Blazers lose to Damascus

NOV. 11, DAMASCUS-

Damascus is known down county as farmland about five miles beyond the end of the earth. But in a part of the county that knows about literally digging holes for farming, the Blair Blazers got an education in laying the seeds for their own demise.

Five turnovers, including a fumble on the opening kickoff, cost Blair's varsity football team dearly as they saw their playoff dream go up in smoke with a 35-21 loss to the Damascus Hornets.

The Hornets (10-0), who clinched their first undefeated season ever, built a 35-7 lead midway through the third quarter before the Blazers (6-4) began chipping away at it.

Blair, already facing an uphill climb before they got on the field tonight, made it even tougher on themselves by dropping the opening kickoff at the Hornets' 29-yard line.

Blazers head coach Jeffrey Seals said the shaky start was due to nerves from playing the state champions in front of a standing-room only crowd. "We were a little scared at the start," he said.

After the defense held Damascus to a fourth down and 20 at the 25, the Blazers' pass coverage disintegrated, as Kyle Frazier connected with Kyle Hogan across the middle of the field for a demoralizing touchdown.

On Blair's next drive, running back Ross Williams had the ball punched out of his arms. Damascus' Jimmy Shay picked up the rolling pigskin and didn't stop until he had a 58-yard touchdown return. Just seven minutes into the game, Blair trailed 14-0 thanks to their own mistakes.

"The turnovers really hurt us at the start," Seals said. "It was hard for us to climb out of that hole." Williams' fumble was just one of four turnovers that Blair committed in Damascus territory.

Blair also hurt themselves by allowing numerous big plays on defense. Damascus' next score came thanks to a 51-yard run from Kyle Hogan, on another third down and long. Playing on senior night, the burly rusher had 122 yards on just 10 carries.

Despite the fumble, Williams anchored the Blair offense again, carrying the ball 23 times for 173 yards and a touchdown. Jacob Wade had two rushing touchdowns tonight as well.

With Blair just one more mistake away from having the game completely unravel on them, they battled back and forced a key turnover. Corey Sanders recovered a Steven Anderson fumble for Blair at the Hornets' 17-yard line.

After Williams got 16 yards on the next play, Wade got the last one, finishing the drive with a touchdown to cut the deficit to 14 halfway through the second quarter.

The score appeared like it would stay a respectable 21-7 at halftime. However, with under a minute left in the half and facing a third down and 16 yards to go, Seals elected to pass the ball. Quarterback Aaron Simon, who had passed for just 10 yards all night, had his throw batted down at the line of scrimmage by a Damascus lineman.

Where a run would have whittled the clock down until 25 seconds before Blair punted, and made it nearly impossible for Damascus to try and score before the half, the incomplete pass stopped the clock.

The Hornets used the extra 30 seconds to their advantage, stringing a four play, 56-yard drive in just 43 seconds. Frazier connected with Tom Cosgrove for a four-yard touchdown reception with just 17 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

Following the game, Seals recognized the error. "That was a mistake that we made as the coaches," he said. "We thought we could still try to score there, and that was a poor decision."

Another quick touchdown, this time a ten-yard run from Cosgrove, made the lead 35-7 Hornets, causing some of the 150 or so Blair fans that made the trek up to Damascus to begin searching for their car keys. But the Blazers made a run to make the game interesting.

Blair, and more precisely, Williams, dominated the fourth quarter. Williams capped a nine-play drive with a one-yard touchdown run. One play later, the Blazers recovered a fumble at the Hornets' 48-yard line. A Damascus crowd that had been raucous the entire game was beginning to turn eerily silent.

After two separate runs by Williams for 17 and 18 yards, respectively, Wade had a five-yard rush for his second touchdown of the game. With seven minutes remaining, Blair had cut the lead in half, and it was 35-21.

"We kept battling," Seals said. "In the past, a Blair team would have quit down 35-7," he said, referring to the many losing seasons in the school's past. "I was proud."

The Blazers got the ball back again with under five minutes remaining. Williams lined up at quarterback and called his own number nearly every play on the drive. After one 20-yard rush, he limped off the field, nearly exhausted from all his fourth quarter rushes.

Blair got the ball down to the Damascus 38 yard-line, but Simon overthrew Williams at the 10-yard line, and was intercepted. The Blazers got another golden chance to cut the lead after they sacked punter Nick Sefcik at the Hornets' seven-yard line with two minutes remaining. But three penalties pushed Blair back, setting up a fourth down and goal from the 28-yard line.

Damascus' Ben Mintum picked off Williams' desperate pass into the end zone on fourth down. The fifth turnover of the game sealed the loss for Blair.

As the final horn sounded and the Blazers huddled on the field for the final time, the coaches looked on the positive side. Assistant Earl Lindsey said Blair showed "real big heart" in mounting the rally, urging the disappointed Blazers "to keep your heads up. Y'all had a great season."

Seals said he was "really proud of the seniors." He said that the rally, while it did come up short, showed that the team didn't want to embarrass the school by being blown out. "It said something about our pride, I think. I hope the underclassmen take something away from this. Damascus is a championship team, and we didn't quit."

Williams is one of those underclassmen, and if he can play as well in 2006 as he did the final six games of 2005 (900 rushing yards), Blair will likely make another postseason run.

Seals said that the team's success headed into next year hangs on how they train the next nine months, but that Blair faces different challenges than perennial contenders like Damascus and Sherwood. "Our record next year will be based on our off-season. But Blair's a different world than these up-county schools," he said.

"We can't have practice every day in the summer, because kids have to make money for their families, which they [Damascus's players] don't have to do." Seals then pointed to the school in the background, a student body that had just seven percent on FARMS, the county's free lunch program. Twenty-one percent of Blair is on FARMs.

Although he'll still need a ticket to get into a playoff game this year, Seals was pleased with Blair's 6-4 record. "Six wins is alright; I'm really proud of the guys this year. These kids came out and worked as hard as they can, and didn't have any bad losses." Every team the Blazers lost to this year is in the playoffs.

Looking back on his second season as Blair's head coach, Seals said there was one lesson that his team taught him. After rallying from a 1-3 record to nearly make the postseason, Seals said the Blazers should be proud of how they came back.

"As long as you never give up, you'll always shine."