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A stunner
Wolvs dominated on both sides of the ball in region final
Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photos by DARWIN WEIGEL
Westlake's Robert Tipton, right, can't escape Huntingtown's Nick Grey during the first quarter of Friday's rout.
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The first time Huntingtown and Westlake squared off this season the Hurricanes eked out a four-point win. So it was only natural to assume that Friday when they faced off again that the game would be as close as that one. Right? Not so much.
Running back Greg Goodwin scored four touchdowns as the host Hurricanes throttled Westlake both offensively and defensively to the tune of 46-0 in the 3A South regional title game.
"I can't believe we just won," said Huntingtown senior linebacker Andrew Bose as his teammates whooped it up around him.
"I'm just real happy right now, to be honest," said Huntingtown senior quarterback Justin Bittner, who was 4 of 11 for 122 yards and touchdown. "The first time we ever played in a regional championship and we came out and played and beat them pretty good. It feels pretty good.
When asked if he expected the game to be so one-sided, Huntingtown head coach Jerry Franks shook his head: "No, no, not at all, not like that. I don't think anybody could have expected that. It was a game we jumped out on top and never let up and we took advantage and it snowballed."
Senior wide receiver Chaz'Ze Hall, who was celebrating his birthday, added: "Man, it's unbelievable. It's a real good feeling to be on this side instead of on the opposite side and to lose. We didn't want to lose our season. We didn't want to be that team that turns its equipment in."
Huntingtown (12-0) will host River Hill, which defeated Atholton in the other semifinal, Friday night to determine one of the participants in the state championship game. The Hawks won the last two 2A state titles before moving up to 3A.
The stunning loss brought an abrupt halt to any thoughts of Westlake (9-3) repeating as state champions.
"I'm really disappointed because I don't feel we played to our potential; I really figured it would be a close game," said a somber Westlake head coach Dominic Zaccarelli following a lengthy post-game meeting with his stunned players. "My hat's off to Huntingtown. I hope they go on and win the state championship and keep it in the SMAC. And I would hope that if the roles were reversed, they would feel the same way."
The Wolverines can at least take solace in the fact that the lone state representative from the conference will give it its all and has arguably the best running back in the area.
Goodwin (22 carries, 122 yards) was again a dominant force on this night. The 5-foot-8, 175-pound senior scored on runs of 1, 25, 10 and 1 yards with two touchdowns in each of the second and fourth quarters.
"Westlake was focused on stopping me but we just proved we're a solid team," Goodwin said. "You put nine in the box, we'll just throw it. We've proven we can throw the ball or do whatever we want."
"Credit to Goodwin going out hard," Zaccarelli said. "Their offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage and I think our defensive line played pretty good but we hadn't seen anyone do that to us in two years."
But the defense did its share to tilt the game in the Hurricanes' favor.
Huntingtown allowed the Wolvs just three first downs and held Westlake ballcarriers to two or less yards on 18 of 31 carries. The Hurricanes also forced three turnovers — interceptions by Bose and Quante Brown and a fumble recovery by Conor Stueckler — which lead to 15 Huntingtown points.
Just three of Westlake's 12 drives lasted longer than four plays.
"Westlake's a fast team; they're ... fast," Goodwin said, "[but] we've got the best defense in ... Maryland. I'll put our linebackers against anyone, our d-backs, anyone."
It appeared the Hurricanes would be in for a long night when Goodwin gained one yard on two carries and an incomplete pass brought an end to its first offensive series.
Westlake took over but was unable to fare any better as Bose and Wayne Smith teamed up for a sack, the Wolverines' were flagged for five yards and were later forced to punt on 4th and 13.
"We came out and really played physical on the first series ," Zaccarelli said. "And then we had a lot of mental breakdowns in the first series on offense. People went the wrong way and penalties and that kind of set the tone for other things."
Westlake punted and the ball rolled slowly downfield as the Wolverines followed, ready to down the ball. But Hall swooped in, collected the ball, and raced 65 yards down the right side for the touchdown to send the Hurricane faithful into a frenzy.
"I was never thinking about [letting it roll to a stop]," Hall admitted. "[Westlake] thought I was going to do that because of their coverage but I never had it in my mind to fair catch it or nothing. My team is always crossing its fingers whenever I get back there because they never know what I'm going to do."
Franks added: "He took a chance with it and people like that make good plays. That was a bit of a gamble but it was something he's done before and been productive with it. That's one [play] you look at and say, ‘No, no, no .... [run] thataway.'"
After the two teams traded fumbles, Westlake had a good chance to get on the board but Chris Istvan's pass to Steven Koudossou in the left corner of the end zone slipped through the receiver's fingers.
"Maybe the one thing that could have, not changed the outcome but maybe changed the momentum and made it more of a fight, was we had that touchdown pass we dropped," Zaccarelli said. "We go up 7-6 and that brings the defense along and maybe shakes the cobwebs out a bit. That was a tough one. I don't think we ever really recovered from that"
The Hurricanes added to their lead a few minutes into the second quarter when Mark Smith booted a 27-yard field goal.
Two offensive series later, Huntingtown took over at the Westlake 31 with 1 minute 47 seconds left in the half and Bittner promptly threw a fade down the right sideline to Hall, who made a diving catch of a ball that seemed to come loose, according to the Wolvs' sideline.
"Oh yeah, I made it," Hall said, demonstrating how he collected the ball. "It bounced off my shoulder pads and it was up in the air like this and when I was coming to the ground I just cradled it, under. It was a catch."
Goodwin bulled his way in from a yard out on the next play and the Hurricanes led 16-0.
Bose stepped in front of Istvan's pass on the Wolverines' next offensive play and the Hurricane offense went back to work.
The Hurricanes scored on three of their five second half possessions. The loss was only Westlake's 41st in its 18-year history.
"I'm proud of my guys," Zaccarelli said. "They had a great season. I told the kids, ‘Look, only one team in the state is going to end with a win. That's the way it is.' Our program and with the expectations from our fans, our players and our coaches was to be in the playoffs, to be in the regional final, to be at the next level and when you fall short of that it's disappointing."
Huntingtown 46, Westlake 0
Westlake 0 0 0 0
Huntingtown 6 18 8 14
First quarter
H - Hall 65 punt return (kick failed), 3:53
Second quarter
H - Smith 27 FG, 2:05
H - Goodwin 1 run (Smith kick), 10:47
H - Goodwin 25 run (Bittner pass to Stanley), 11:25
Third quarter
H - Carter 48 pass from Bittner (Bittner pass to Ricchiuto), 4:37
Fourth quarter
H - Goodwin 10 run (Smith kick), :50
H - Goodwin 1 run (Smith kick), 9:23
Team stats
W (3 first downs, 31-97 rushing, 35 passing, 1-1 fumbles, 8-67 penalties)
H (9 first downs, 30-151 rushing, 108 passing, 1-1 fumbles, 4-20 penalties)
Top individual performers
Rushing – W: Blair 3-35, Rutledge 3-30, Reese 12-22; H: Goodwin 22-122, Fletcher 4-35, Ricchiuto 2-3
Passing – W: Istvan 2-5-1 22, Hale 1-3-1 13; H: Bittner 4-11-0 108, Riddle 0-1-1 0
Receiving – W: Owens 1-20, Ford 1-13, Williams 1-2; H: Carter 3-78, Hall 1-30
