Fred Kim has endured his lumps since taking over the Seneca Valley coaching job in 2003. Though the Screamin’ Eagles shot-caller has fell short more times than envisioned, every hardship over the years has developed grit in the program.
And that’s something Kim couldn’t be more proud of.
“I like that, when we show resilience,” Kim said.
Resilience is something that Kim’s unit has always taken great pride in. Even in their opening contest last Friday, when the Eagles were clinging to a 13-7 lead over Poolesville in the second quarter, they pushed aside the sputtering offensive display to weather the storm and win by 22 points.
“We didn’t get off to a good start, but the kids weathered the storm,” Kim said. “It was a solid performance overall.”
On Friday night, Kim and No. 22 Seneca Valley (1-0) will be tested again as they host No. 9 Northwest (1-0) in a battle for The King’s Trophy of Germantown.
Last year, Seneca Valley gutted out a 14-7 win over Northwest, backed by stout defensive play that produced one touchdown, two turnovers and three goal-line stands. Running back Darius Golston, who returns in 2016, rumbled for 150 total yards and one touchdown on 16 touches in a game for the ages.
This year, Seneca Valley and Northwest both return a plethora of impact players from their playoff runs in 2015. The Screamin’ Eagles bring back one of the more forceful running back tandems in the state spearheaded by the bruising Golston and violent Adrian Feliz-Platt
Northwest returns a solid running back tandem of their own in Khalil Owens and Juwon Farri.
Like Seneca Valley, Northwest had their struggles in the opening slate last Friday as well. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter the Jaguars led by more than one touchdown over Gaithersburg, a 5-5 team from a year ago. Luckily, the Jaguars escaped a penalty-ridden game and eventually win by three touchdowns.
“We were pretty sloppy, on offense and at times on defense,” Neubeiser said. “We made a lot of mistakes as far as penalties, we had a ton of penalties. We had turnovers early on in drives. Things you preach to a team you can’t do, we did.”
For Northwest, they’re adjusting to life without three-year starting quarterback, Mark Pierce, and adapting to junior Chris Craddock — a mobile quarterback who has an accurate arm. Craddock threw touchdowns in his first game last week, but struggled for the most part, according to Neubeiser.
“We’re getting there,” Neubeiser said. “We’re kind of inexperienced. It’s just a matter of the kids stepping up and getting things straight. It’s the little things.”
If you talk to Neubeiser, he’ll say his team has only played one “clean” game in their last 14 contests — the 50-40 win over Quince Orchard in the Class 4A West region title game last November.
The other 13 games, dating back to Week 1 of 2015, have been plagued by carelessness of the football and mental breakdowns that often lead to drive-killing penalties. If Northwest wants to come away with a win in Death Valley, they’ll need to limit their mistakes as much as possible.
On the brightside, Northwest deploys a sturdy offensive line driven by Cole Cheripko and David Riggio. They also have one of the state’s top defenses led by Saint Francis commit, linebacker DeJaun Cooper; James Madison commit, cornerback Wesley McCormick; and edge-rusher, sophomore DeAndre Jules, who already has an offer from North Carolina.
The Jaguars front seven will be put to work on Friday as they hope to find a way to bottle-up the Eagle backfield duo of Golston (84 yards and two touchdowns) and Platt (154 yards and two touchdowns), who combined for 238 yards and four scores last week.
“To stop them, you have to take care of their two-headed monster they have at running back,” Neubeiser said. “Those guys are very, very talented. And the only way you can tackle those guys is if you get a bunch a people to the football.”
After an ACL injury in 2014, Zack Robinson is back under center for Seneca Valley. Kim said the duel-threat quarterback “didn’t miss a beat” in the win over Poolesville last week. Robinson completed seven of 15 passes for 76 yards and two touchdowns and added 30 yards on the ground.
Resilience is a major key for Seneca Valley, but like Northwest, taking care of the football is going to be vital if The King’s Trophy wants to remain in their possession.
“It’s going to be a close game,” Kim said. “The key is going to be the turnover battle, and that was the difference in the game (last year). I believe that might be the factor again, whoever has the least amount of mistakes.”
Many believe this is the year for Seneca Valley to return to prominence and end their title drought that dates back to 2002. Many also believe Northwest will rebound from their up-and-down 9-4 showing in 2015 and rise to stardom that saw state championships in 2013 and 2014.
“You can’t ask for anymore,” Kim said. “Playing a game of such great magnitude. … We’re very fortunate and blessed to play a game like this because not every team has the fortune like we do to play some game like this.”
This is no one’s game to lose. Instead it’s an opportunity for a shot of confidence that can springboard one program to the top of its respective playoff regions and propel them forward with authority in the thicket of the 2016 season.
“It’s huge,” Neubeiser said. “If you put aside the rivalry, just the fact that they are one of the best teams in (Class) 3A, and you at the possibility at getting into the playoffs, you’ve gotta win most of your games to even have a chance at homefield in the 4A West. It’s really big, as big as it gets.”
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