Thomas Stone players and coaches huddle around the championship trophy
The stakes were high in Waldorf as Potomac and Thomas Stone met Friday, Nov. 21 to decide who would win the 3A South region title.
Before the game, while both teams were doing their pregame rituals, the vibe coming off of Stone’s side was nothing short of confidence. However, on the Potomac side, I sensed there was a feel of uncertainty.
When the game kicked off, and Potomac began to move the ball on Stone’s defense, it began to disappear.
When Stone forced a turnover on downs later in that opening drive, they snatched the momentum and never gave it back.
Senior running back Chad Walker opened the scoring with a 10-yard run and gave the Cougars the early lead 6-0. Stone’s defense then forced a turnover, and on the next play senior running back Juwuan Briscoe took an inside handoff. Potomac bottled it up well, so Briscoe bounced outside and used his speed to run away from the Wolverine defense for a 45-yard touchdown. The two point conversion missed, but Stone was ahead 12-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Potomac began to drive down on Stone’s ‘bend not break’ defense, but Briscoe once again made his presence felt, intercepting a pass at the 14 yard line. On the very first play after the pick, Briscoe took off on an 86-yard dash for a touchdown. The two-point conversion was good and Stone took a 20-0 lead.
The Wolverines next possession started in Stone territory after a big kickoff return by Andre Hall Jr. They took advantage of their good field possession, and scored a touchdown on a 6-yard run by Ta’yon Fleet. The extra point was good, and they cut into the Stone lead 20-7 with 8 minutes left in the first half. Stone’s next possession saw the Potomac defense stiffen some, but then a 24-yard touchdown run by Briscoe on fourth down and 16 brought the score to 26-7.
After halftime, the teams both traded several punts before Potomac put together a drive that was spotlighted by a fumbled snap that turned into a 40-yard pass completion to the Stone one yard line. Fleet turned in his second touchdown run of the night with 14 seconds left in the third quarter, closing the score to 26-14, bringing the large Potomac crowd back into the game.
However, on the next Cougars possession, they ran seven minutes off the clock, and capped it off with another touchdown run by Briscoe, this one from 12 yards out.
This score crushed any momentum that Potomac had gained.
Stone forced a Potomac punt, and again drove down the field until there was 1 minute left in the game. Briscoe turned in his fifth touchdown of the contest on a 29-yard scoring run. The two point conversion was good, and the final score was established at 40-14.
The Thomas Stone Cougars are the champions of the 3A South region, and has earned a berth into the State Semi-finals against Franklin (11-1).
Read more about this matchup in our preview article later this week.
