Damascus handles Quince Orchard – Jake Funk runs wild

DAMASCUS- If Damascus head coach Eric Wallich had the chance, he’d hand the ball off to his tailback workhorse Jake Funk, on every single offensive play.

And who would argue with that? He’s coming off of a video game-like season – nearly touching 2,000 all-purpose yards and busting out for 37 all-purpose touchdowns while leading his Swarmin’ Hornets to a state championship appearance.

Coming into Friday night’s clash against Montgomery County foe, Quince Orchard, Funk had already established himself as one of the best running backs one will come across throughout the state of Maryland.

It’s safe to say that he added to the tall pecking order last night. Though it’s almost physically impossible to put an entire workload on one players shoulders, Funk certainly had his part in the 39-17 handling win over Quince Orchard.

He brings a rare combination of speed and power to the table and every time he touches the ball, his teammates wonder what incredible feat might occur next.

“Watching him (Funk) just take off and run like that, it’s a satisfying feeling,” says senior lineman Jake Bradshaw. “Even when there’s not a hole for him to work with, he just finds a way.”

But for the majority of the night, Funk had monstrous running lanes to run through courtesy of his offensive line that handled a stout Quince Orchard front seven. A running backs best friend are the teammates who duke it out in the trenches, doing all they can to give whoever has the ball leeway to work with.

“This goes to them,” Funk said after receiving the Maryland Sports Access Player of the Game award. “Our offensive line, I can’t thank them enough. Jake Bradshaw, Wayne Scott, Michael Jurgens, Delano Myers, my little brother Jordan Funk, they all did a great job.”

Damascus continuously kept plowing forward in the trenches and pushed Quince Orchard off the line of scrimmage for most of the game – paving the way for Funk to rush for 276 yards and four touchdowns on his 28 carries. Outside of Funk, Damascus only generated 130 yards of total offense. So, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

“Funk is a special talent,” Wallich said. “He was working for us all night. So we just kept riding him.”

For Damascus, it was a big win number one, as they hope to separate themselves out on top of the 3A West playoff battle. A big strength for them Friday night was setting the tempo early on. In the games opening possession they mounted a seven play 80 yard drive that was capped off by a four yard rushing touchdown by the Funk himself to put the Hornets up 7-0 in the early going. Damascus also had rushing scores from Julian Kinard and Will Armstrong.

Quince Orchard, meanwhile, drops an opening game for the first time in over a decade and failed to capitalize on offensive opportunities when on the doorstep – they were on the Damascus six yard line, trailing 27-14 with 1:25 left in the first half and failed to convert on a 4th & Short try. With 10:16 left in the third quarter and still being down 27-14, they entered red zone territory, only to have it end with a field goal try.

“They jumped on us early and we made a lot of mistakes,” Quince Orchard football coach John Kelley said, who host Walter Johnson next Friday. “It’s only the first game. We’ll bounce back and be at it in practice.”

Damascus got the much needed start they were looking for to gain a leg-up in the ever so wild, wild 3A West as the Hornets play host to Rockville in Week 2.

“Coming out this way against a team like Quince Orchard, it’s just so great,” Funk said. “These are the most hardest working guys I’ve been around and this is only just the beginning.”

You can follow me on Twitter @k_fadd and Maryland Sports Access at @MDSportsAccess.

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