There was no bolt from the blue, no head slap, no light bulb moment for Sherwood coach Al Thomas. He always knew his quarterback, Deontay Twyman, could run.
So with his team facing undefeated Northwest in the state semifinals — and by his accounting, as a “100-point underdog” — Thomas gave offensive coordinator Terry Changuris the thumbs up.
“We had to let it all hang out,” said Thomas.
With Twyman running a shotgun offense, carrying a career-high 18 times and rushing for 109 yards and three touchdowns, Sherwood upended Northwest, 27-24. Tonight against Suitland (12-1), when Sherwood (11-2) tries to win its first state championship since 1996, expect to see Twyman on the run again.
“We might run even more,” said Changuris. “Deontay is a tremendous weapon. I wish we had done it a lot earlier. I wish we had done it last year against Damascus in the state championship game.”
For three years, Twyman has been the Warriors’ offense, passing for 6,920 yards and 78 touchdowns, both Montgomery County career records. But the Sherwood brain trust has been unwilling to put the slightly-built quarterback in harms way. When Twyman took over as a sophomore, he was 5-foot-9, 130 pounds. Three additional inches and 35 pounds have done little to alter his fragile appearance.
“He’s been the franchise. We’ve had to protect him,” said Changuris. “Without him, we would have been an average team.”
This fall, in the regular season, Twyman carried 55 times for 169 yards. Few of the runs were designed. But in a 37-20 victory over Perry Hall in the 4A North title game, Twyman carried nine times for 71 yards and two touchdowns. It was just a preview.
Against Northwest, the fastest team in Montgomery County, Twyman had seven carries for 10 or more yards, befuddling the Jaguars with quick reads and misdirection. Twyman’s work out of the shotgun was reminiscent of another Changuris pupil, Chris Kelley, his former quarterback at Seneca Valley.
“You actually can do more things out of the shotgun with Deontay than you could with Chris,” said Changuris. “Deontay is so gifted with understanding the game of football, you can show him a new play and he just goes out and does it. He completely gets it.”
Despite Twyman’s high football I.Q., his spectacular feet, and strong arm, he has only one scholarship offer, from I-AA Liberty.
“I don’t understand why people like Towson aren’t after him,” said Changuris. “Right now, his best option is prep school. He just turned 17 in late November. He’s still got some growing to do.”
The Battle of Maryland
» Sherwood is seeking its third state title. The Warriors won back-to-back in 1995-96.
» Suitland is seeking its second title. In 2004, the Rams beat 2003 and 2005 4A champion Damascus, preventing a Hornets three-peat.
» As head coach at Seneca Valley, Sherwood assistant Terry Changuris beat Suitland back-to-back in 4A title games (1997-98).
