File:Football 2018, Freshman Devin Philips evades Frederick cornerback Torrey Flournoy, September 21, 2018.jpg

Summary

School 2018

Harich leads Roaders over Cadets in nail-biter

   By Bill Cauley from The Frederick News-Post, September 22, 2018

Photo:

Brunswick freshman Devin Philips evades Frederick cornerback Torrey Flournoy during the first quarter of host Brunswick’s win Friday night. Staff photo by Graham Cullen

BRUNSWICK — Layne Harich didn’t think his Brunswick football team was going to need any extra touchdowns against Frederick on Friday.

The junior running back had already scored three touchdowns so, in the fourth quarter, with the game winding down and the Railroaders leading by four, all he was hoping was to be able to sustain a drive long enough to put the Railroaders into a victory formation.

Instead, on third-and-4 from his own 42-yard line with 2 minutes, 15 seconds to go in the game, Harich popped through the Cadets’ defensive line for his fourth TD, a 57-yarder.

“Honestly, I wasn’t looking for that,” Harich said. “But when I got through the second level of defenders, everything opened up.”

Brunswick was up 24-14, and it looked like it was headed for an easy win. Instead, With 1:23 left on the clock, Frederick quarterback Kisaye Barnes heaved a Hail Mary-type pass to Jahmik Hill, good for a 54-yard touchdown.

Following Owen Jones’ extra-point kick, the Railroaders made sure to pounce on the expected Cadets’ onside kick, then held on for a 24-21 win in Brunswick’s 50th anniversary game.

The Railroaders (3-1) first football game in school history was at Smithsburg on Sept. 21, 1968.

“Frederick is a scrappy team,” Brunswick coach Jerry Smith said. “They battled. They’re getting better, we’re getting better.”

Harich ended up being the do-it-all guy on Friday. By halftime, he had already amassed 176 of his game-high 310 rushing yards. Harich scored all of Brunswick’s points.

He made it look easy, at times dragging what looked to be half of Frederick’s defensive line for additional yardage on several carries, but Harich knows he can’t do it all by himself.

“If it weren’t for the offensive line, none of this would be possible,” Harich said. “These guys do a great job up front.”

Friday’s anniversary game became a back-and-forth affair of sorts.

Frederick (1-3) scored on the game’s first possession, taking the opening kickoff and going 39 yards on three plays. Barnes hit Fontaine Weedon with a 45-yard touchdown pass. Jones’ kick gave the Cadets a 7-0 lead with 10:16 left in the first quarter.

The Railroaders took the ensuing kickoff, going 53 yards on 11 plays. Harich scored on a 1-yard plunge, but the extra point was block and Frederick maintained a 7-6 advantage.

Brunswick took a 12-7 lead with 7:06 left in the first half when Harich scored on a 5-yard run. But the Cadets’ Nate Osei returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a score, and Jones’ kick gave Frederick a 14-12 lead.

Not to be outdone, the Railroaders went 65 yards on seven plays on their next possession. Harich dove in from the Cadets’ 1 with four minutes left in the half.

Both teams missed out on other close scoring opportunities. Brunswick had a drive stopped at the Frederick 3 in the third quarter. Frederick drove to the Railroaders’ 9 to start the fourth quarter before a holding penalty took them out of range.

While Brunswick escaped with the win and Smith liked the way the team bounced back after a 43-28 loss against Boonsboro last Saturday, he wasn’t happy with some of the tackling assignments.

“We missed a lot of tackles when we had people contained in the backfield,” Smith said. “We need to do a better job with that.”