For three quarters Monday afternoon, Douglass quarterback Victor Bradford frustrated No. 4 Friendly with his quick feet and clever ball fakes. But the best quarterback in Prince George’s County is Joe Haden, so he took notice and answered in kind.
Rolling to his right and drawing the Douglass defense on the first play of the fourth quarter, Haden stuck the ball in the stomach of Lamaar Thomas, who raced around left end untouched and sprinted 77 yards for a go-ahead touchdown, propelling visiting Friendly to a 34-15 victory.
“Nobody knew I had the ball,” said Thomas (five carries, 116 yards), a junior. “Everybody ran after Joe and I was running down the sideline.”
The wraparound draw play deflated Douglass (6-2), which executed its keep-away game plan to perfection behind Bradford (12 carries, 115 yards). The elusive senior has spent much of the year handing off to Jerrell Wedge (eight carries, 28 yards). But when Wedge suffered a shoulder injury in the second quarter, Bradford took control.
“They did stuff we didn’t see on film,” said Friendly coach George Early. “They have a great coaching staff and we knew they would come up with something. They don’t make mistakes.”
Friendly (8-0) was frustrated early. After Douglass’ ZaryStewart (Syracuse) sacked Haden for a 19-yard loss in the second quarter, the Patriots lost an additional 15 yards when Haden shoved a Douglass defender.
Haden completed 6 of 12 passes for 107 yards and lost a fumble. But he still had a huge impact, rushing five times for 135 yards. In the first half, Haden ran 47 yards on a quarterback sneak to set up a touchdown. In the second, he ran for two more scores, one a 72-yard improvisation scramble in which he jogged the final 20 yards against the tired Douglass defense.
“We just wore down,” said Douglass coach J.C. Pinkney. “Any of their skill guys can take it the distance … I’ve never seen anything quite like that plus a quarterback that puts it all together.”
Patriot games
» Patriots DE Rakeem Vick had three tackles for losses.
» Friendly’s key play (wrap-around draw) was devised by Thomas and Haden in practice.
» Friendly is a Class 3A team. Douglass, a 4A last year, has dropped to 2A this season.
