GAITHERSBURG- As Sherwood head coach Chris Grier walked off the wet turf field for the final time on Saturday night, he was as calm as one could be. Nonchalantly with his hands nestled in his rain coat pockets, Grier carried on a light conversation with his fellow coaching staff. You would have never known that his Sherwood team just drubbed the reigning 4A state champions.
When you have a playmaker like West Virginia commit Marcus Simms and a hard-nosed runner like Travis Levy there could always be a sense of insurance. For instance, when a play is needed to be made at an opportune time, Grier doesn’t fret on the possibility of it happening because he knows deep down inside that someone will come through.
On Saturday night, Simms justified that statement, coming up with numerous of pivotal plays on offense and defense to lead his Warriors to a 16-13 upset win over Northwest.
“I just do whatever I can to give my team an edge,” Simms said who finished with five receptions for 55 yards and one receiving touchdown while adding 13 yards on the ground in his two carries. “Whether it’s offense or defense, I’ll always be out there giving it my all.”
“He’s our heart and soul,” Grier said. “Our leader, a captain and a playmaker. I try to get the ball in his hands as much as I possibly can.”
Simms made his presence felt from the get-go. On the first offensive drive he broke free from his defender down the right sideline to haul in a 29-yard touchdown pass from Shawn Bliss to put the Warriors up 7-0 right off the bat.
Just before halftime, Simms ball-hawked an interception from his own 34-yard line that was tipped up in the air by his own teammate and flashed Deion Sanders-like elusiveness – shaking Northwest tacklers out of their cleats that resulted in a 56-yard return to the Northwest 10-yard line. That offensive drive ended in a field goal with 4.7 seconds left in the second quarter, which happened to be the difference maker once the buzzer sounded.
“Once I got the ball, I thought ‘let’s get to the end zone’,” Simms said referring to his interception return. “I came up a little short (10-yard line), but we kicked a field goal and that was the difference in the game.”
Sherwood continued to ride on the playmaking ability of Simms for the majority of the night. As he is predominately known for his elite status as a wide receiver, his defensive presence in the secondary could be overlooked.
Being asked to halt the two-time state champion quarterback and two of the top receivers in the area is no easy task, but Simms and the Warrior secondary took up that challenge, harassing the high-powered Northwest passing attack. They picked off Mark Pierce four times and held receivers Alphonso Foray and Reggie Anderson to a combined one reception for one yard.
“We put our corners in a vulnerable situation, but they rose to the occasion,” Simms said as Northwest only managed 29-yards out of the receiving corps out wide. 57-receiving yards were generated by the backfield. “They’re young. That’s a sophomore and a junior (Alphonso Foray and Reggie Anderson) so their best years are way ahead of them.”
Going into the fourth quarter, the Warriors found themselves down 13-10 and needing to come away with some kind of points on the first offensive drive of the final frame. That’s when they slammed door on a Northwest comeback with the physicality of running back Travis Levy.
He carried the pigskin eight times for 42 yards on that drive and pounded home the games game-winning score on a three yard touchdown run.
“When the game is on the line, my mentality kicks in,” Levy said who finished with 107 yards rushing on 25 carries and one rushing score. “That’s when I know I have to make plays for my team.”
With one minute and 46 seconds left, Northwest stared at a fourth and 16 from their own 49-yard line. They were one big play away from keeping the game alive, but Sherwood was also one play away from clinching a W. That’s when Simms put the nail in the coffin, coming up big yet again – hawking his second interception of the night to send the back-to-back 4A state champions packing.
For Northwest (3-2) it was a frustrating loss. Mental errors and untimely miscues plagued the Jaguars the entire night.
“The amount of mistakes that we make are just way too many,” Northwest head coach Michael Neubeiser said. “Execution, we have yet to figure that out.”
It was another episode of an upset losing affair like the Week 2 hiccup to Seneca Valley, a game in which they lost, 14-7.
“It’s the same story,” Neubeiser said.
Northwest was charged with nine penalties for 91-yards. A handful of holding penalties called back key runs and two set up both of Sherwood’s touchdowns.
On the first drive of the game, Northwest was called on a pass interference that vaulted Sherwood to the 29-yard line. The very next play, Sherwood took advantage and put seven points on the board. In the fourth quarter, Northwest held a 13-10 lead and had the Warriors on a 3rd-and-3 at the Jaguar 41-yard line. A roughing-the-passer penalty gave Sherwood a first down and put them on the doorstep at the 26-yard line that was then translated into a Warrior touchdown.
“It’s so frustrating,” Neubeiser said with a grimace.
The win launches Sherwood atop the 4A North as they prepare for Rockville next week.
“We’re going to continue to grind and get better,” Simms said.
“We’ve been doing good things,” Grier said. “It’s still the same mindset from here on out since preseason. First win the division, then make the playoffs and see what happens from there. We have a great team. I’m excited for what’s ahead.”
You can follow me on Twitter @k_fadd and Maryland Sports Access @MDSportsAccess for more coverage of the Northwest Jaguars and Sherwood Warriors throughout the year.
Box score
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| SHR | 7 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
| NW | 0 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 13 |
Scoring summary
| SHR | NW | ||||
| 1st | 8:31 | SHR | Marcus Simms 29-yard pass from Shawn Bliss (Harrison kick) | 7 | 0 |
| 2nd | 0:04 | SHR | Jeremy Harrison 39-yard field goal | 10 | 0 |
| 0:00 | NW | Martin Foray 76-yard kickoff return (Kick failed) | 10 | 6 | |
| 3rd | 7:08 | NW | Juwon Farri 10-yard pass from Mark Pierce (Nicholas kick) | 10 | 13 |
| 4th | 7:47 | SHR | Travis Levy 3-yard rush (Kick blocked) | 16 | 13 |
Northwest individual stats
| Passing | Comp. | Att. | Yards | Comp.% | TD | INT | QBR |
| #11 Mark Pierce | 9 | 22 | 86 | 40.90% | 1 | 4 | 28.0 |
| #17 Zeke Gandy | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 |
| Rushing | Att. | Yards | Avg. | TD | Long |
| #4 Khalil Owens | 20 | 92 | 4.6 | 0 | 12 |
| #8 Juwon Farri | 9 | 44 | 4.9 | 0 | 12 |
| #11 Mark Pierce | 4 | 32 | 8.0 | 0 | 19 |
| Total | 33 | 168 | 5.1 | 0 | 19 |
| Receiving | Rec. | Yards | Avg. | TD | Long |
| #4 Khalil Owens | 4 | 47 | 11.8 | 0 | 20 |
| #13 J.J. Funez | 3 | 28 | 9.3 | 0 | 17 |
| #8 Juwon Farri | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 1 | 10 |
| #9 Alphonso Foray | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 9 | 86 | 9.6 | 1 | 20 |
Sherwood individual stats
| Passing | Comp. | Att. | Yards | Comp.% | TD | INT | QBR |
| #9 Shawn Bliss | 11 | 17 | 97 | 64.71% | 1 | 0 | 99.4 |
| Rushing | Att. | Yards | Avg. | TD | Long |
| #1 Travis Levy | 25 | 107 | 4.3 | 1 | 13 |
| #2 Marcus Simms | 2 | 13 | 6.5 | 0 | 12 |
| #9 Shawn Bliss | 3 | -1 | -0.3 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 30 | 119 | 4.0 | 1 | 13 |
| Receiving | Rec. | Yards | Avg. | TD | Long |
| #2 Marcus Simms | 5 | 55 | 11.0 | 1 | 29 |
| #5 Leo Hanrahan | 2 | 15 | 7.5 | 0 | 6 |
| #11 Joey Hunt | 1 | 22 | 22.0 | 0 | 22 |
| #1 Travis Levy | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | 6 |
| #7 Christian Willis | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | 3 |
| #30 Nicholas Comeau | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 11 | 97 | 8.8 | 1 | 29 |
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