Lusby, MD – At this time last week, after Patuxent had knocked off Westlake and Calvert had fallen to Lackey, it became evident that this would happen. A round 2 matchup between these two county rivals. In the opening game between these two teams, Calvert controlled the clock, and ran the ball seemingly at will against Patuxent. They won the game 21-7, and threw the Panthers season for a whirl. They righted the ship, and survived another loss to setup this matchup. All through the town of Lusby, this game was the talk of the town. Players took to social media and set up student section themes, or talked trash with each other. But, about 60 minutes short of kickoff when both teams were in their usual routine for warm-ups on the field, the buzz around the stadium was electric. It was finally here. By the time that the game kicked off, the fans for both schools were going bananas in the stands. It was time for the playoffs.
This game started with Calvert deferring the coin toss to the second half, and allowing Patuxent to take the field on offense first. Following a short runback, out trotted the offense led by Jaelen Gross at quarterback. Following a 2 yard run on the play before, Chris Long found a small hole in the Calvert defense, and hit it hard. He burst through the line, and appeared to be gone for a score. He was chased down from behind however, but his 56 yard run gave the Panthers a first down on the Cavs’ 24 yard line. After an incomplete pass, a penalty, a 10 yard run and another incomplete pass, Patuxent had to settle for a field goal. Andrew Kalinoski pushed through a 28 yard field goal, and gave the Panthers the lead with 9:31 left in the opening quarter. Two trades of punts later, it was the end of the quarter, but Calvert was driving when the quarter changed. Their drive ended when Levi Brickner coughed up the football at his own 46 with 8:42 left in the half. Patuxent recovered, and looked to be in business. A 14-yard pass from Gross to Chris Pendleton really set the Panthers up. But, again penalties killed the drive, and they were again forced to kick the field goal. Kalinoski pushed a 33 yarder through, and put Patuxent up 6-0 with 4:45 left in the first half. The score at the half was 6-0 Panthers.
In the third quarter, neither offense got much of anything as the defense’s continued to dominate. Calvert finally managed to piece something together towards the end of the third, and the beginning of the fourth. They were given a first down on the Panthers 15 following a personal foul on a third and 1 they failed on. Calvert used the extra opportunity to push in the game’s first touchdown. Shamar Gray punched it across on a 3rd and goal from a half a yard out. The point after was good, and Calvert had their first lead of the day, 7-6 with 8:16 left in the game. Right after the point after, the wind really began to pick up, blowing across the field, and towards the visitor’s sidelines.
Patuxent was forced to punt, but their defense gave them one more shot as they slowed down Jack Lanham and the Calvert running game. The offense didn’t let the town of Lusby down, as they drove down the field, aided by Jaelen Gross’ 18 yard run after taking a hit in the backfield. The Panthers milked the clock, and unable to put the ball in the end zone, once again called upon Kalinoski. Kalinoski, who had already made both of his kicks, had to deal with a tough swirling wind. Without a timeout from Calvert for him to think about it more, he approached the holder, and let loose his right leg. His foot made impact, and the ball began it approach. The entire stadium was hushed as the ball flew through the air, and hooked back in between the uprights, and was good. When the officials hands went into the air, the Patuxent half of the stadium erupted. However, there was still 2:22 left in the game, and Calvert had all three timeouts.
Calvert ran their first play, and picked up 14 yards on a screen pass. Their next two were incompletions, and set up a third and 10 from their own 34. Lanham took the snap, and rolled out to his left, he noticed receiver Levi Buck break free from his defender, and streak down the field throwing his hands into the sky as if to say shout ‘I’m open!!’. Lanham threw the ball into the air, but put enough air under it to give time for Patuxent safety Tyler Gross enough time to track the ball, undercut the receiver, and intercept the pass. The stadium again erupted as Gross circled around, and ran out of bounds on the Patuxent sideline. Patuxent walked away with a tough, hard fought win.
Patuxent advances to play Gwynn Park in the region final next Friday at home. Expect a preview of that game out on Thursday morning, and a live tweeting of that game @TheBayNetSports.