North Hagerstown Hubs Football

Rebels kicker Dustin Rowland’s extra-point boot bounced off the left upright and gave North a 28-27 victory as the Hubs extended their current mastery over South to six straight wins and a 27-24-1 lead in the series.

Tied at 21, North (3-7, 2-2) scored on its third play in overtime when sophomore quarterback Steve Coccodrilli flipped a screen pass from the 7 to Demetrius Myers in open territory to the right. Chase Worthington added the extra point.

South (4-6, 1-3) answered when sophomore quarterback Hunter Phillips took advantage of Cory Shank’s 6-foot-4 frame on a post route from 12 yards.

Jordan Ricketts scored on a 2-yard run to highlight a 10-play, 55-yard first-quarter drive.

Two possessions later, as the game entered the second quarter, North went 62 yards in six plays with sophomore Anthony Winters going 17 yards when he latched onto a lateral toss from Coccodrilli.

With South in dire field position on its own 6 after a penalty, Phillips hit ex-Hub Nick Stubbs on a swing pass around the North 15 and Stubbs did the rest, breaking off one tackle and then outrunning two North defenders for a 94-yard touchdown. However, South’s PAT failed.

After stopping North, the Rebels then marched 87 yards, with Phillips’ 23-yard pass to Devaun Bowie setting up a 1-yard plunge by Antoine Malone, who also ran in the two-point conversion for a 14-14 tie.

Coccodrilli hooked up with Winters on a 48-yard pass play to highlight an 88-yard drive in the fourth quarter, setting up Ricketts’ 8-yard TD run with 5:47 remaining.

South came right back on a 59-yard drive, with Phillips hitting Shank on a 19-yard scoring pass with 3:56 left. Rowland’s kick knotted the game at 21.

Ricketts finished with 102 yards rushing on 23 carries, while Coccodrilli threw for 99 yards for the Hubs.

On the other side, there was South quarterback Hunter Phillips, who did all he could to match Winter. The senior ran for 90 yards and three touchdowns and also threw for 196 yards and another score, all while shaking off a shoulder injury.

South had a 12-play, 56-yard drive, moving the chains twice on pass plays from Phillips to Jordan Nicewarner and getting another new set of downs when Phillips drew the Hubs offsides on a fourth-and-2 play at the North 22. Phillips capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, but the PAT was blocked, leaving North with a 7-6 lead.

Winter and Phillips traded off touchdown runs in the second quarter and Winter added a 30-yard touchdown run with 4:30 left in the half to take a 21-13 lead. Winter finished the first half with 225 yards.

South cut the deficit to one again on the opening drive of the second half, as Phillips completed a pass around midfield to Davis, who made a move to the outside and outran three Hubs for a 66-yard touchdown.

Again, North answered South’s score, going 54 yards in nine plays, culminating in Steve Coccodrilli’s 2-yard touchdown run for a 28-20 lead.

After a South punt gave North the ball at the 50, Winter gave the Hubs a two-touchdown cushion, breaking off a 33-yard scoring run on a fourth-and-3 play.

Phillips scored his third touchdown with 3:05 left, but was stopped short on the two-point conversion try. North recovered South’s onside kick attempt and ran out the clock.

Isiaha Smith has scored 79 touchdowns in his prep career.

He never showed more emotion after a score than Friday night after scoring his 78th.
The South Hagerstown senior dived across the goal line on a 6-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter and quickly jumped to his feet, pumping both fists before calmly handing the ball to an official. 

The score gave the Rebels a 28-20 lead, and Smith tacked on another touchdown run later in the fourth to lead South to a 34-27 win over North Hagerstown in the Gridiron Classic at Mike Callas Stadium. 

It was an unusual show of excitement for Smith, who has become known for quietly going about his business and allowing his numbers to speak for themselves. 
“It’s the North-South game and that score put us back up,” Smith said. “That was a big touchdown. Last year’s loss (to North) really hurt. We wanted to come in here and redeem ourselves this year and go into the playoffs on a win.” 

The numbers for Smith speak volumes. He gained 325 yards on 37 carries and scored four times to give South its second win over the Hubs in three years. It also wrapped up the MVAL Antietam title for the Rebels (9-1, 6-0) and solidified their berth in the Maryland Class 3A West playoffs — their first postseason bid since 2002. 
The touchdown capped a 96-yard scoring drive for the Rebels. Smith carried the ball nine times in the 12-play possession and South was also helped along by a 15-yard face masking penalty and an unsportsmanlike conduct call against the Hubs. 

South coach Toby Peer was just fine with Smith’s display of emotion. 

“I liked it, I liked it,” said Peer. “I liked it because it leads our team, it gives them energy and it gives them excitement. That’s what it’s all about.” 
Smith’s fourth touchdown — a 38-yard burst off the left side of the line — gave South a 34-20 lead with 6:19 left in the fourth quarter. It was the only time in the nip-and-tuck game that either team led by more than a single score. 

But North (6-4, 4-2) battled back, going 80 yards in just under 4 minutes to cut the deficit to seven points. Austin Stone converted an important third-and-1 play into a first down and then caught a 20-yard pass from Nick Karlen to keep the drive going.

On third-and-6 from the South 20, Karlen fooled everybody with a fake handoff to Isaiah Keyes, then rolled to his left on the bootleg for a touchdown with 2:34 remaining. 
The Hubs attempted an onside kick, but the ball rolled out of bounds, giving South the ball at its own 46. The Rebels tried to run out the clock, moving the ball all the way down to the North 14 before turning it over on downs with 25 seconds left in the game. 

Karlen was under intense pressure from a three-man rush and threw incomplete on three straight plays. He completed a fourth-down pass to Preston Carey, who made a short gain as time ran out. 

North ran the ball effectively in the first half and had little trouble moving right down the field on the game’s first possession. Keyes saw most of the action, carrying six times to get the ball inside the South 30. Once there, it was Stone who got the call, breaking a big run on a quick opener before punching it in on the next play from the 8. 

Smith’s night started off auspiciously as he fumbled on his second carry at the Hubs 19. North’s Aaron Miller scooped the ball up and returned it all the way to the South 13. But South’s defense tightened up and Mark Grunberg’s 27-yard field goal attempt hit the right upright and fell wide. 

South took advantage of the break. Smith carried four times to move the ball from the Rebels 20 all the way to the North 6. Josiah Johnson scored from there to tie the game at 7. 
The Rebels got the next break when Keyes lost a fumble at the South 38. Smith again carried the load and scored his first touchdown of the night on an 8-yard run to make it 14-7 South. 

North answered with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Karlen to Bobby Brennan to tie it at 14 before Smith grabbed the lead back with a 2-yard touchdown run. 

Keyes reached the end zone on a 10-yard run with 42 seconds left before halftime, but Johnson blocked the PAT as South held a 21-20 lead at halftime.

The South Hagerstown football team is like a powder keg. It only takes a fire to light its fuse. 

Darian Robinson provided the match on Friday. After that, it was just a matter of time before the BOOM. 

Robinson broke off a 74-yard touchdown run on the third play of the second quarter, and it was fireworks the rest of the way as the Rebels ran off with a 46-7 victory over North Hagerstown to win the 58th edition of the City Championship.  

South heads to the Maryland Class 3A West playoffs next week with a 10-0 record, the MVAL Antietam title and its first undefeated regular season since 1962. 

Robinson finished with 252 yards rushing and three touchdowns, while teammate D’Morea James added three carries for 138 yards and three touchdowns to pace the way to a victory that really wasn’t all that easy. 

North Hagerstown (0-10) made sure of that. 

“I appreciate the way they came out and played,” said South Hagerstown coach Toby Peer. 

“(North) had a game plan and fired off the ball. As a coach, I really appreciate that, but our team rebounded and came back.” 
And did it with authority. 

North took its opening possession and shredded South’s defense with strong runs by Calvin Bembry and Tucker Brugh. The Hubs finished the drive with a 10-yard score by Bembry for a 7-0 lead with 7:41 remaining in the quarter. Meanwhile the defense kept the Rebels in check. 

The whole game changed in two plays for the Rebels. 

The first was the first play of the second quarter, when South’s defense held Bembry short on a fourth-down run to get the ball on downs at South’s 20. 
The second was three plays later on Robinson’s run. He busted around the left end of the line and dashed that fateful 74 yards for the first score to tie the game at 7 with 11:05 to go in the half. 

“(North’s defense) was coming up quick and I was able to get past the first wave,” Robinson said. “It was a lot of work by the O-line and staying back and seeing the holes.” 
After that run, there were many more to come for South. 

The next two runs by South backs were a 36-yard starter followed by a 25-yard finisher for James for his first score at the 9:10 mark and a 14-0 lead. The Rebels ended the half with a 53-yard TD run by James and a 57-yard scoring jaunt by Robinson as each found the end zone for the second time to give the Rebels a 28-7 halftime lead. 

“We tried to blitz and put a lot of pressure up on the line, and couldn’t fill the gaps,” said North coach Greg Stains. “We were giving them too much in the seams. We came out emotional and ready to play, but then we got shell-shocked. ... That happened to us a lot this year.” 

With everything rolling their way, the Rebels took care of business to wrap up all the spoils of victory.

Dominique Johnson opened the second half with a 75-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and a 34-7 lead. 

Later, James squirted through the middle of the line for a 50-yard TD run and Robinson capped it off with a 44-yard burst with 3:39 left in the third quarter. 
Suddenly, the clock was running — and the Hubs had trouble stopping that, too. 

From there, both teams chewed up offensive yardage, but no one scored. 

“This was a great job by the offensive line and the reads of the running backs,” Peer said. “That first touchdown got us on track. This is all huge for everyone in the South community and everyone who has ever wore a Rebels jersey.” 

Bembry finished with 186 yards rushing on 29 carries for the Hubs. 

South ran 27 plays in the game to score six touchdowns and roll up 489 yards of offense.   

2015: South 35, North 7

Daniel Moore has painful memories of playing North Hagerstown. 

Last year in the regular-season finale, a torn ACL suffered against the Hubs cost Moore a chance to compete for South Hagerstown in the postseason. The injury was so debilitating that it has limited the explosive running back to spot duty this season, mostly at wide receiver. 

But Friday in the City Championship game, Moore played a major role in his final high school game as he energized a sluggish Rebels offense in a 35-7 victory at Mike Callas Stadium. 
Carrying five times for 88 yards and scoring two touchdowns, Moore showed South (6-4) the way as it beat North for the third straight year. 

“Coaches didn’t want to rush me in, but they knew when it was time to put me in,” Moore said. “It felt great.”

This has been a frustrating season for the 5-10, 160-pound senior, who served as a backup wide receiver much of the way to protect him from the hits he would have taken carrying the ball. 

“It did my heart a lot of good to see Daniel make the right cuts, get some yards and have a great game,” South coach Toby Peer said. “He has great vision and burst.” 

Peer’s son, quarterback T.J. Peer, also closed his career with a stellar game, rushing 18 times for 110 yards and a touchdown and throwing a pair of touchdown passes — short routes that wideouts McCoy Dutrow and Lincoln Ikwubuo turned into long gains of 19 and 44 yards. 

“Great to win our last game,” T.J. Peer said. “We just got the ball to our athletes.” 

Unfortunately for North (1-9), the Hubs were without their top playmaker. Sophomore quarterback Bennie Barnes spent the game on the sideline, wearing his No. 5 jersey, but not in pads, serving a suspension for an unspecified violation. 

“It was a team decision,” coach Greg Stains said. 

North was able to muster just 154 yards and eight first downs. Were it not for a late fumble by South and a recovery by North tackle Aaron Horton at the South 39, the Rebels' defense would have pitched a shutout. 

Instead, junior Ben Stottlemyer, a wideout all season, scored on a 3-yard quarterback keeper and kicker Madison Foltz added the extra point with less than a minute to go.
Stottlemyer was the Hubs’ top rusher, carrying 16 times for 76 yards. 

“I’ve been the quarterback since Monday,” Stottlemyer said with a smile. “I’ve been joking around with coach all season to let me play quarterback. I finally got my shot.” 

Led by linebackers Jacob Sprecher and Tucker Brugh, the North defense was inspired at the start, forcing three-and-outs on South’s first three possessions. But after South’s first seven rushes netted minus-three yards, Moore entered and changed the game.

His first run accounted for 15 yards and his second went for a 36-yard touchdown. Then in the third quarter, Moore scored on a 19-yard burst that was a work of art as he patently waited for a hole to develop, then burst through it. 

“The vision’s always there,” Moore said. “The linemen do their job and you just gotta see it and read it out.” 

Once Moore and the other South speedsters got into the depleted North secondary, they had smooth sailing. 

“We gave them a little scare,” Stains said of the first quarter. “But we ran out of bodies. We’ve lost three or four defensive backs. Their speed got to us.” 

2016: South 14, North 0

Lincoln Ikwubuo simplified everything to the bottom line. 

"This game was a rivalry," South Hagerstown's senior receiver said. "It makes both teams play hard." 

And that the Rebels and crosstown rival North Hagerstown did. In a game that on paper didn't look to be much of a matchup was every bit of a rivalry. 
South Hagerstown scored two first-half touchdowns and held on the rest of the way Friday night as the Rebels scored a 14-0 victory in the 60th edition of the City Championship at School Stadium. 

It was the Rebels' fourth straight win in the rivalry, but the Hubs still own a 30-29-1 edge in the series. 

It wasn't pretty, but South (7-3) did just enough right and North (2-8) made a couple costly errors that made the difference. 

"These kids just have to learn how to win," said Hubs coach Greg Stains. "We've been down so long and it takes time." 

"I'm proud of our kids," said South coach Toby Peer. "No one gave us a chance this season. The whole year, the goal was to get better." 

South quarterback Timmy Townsend scored on a 2-yard run in the first quarter and then found Ikwubuo on a 16-yard out pattern in the end zone in the second period for all the scoring. 
It was a game that seemed like it would be so different. 

South had played and won so many tight games to stay within striking distance of a Maryland Class 3A West playoff berth. The Rebels were eliminated from contention by the end of the night. 
North spent the season learning the ropes and trying to stay close in games. 

But on Friday, the teams were on equal footing. 

South fumbled the ball four times — losing it once — and they stunted the offense. North committed penalties to hamper drives. Both teams failed to score on two drives inside the 10, although one of the Rebels' came in the final possession of the game with the lead. 

In the end, it all came down to good, old-fashioned ball control and some stingy defense to set the tone for the outcome. 

"That was our game plan," Peer said. "We wanted to control the ball. I would have liked us to finish better, but we had fumbles and a turnover that hurt us in the beginning. But we settled down and finished the game." 

The game opened with North fumbling away the opening kick. South came up empty on the gift by fumbling it back on the Hubs 7. 

But the Rebels took the second possession in with a 68-yard drive that lasted 4:46. South mixed power runs with passes to Ikwubuo to get downfield.  

After overcoming another fumble, Townsend found Jayswah Sanon on a 48-yard dump pass to avoid a sack, which set up his 2-yard scoring run. Zach Rupp added the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 2:00 remaining in the first quarter. 

"They didn't do anything we didn't expect," Stains said. "We played well defensively, but our offense struggled against their fronts." 

Both teams continued to turn the ball over on downs throughout the first half. South finally broke through again to provide itself a cushion. 

The Rebels took over on downs at their 27 and looked to Ikwubuo to lead the way. Townsend hit his receiver with three passes on the drive, culminating with the 16-yard strike to the front right corner of the end zone. 

"We have a combination of routes, and it just depends on what the defense gives us," Ikwubuo said. 

The Rebels needed to use those routes. 

"They were loading up the box against us," Peer said. "They did a nice job against the run." 

Rupp's extra point gave South the 14-0 lead with 4:05 remaining in the half. From there, the game became a grinder. 

The Rebels intercepted a Scott Neal pass with 7:08 remaining in the third quarter. South tried to ground out a TD, but sputtered out at the North 4 with 1:32 remaining in the period. 

North took the ball and tried to feed South some of its own offensive tactics. The Hubs mounted a 20-play drive that spilled into the fourth quarter. 

On the second play of the final period — the seventh of the drive — North running back Ben Stottlemyer had to be helped off the field with a leg injury. 

Chase McCoy replaced Stottlemyer and combined with Neal to continue the drive, but it stalled out at South's 3 with 6:49 remaining. 

"When we lost Ben, the kids rallied but fell short," Stains said. "When they got down there, they weren't sure of the down and distance. I should have called timeout. It was a bad decision on my part. But the kids played hard."

The Rebels took the ball and produced a 12-play drive down to the Hubs 1, but allowed the clock to reach zero instead of trying to score. 

North finished with 222 yards of offense, 136 coming via Neal's passing. Stottlemyer finished with 34 yards. 

Sanon had 106 yards rushing to lead South, which finished with 397 yards offensively. Townsend was 13 of 17 for 189 yards, including 10 receptions for 120 yards by Ikwubuo.  

"Not at all," Ikwubuo said when asked if he expected this type of game. "North is a good team and it has good players. That was their fight. It was our last game."

2017: South 33, North 6

When North Hagerstown’s Jaynaz Melendez brought down South Hagerstown’s Jayswah Sanon with a textbook shoulder tackle, he knocked the Rebels running back out of the game. 
In the Gridiron Classic, how would South do without its prime ball carrier? 

Just fine, thank you, as Taliek McKenzie rushed his way into North-South lore. 

The senior carried 22 times for 136 yards and three touchdowns — all in the second half — as South pulled away for a 33-6 victory at jam-packed Mike Callas Stadium. 

“Jayswah’s a great back,” McKenzie said. “It’s terrible that he went down. But as Coach (Toby) Peer says, ‘It’s next man up.’” 

Few teams have a “next man” with the combination of size (5-foot-11, 205 pounds) and speed of McKenzie. 

Still, he was quick to credit his offensive line. 

“Without those big guys up front, there’s nothing working for me,” McKenzie said. 

Those big guys also helped protect quarterback Tim Townsend, who had his best night of the season, completing 19 of 25 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns, both in the first half. 

“I think the rivalry game really got him ready to play tonight,” senior wideout Chase Molony said of Townsend. “We all came ready to play tonight. We were completely confident in ourselves, which is something we haven’t really had all season.” 

In beating North (4-6) for the fifth straight year, South (5-5) evened the series at 30-30-1. 

“We hit our stride offensively tonight,” Peer said. “We finally started executing the run and pass game. And our defense really played well tonight. I like how we finished.” 

Including the work done by Sanon, who carried 11 times for 105 yards, South accumulated 495 yards and 26 first downs. 

The North offense started strong as junior quarterback Scott Neal directed a 56-yard touchdown drive with his arm — throwing a 30-yard pass to Ben Herrera — and legs, as he carried three times for 16 yards, including a 5-yard run to the end zone. 

Later in the first half, Neal sparked another drive with a 25-yard scamper down the sideline. The Hubs reached the South 13, but a field-goal try — which would have put North in the lead — was short. 

After that, it was all South as North failed to muster a first down on its next five possessions. 

“Wasted opportunities,” said North coach Greg Stains. “It’s been our mantra all year. We don’t finish when we need to.” 

South answered North’s missed field goal with an 80-yard scoring drive to close the first half. Sanon did most of the work in the march, carrying four times for 50 yards and making two receptions for 29 more before getting hurt. 

Nate Moore, who caught seven passes for 73 yards, finished the drive off with a 2-yard touchdown catch, giving South a 14-6 lead.

Then the second half was all about McKenzie, Townsend and South being in total control. 

“Yards after the catch were big,” Peer said. “I thought we played very fast tonight. Our receivers and running backs looked real fast on this turf. Be nice to have some of this over at South.” 

For the Rebels, the only downside was a score from Montgomery County. An upset by Watkins Mill (5-5) over Blake (7-3) apparently cost South a playoff berth. 

“I’m not going to talk about that with the kids. We’re just gonna embrace tonight,” Peer said. “Someone will let us know this weekend whether we’re in or not. We tell the kids all the time that in life you gotta focus on the things you can control. We took care of what we could control tonight.” 

All-time series: Tied, 30-30-1

2018: South 43, North 0

An early 5:00 PM kickoff and playing in an absolute monsoon made this gridiron classic a muddy mess. South wasn't fazed by the weather and took control early with their potent ground game as Jayswah Sanon scored on a three-yard run.

Eric McDonald broke loose on a 70-yard gallop and a Ty Keith added a two-point conversion to put the Rebels in complete control. 
Sanon had two more touchdown runs and finished with 234 yard on just 13 carries to pace South. Khalil Booker and Timmy Townsend added a TD run each. Kicker Tyler Johnson nailed all five of his extra-point attempts.
South outgained the Hubs 402-107 to dominate this edition of the city series.

Sophomore A.J. Cook was North's lone bright spot - rushing 24 times for 105 yards. Eric McDonald had 92 yards rushing on only three carries.

With the win the Rebels took the lead in the all-time series 31-30-1.

2019: South 44, North 12

Oshane Thorpe found out he has a little Muhammad Ali in him.

The former heavyweight boxing champion used to talk about floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee.

South Hagerstown's quarterback knows all about butterflies and bees after Saturday night.

Thorpe shook first-game jitters — coming in his first game as a QB — and came back with stinging plays to lead the Rebels to a 44-12 victory over host North Hagerstown in the City Championship game, summer edition.

"Yeah, I was nervous," Thorpe said. "It was my first-ever game at quarterback and it was in the North-South game. But after the game got started, I got some contact and I knew it was game time. I needed to help my team."

You could say that Thorpe answered the bell.

After shaking off a couple early fumbles — one he lost — Thorpe put South's offense in high gear as the Rebels scored 38 straight points after falling behind 6-0. He started running the ball and showed touch on his passes while being supported by a strong ground game to get the job done.

And for their efforts, the Rebels won their seventh straight city title, but the first in warm weather. The North-South game had been played as the final game of the regular season since 1960 until Saturday.

Thorpe ran for 91 yards and a TD and added 94 yards passing and another TD, and did the job engineering a Rebels attack that the Hubs had trouble stopping. South added physical play on defense to take North out of its flow.

"We have a lot of guys returning on defense. We were hoping to get enough offense to get by," said South coach David Lawrence. "Hats off the Oshane. He never played quarterback and had all the pressure on him that goes with that position. He has grown so much.

"The offensive line did a great job. The defense played physical. I'm just so proud of our team and our coaches."
North looked to have the edge early. The Rebels were making mistakes and the Hubs moved the ball.

The Hubs put together a punishing drive on their second possession. They pounded the ball downfield on the ground before completing a 11-play, 69-yard drive with Jaynaz Melendez's 30-yard fourth-down pass to Devon Napier for a TD for a 6-0 lead with 5:19 left in the first quarter.

It all turned and got away from the Hubs quickly.

"We had a lot of opportunities, but we didn't take advantage of them," said North coach Greg Stains. "We just got hit in the mouth and didn't respond."

The first punch came on the very next play when South's Khalil Booker took the ensuing kickoff back for an 82-yard TD to tie the game at 6 just 9 seconds later.

South took that momentum and ran with it.

"After they scored first, that woke us up," Thorpe said. "We fixed things and I just ran what Coach was telling me."

The Rebels made it 12-6 at the start of the second quarter on a 3-yard TD run by Elijah Hill with 10:43 remaining in the half. Both teams had trouble with their conversions as eight of nine of the combination of kicks and two-point plays failed.

South applied what may have been the dagger just before half.

Thorpe displayed his confidence by delivering a 34-yard strike to Malakai Pinckney, who caught the ball in stride for a TD with 36 seconds left in the half to give the Rebels an 18-6 lead at the intermission.

"I have never seen that kid make that kind of throw," Stains said. "It was a great throw and a great catch in stride." The play even surprised Lawrence.

"That's just what Oshane does," he said. "I'm not sure that was who we were going to throw to. I was on the headset and the coaches said that that's not what we were trying."
South received the second-half kickoff and took total control. The Rebels scored on their first three drives of the second half to roll to a 38-6 lead.

Thorpe put the finishing touches on the first drive with a 17-yard score and ran in the conversion to make it 26-6. Zhiear Brown followed with TD runs of 17 and 16 yards to make it 38-6 by the 10:22 mark of the fourth quarter.

"When we click and get all that energy, there is no stopping us," Thorpe said. "We just keep it going."

North stopped South's run when Melendez hit Kaelib McElroy with a 12-yard TD pass with 8:33 remaining. South added a 2-yard TD run by Ty Keith with 1:54 remaining to close the scoring.
South ran up a 488-206 edge on offense. Brown finished with 112 yard on nine carries to go with his two scores.

North was led by Melendez with 160 yards passing and two TDs. AJ Cook led the Hubs' ground game with 47 yards.

Boxscore
South 6 12 14 12 — 44
North 6  0   0   6  — 12
First Quarter
NH — Devon Napier 30 pass from Jaynaz Melendez (kick failed)
SH — Khalil Booker 82 kickoff return (kick failed)
Second Quarter
SH — Elijah Hill 3 run (run failed)
SH — Malakai Pinckney 34 pass from Oshane Thorpe (kick failed)
Third Quarter
SH — Thorpe 17 run (Thorpe run)
SH — Zhiear Brown 17 run (kick failed)
Fourth Quarter
SH — Brown 16 run (kick failed)
NH — Kaelib McElroy 12 pass from Melendez (pass failed)
SH- Ty Keith 2 run (kick failed)

 2021: South 28, North 7

David Lawrence clutched the Holy Grail.

If anything, the Hub City Gridiron Classic trophy represented the culmination of the South Hagerstown football team’s body of work. It was accentuated with a convincing 28-7 victory over North Hagerstown on Friday at Callas Stadium in the latest edition of the long-running series.

“It’s been a rough year,” Lawrence said. “It’s been challenging and we have had to battle through a lot of things. The kids and the coaches did a great job.”

South (5-4) jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter — starting with Teriq Morris returning the opening kickoff for an 85-yard touchdown — and never looked back.

The Rebels cemented the win with big-play defense, making two goal-line stands, intercepting three passes and making a few well-timed quarterback sacks to keep North (2-7) from a second touchdown.

South stacked up the Hubs on the goal line on the last play of the game to put the finishing touch on the win.

The Rebels hold a 33-31-1 edge in the series that began in 1957. They have won nine of the last 11 meetings and regained the trophy after a 21-20 loss in overtime last year.

“It’s great to get the trophy back,” Lawrence said. “North is a good team, despite what their record says. Their running back (Bray Alexander) is one of the best we faced all year. This game weighed on me all week long.”

South had to prepare for Alexander and two quarterback possibilities. North reinstated senior Marc Buckley this week after starting sophomore Luke Kercheval for two games.

Alexander gave South much to worry about with 175 yards and a touchdown on 37 carries as North owned a 338-234 edge in offensive yardage. Buckley completed 13 of 26 passes for 143 yards, but was picked off three times — by Jaiden Bowins, Alex Greene and Hunter Finkenbinder.

South took a 14-0 lead with 7:51 left in the first quarter when quarterback Lance Ford found Bowins on a 12-yard post move for a touchdown.

Alexander answered back with his 5-yard TD run at 8:19 of the second quarter to cut the deficit to 14-7.

North immediately had a chance to tie the game after Ford fumbled the ball on the first play following the ensuing kickoff. The Hubs drove to the goal line, only to be turned away when the Rebels held on a Buckley sneak on fourth down.

South found its offense after intermission to pull away.

Greene swept in for a 21-yard touchdown on a play where he started up the middle, then cut right to find the end zone. South missed the extra point but led 20-7 with 4:38 left in the third quarter. Greene led South with 81 yards rushing on 15 carries.

Manny Hill closed the Rebels' scoring with a 3-yard TD run with 10:18 remaining in the game, then added the two-point conversion.

North tried to come back by throwing the ball, but the interceptions and sacks allowed South to keep the Hubs at arm’s length.

Ford completed 2 of 3 passes for 56 yards, with both completions going to Bowins.

South and North head into the Class 3A West playoffs next week, but both teams will be on the road as the sixth and seventh seeds in the seven-team bracket.

“Wins aren’t easy to come by,” Lawrence said. “I talked with (North coach Greg Stains) and we both shared about how tough this season has been. Coaching is a grind. I take my hat off to everyone who does it. It’s a shame one of these two teams had to lose this game.”

2022: South 28, North 0

Teriq Morris had the first word and the last word for South Hagerstown. 

And that was all that needed to be said. 

The stealth-like receiver broke a pair of big plays to score the first and final touchdowns of the game as the Rebels claimed a resounding victory to repeat as city champions and keep the Gridiron Classic Trophy on South Potomac Street for another year. 

It was nothing but a party when the Rebels were presented with the hardware by Hagerstown Mayor Emily Keller after the game. 

South (3-6) took a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, using three big plays to make the early statement. Morris’ late TD completed the shutout. 

It took just 19 seconds for South to take the lead as Morris fielded a bouncing kick at the 10 and broke through two waves of North’s coverage — starting with a spin move to elude the first — before heading down the right sideline for 90 yards and a 7-0 lead. 

“I had to work,” Morris said. “I had to push (a tackler) away. He almost got me.” 

The Rebels doubled the lead after it seemingly looked like they were pinned in their half of the field. But on the second play of the drive, quarterback Lance Ford ran a keeper sweep to the right and beat the Hubs’ defense to the edge for an 81-yard TD run and a 14-0 lead with 5:31 left in the quarter. 

The third big play came on a muffed punt snap by the Hubs (3-6, giving South a short field. The Rebels grinded out a touchdown, capped by a 1-yard burst by Sean Eisenhower to complete the 21-point first period. 

North tried to battle back but was plagued by ineffective running and a number of dropped passes before South picked off three Luke Kercheval passes. 

The score remained 21-0 until Morris’ next dynamic play with 5:09 remaining in the game. 

The Rebels, who began to run exclusively to milk the clock, called Morris’ number with a jet sweep to the right side.  The Hubs met him on the edge and corralled Morris, who again escaped with a spin move. After backpedaling, he broke left and outran the Hubs to the end zone for a 46-yard score and the final points. 

“You can never give up,” he said. “This is a great way to end (the regular) season.” 

Ford completed 8 of 11 passes for 87 yards and also led South in rushing with 94 yards on nine carries. Damon Breland had four catches for 38 yards for the Rebels, while Eisenhower led the defense with 12 tackles.

For North, Kercheval completed 7 of 23 for 70 yards, Van Spence ran for a team-high 69 yards on 14 carries, Ryder Johnston had four catches for 40 yards and Damean Thomas had 10 tackles.

2023: South 28, North 6

Rebels senior quarterback Lance Ford rushed for 117 yards and a career-high three touchdowns and passed for 151 yards and another score, leading South (5-4) over host North (3-6) in the annual Hub City Gridiron Classic.

Ford also set the school record for single-season passing yards (1,576) while extending his own school mark for single-season TD passes to 17 and matching the school record for career TD passes at 33.

“Lance is our heartbeat,” South coach Juwuane Sandridge said. “We’ve been going as he goes for four years. He’s a four-year starter for us. I’m just happy that he ended this Gridiron Classic with a win. That’s a memory he can always have, and not just him, all of our seniors.”

South’s third straight win over the Hubs capped a regular season that was anything but regular. The Rebels had to forfeit their season-opening win over Century due to an ineligible player and, after their second game, Sandridge took over as interim head coach to replace Dave Lawrence, who resigned. 

“A ton of emotions right now,” said Sandridge as his players celebrated with the Gridiron Classic trophy. “I’m just happy for these guys, proud of these guys. No matter what was being said about them, no matter what was being done to them, they stayed focused and kept fighting to the end. 

“This was a monumental win, but I’m more excited and proud of the persistence that they’ve shown in the last nine weeks. And that’s why I’m truly blessed to have this opportunity to be their head coach. It’s a little bit bigger than football.”

South went up 7-0 with 9:12 left in the first half on a 5-yard touchdown run by Ford, followed by Nathan Myers’ first of four extra-point kicks. Ford scored on another 5-yard run to give the Rebels a 14-0 halftime lead.

Luke Bragunier, who led North with 168 yards rushing on 33 carries, ran for a 7-yard TD with 6:02 remaining in the third quarter to cut the score to 14-6.

South answered a little over two minutes later on a 2-yard TD run by Ford to up the lead to 21-6. With 7:43 left in the game, Ford connected with Rayden Lansdowne for a 14-yard score to make it 28-6.

Brayden Sisk led the Rebels' defense with 14 tackles and an interception.

“We’re lights-out when it comes to defense,” Sandridge said. “They keep us in a lot of games, and they win us a lot of games. It’s almost that bend-but-not-break mentality, and then it’s our job to put up some points.”

Aiden Clark had 15 tackles and a fumble recovery for North.