Blue Devils bewitch Blazers

Sept. 16, Springbrook—

The Springbrook Blue Devils are hardly a perennial powerhouse in Montgomery County football. Their last state championship came in 1988 and a season with a winning record in 2002. Blown out during the first game of the season 33-0 against the Sherwood Warriors, little was expected of the Blue Devils in their game against Blair. However, on this dreary day, they would seek their just desserts, demolishing the Blair varsity football squad 28-0.

"We stunk," said head coach Jeffrey Seals, reflecting candidly on his team's performance. "That's all there is to it."

Indeed. Penalties, sacks, fumbles, dropped passes and a lack of communication seemed to be a vital part of the Blair offense that, according to senior Scott Lavon, all resulted from the lack of team cohesion. "If we play like we played today, there's no way we'll win a game all season," he said. "We have to come together as a team before we can even think about putting points up on the board."

Both teams started slowly - neither Blair nor Springbrook able to get a first down with their first possession.

The Blazers, on their second possession, strutted an impressive 12 yards before fumbling the ball with 4:40 left in the first quarter. The Blue Devils recovered the ball at the Blazer 46 yard-line and, after six plays, scored the first touchdown of the game with 1:41 left in the first quarter, with a two-yard run by Springbrook's Adou Kouadio. Springbrook missed the extra point, leaving the score 0-6.

A botched kickoff by Springbrook led the Blazers to position themselves at their own 49-yard line. However, they seemed incapable of mobilizing as an offensive unit, turning the ball over on downs after only gaining a total of four offensive yards.

The Blue Devils took over at the 47-yard line with 10:30 left in the second quarter. After a successful campaign lasting roughly 1:30, Kouadio found familiar territory in the Blazer end zone with a one-yard pitch from the quarterback - his second touchdown of the day. The quarterback threw a wild pass, foiling the two-point conversion but leaving Blair behind 0-12 with 8:43 left in the second quarter.

Blazers, finally gaining momentum with 5:58 left in the second, threw away any hope of evening their record, along with the ball, into the receptive hands of Springbrook's Kouadio who returned the ball to the Blue Devil 46-yard line.

The Quarterback handed off the ball on first down, and after no gain, threw the ball on second down 48 yards into the end zone. Kouadio converted for two more points, leaving the Blazers to face Seals during halftime down 0-20.

The second half followed in suite. Able to hold the Blue Devils for a set of downs, forcing a punt, the Blazers recovered the ball after bobbling it at their own 5-yard line. With one yard to go on fourth down, Senior Ross Williams set up in shotgun position. Calling for the hike, the ball was thrown over his head and into the end zone. Williams scrambled for the ball, but upon picking it up, was leveled, dropping the ball. The Blue Devils recovered at the Blair one-yard line, mere feet away from another touchdown. Kouadio completed a hat trick with a third touchdown. Springbrook converted for two more points, stretching their already dominating lead over the Blazers to 0-28 with 7:03 left in the third quarter.

The Blazers, seemingly resigned, finished the game absent from the scoreboard, 0-28 with a quarterback kneel.

According to Seals, the Blazers just lost to a better team. "We got beat by a better team. No other way to put it," he said. The Blue Devil offense committed three penalties to Blair's 10, allowed one sack to Blair's three and never turned the ball over.

Seals also noted Blair's relatively young team. Comprised of 22 juniors and 23 seniors, the team is relatively inexperienced on the varsity field. "We had old players leaving and young players moving up - players who don't know the game of varsity football," he said. "It's a different world."

The Blazers play Quince Orchard Thursday, September 21 at Quince Orchard.

The less Blair focuses on the outcome of this game, the easier it will be to focus on the rest of the season.