woods said. "Last [game] we only dominated two - we dominated all four quarters. It was a big win. We came up big in the first half."

Woods finished with 100 yards to lead all rushers on the night and also rushed for an additional touchdown in the third quarter, this time from 13-yards out to increase the lead to 22-6 after Suitland had cut the lead to 15-6 right before the half.

Thanks to an 11-yard Devonte Lindsey touchdown pass to Anthony Bush, Suitland went into the half down 15-6. Unfortunately for the Rams, that was the last visit to the end zone in the game.

Suitland head coach Nick Lynch is pleased with the way the year went for the Rams, in particular his seniors.

"I am proud of our guys," Lynch said. "We had some opportunities that I don't think we took advantage of. ... But that is just part of our growing up. I think we have a very young football team, and I think this was just part of a few growing pains.

"I am proud of my seniors. They did everything that we asked of them. ... My hat goes off to my seniors. From back in January, through the off-season, and through the summer, doing what they were supposed to do, just not on the football field, but in the classroom."

Suitland finishes the season at 8-3 overall.

As the offense did its part to put points on the board, the Flowers defense did its part in keeping points off. The Flowers defense has given up on average only 7 points per game in its 10 regular season games leading into Monday, and only allowed 6 points in the semi-final victory.

"A lot of people have a tendency to overlook our defense," Mayo said. "They talk about our offense all the time, and I don't know why. We have only given up 70 points all year. ... People didn't notice that, but we have been pretty solid all year and it is a credit to the kids."

Powell ran a score in from 3-yards out late in the fourth quarter to further seal the victory as the win earns Flowers a meeting with Henry Wise in the regional championship game.

Flowers (10-1) will again find itself in a rematch of a closely-contested regular-season game as the Jaguars defeated Wise 7-6 on Sept. 27. Wise will go into Flowers with confidence high after knocking off top-seeded and previously undefeated Eleanor Roosevelt 14-6 on Saturday.

"Wise is very tough," Mayo said. "They are great defensively, they have great athletes on offense, they move the ball, and they are not the same football team that we played. ... I am sure it is going to be like it always is, a rough and tough football game."

tmccray@digitalsports.com


Flowers 29, Suitland 6

Suitland    --    0   6   0   0
Flowers    --    0   15  7   7

Second quarter:
F    --    Clark 3 pass from Powell, 3:28 (Powell run)
F    --    Woods 17 run, 5:13 (Levicy kick)
S    --    Bush 11 pass from Lindsey, 11:37 (run failed)
Third quarter:
F    --    Woods 13 run, 4:32 (Levicy kick)
Fourth quarter:
F    --    Powell 3 run, 9:23, (Levicy kick)

Top individual performers
Rushing
Suitland: Kelley 7-34, Lindsey 4-27
Flowers: Woods 11-100, Clark 8-66, Jenkins 9-30
Passing
Suitland: Lindsey 8-21-0 104
Flowers: Powell 4-9-1 33
Receiving
Suitland: Jacobs 4-72, Darr 2-16, Bush 2-16
Flowers: Clark 3-26