File:Football 2021 Brunswick quarterback Wylan Harich (3) slips past Catoctin defender Joseph McCallion (25) from the Frederick News-Post, March 27, 2021.jpg

Summary

Mighty motivated Roaders roll: Anxious to prove something, Railroaders trounce rival Cougars By John Cannon for the Frederick News-Post, March 27, 2021 Photo: Brunswick quarterback Wylan Harich (3) slips past Catoctin defender Joseph McCallion (25) while carrying the ball in the third quarter on Friday night at Middletown High School. Photo by Sam Yu, for the News-Post. MIDDLETOWN — On the first play from scrimmage, Brunswick defensive tackle Terrance Jackson burst into the backfield and tackled Catoctin star running back Carson Sickeri for a 4-yard loss. And on the Railroaders’ first offensive possession, quarterback Wylan Harich juked and broke free of would-be tacklers for runs that led to the game’s first touchdown. If the Railroaders looked mighty motivated, they were. They felt like they had something to prove after getting blown out by Middletown in their only game this season. They hadn’t beaten the Cougars, their rival, since 2012. And they were starved for action and well-prepared after having their game canceled the previous week. So the Railroaders went out and largely contained Sickeri, got three rushing touchdowns from Harich and rolled to a stunning 28-6 win over Catoctin at Middletown High School on Friday. Yes, Catoctin’s offense was forced to play without starting quarterback Ryan Orr, who was sidelined after sustaining a head injury last week against Thomas Johnson. Still, the Cougars (1-1) were the 2019 Class 1A state champs. “It didn’t matter that Ryan was out or who was in and who was out, [the Cougars] are a tough team,” Brunswick (1-1) coach Jerry Smith said. “And I think our boys came ready to work.” Railroaders like Harich remembered what happened in their last game against Catoctin, during Week 10 in 2019, when the Cougars turned what had been a tight game into a 49-28 rout. “Considering last year ended like it did, when we were 28-28 going into the fourth quarter and ended up getting blown out in the fourth, this was a big win for us,” he said. “A big confidence builder.” The Railroaders got in extra preparation after last week’s game against Frederick got canceled because of coronavirus precautions. “I didn’t cut ‘em any slack, and I think they showed it here,” Smith said. “We played tough football, and that’s what we want to try to play.” From the get-go, Brunswick’s defense showed an ability to get good penetration, making it difficult for Sickeri to break free for big gains. Defenders like Jackson and Michael Souders made tackles for loss or often forced the Cougars to settle for short gains. “With the week off and after we had that loss to Middletown — we just couldn’t do anything against them — we put in a lot of work the last two weeks,” Jackson said. “We wanted to come out and show we know what we’re doing.” The defense’s lone blemish came with 11:28 left in the second quarter, when Sickeri had no one between him and the end zone after zipping through a hole at the line of scrimmage en route to a 67-yard touchdown run that narrowed Brunswick’s lead to 7-6. Facing a stout Brunswick defense without Orr, the Cougars tried numerous methods to cope with the absence, using sophomore Connor Crum and senior Dylan Click at quarterback and targeting Sickeri with some direct snaps. Sickeri finished with 120 yards on 21 carries. “Had to try some different stuff, try to get our playmakers the ball,” Catoctin coach Mike Rich said. “But hats off to [the Railroaders], they were ready to go. They were ready to play, and they earned this one tonight.” With a strong wind blowing most of the night, Brunswick passed the ball just seven times. Harich had no complaints, and he led the rushing attack with 178 yards on 18 carries. He scored on runs of 9, 1 and 15 yards, and his cousin JT Harich scored on a 3-yard run with 1:48 left in the first half to put the Railroaders in front for good. “The offensive line blocked well, the running backs ran hard, a lot of misdirection, a lot of motion to confuse the defense,” Wylan Harich said. “We were a very deceptive offense tonight. I like how our coaches called the plays.” On several of his keepers, Harich faked a handoff, found a hole at the line of scrimmage and used the elusiveness he’s worked on for years to make defenders miss. “We just want to run the ball downhill,” Smith said. “You could almost say it’s a little bit of what [the Cougars] do — we want to steal their recipe from last year, just run the ball downhill. I think we have the backs, the quarterback, I think we have the line to do it.” Jackson, a guard, was one of those linemen. The senior said his unit stressed continuing to open holes after seeing the running game have some problems moving the ball early in the second half. The result was a pair of Harich touchdown runs in the fourth quarter to seal the win. “Since I’ve been a freshman, we’ve not been able to beat them,” said Jackson, who is a senior. “It just feels good to finally get a win against them. We came out and played tonight.