Splain, George lead Warriors to state championship game
Basking in the afterglow of Sherwood’s 45-8 victory over Wise in the Maryland 4A state semifinals, wide receiver Ralph George was amused by the incongruity: He used to be the starting quarterback and Zack Splain was his backup.
But that was four years ago, when both played for the Olney Bears, and before both discovered their niche.
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Friday night at Sherwood it was clear what both do best as Splain fired six touchdown passes, including three to George, as the Stormin’ Warriors advanced to the Maryland state championship game for the third time in four years.
Splain completed 16 of 21 passes for 238 yards. George accounted for 7 of the receptions for 164 yards.
“It’s crazy,” George kept repeating as he recalled his Pop Warner days and his circuitous path from youth football in Olney, to Northwest High in Germantown, to Watkins Mill in Gaithersburg, and finally back to Olney and Sherwood High two years ago where he renewed his association with Splain.
“Me and Zack have known each other since 2004. We won a national championship for Olney,” said George. “That’s what’s so funny about it. He was my backup quarterback.”
Splain-to-George was a winning combination Friday night. In the Warriors’ first touchdown drive of 90 yards, 76 of them came on two passes from Splain to George.
Sherwood’s second touchdown came when George ran an underneath pattern, caught a pass over the middle, stutter stepped two defenders, and ran to the end zone on a play that covered 42 yards and put the Warriors up, 14-0.
“They play that cover three and they bring eight,” said Splain. “We were gonna have people open if we sent five receivers out. I just had to sit back and my line picked up every blitz. I rarely had pressure.”
Wise (8-4) wasn’t ready to go down easily, however, as it answered with a 72-yard scoring drive featuring senior Anthony Wright (19 carries, 108 yards), whose 9-yard touchdown run, followed by senior Lumbus Burrell’s conversion carry, made it 14-8.
“We were worried,” said Sherwood coach Al Thomas. “They were big, fast. It was a tough game.”
But the difference was the passing attack of Sherwood (13-0). With Wise staying in it’s run stuffing 4-4 defense, receivers ran free all night for Sherwood. Senior Chris Everett also had three touchdown catches for the Warriors.
“We’re a run stopping team. We were expecting dives, traps, and leads,” said Wise standout safety Corey Darby. “But this was our first time having a packed house where there was a lot of banging and banging. They were the better team. They were better prepared.”
After Wise’s touchdown drive, the Sherwood defense rose. Senior defensive end Sosthene Kapepula (three tackles for loss) had a fourth down stop on Wright at the Wise 36 that set up a Sherwood score in the third period.
Defensive backs Phillip Durity and Jamal Merritt recovered fumbles to set up Sherwood scores. Linebacker Steven Gamble was a constant when Wise ran between the tackles.
“Our defense faltered for one series, then they just kept giving the ball back to us,” said Splain. “Put us in position to score.”
