Football is a walk in the park for Washington Co. juniors

September 07, 2004|by JACK HILL III/Staff Correspondent

HALFWAY - Football and Labor Day seem to go hand in hand.

And in Washington County, that means a stroll in the park, too - Martin L. Snook Memorial Park, that is.

The Washington County Junior Football League ran its annual Labor Day schedule, using five games to open its 40th season.

"The most important goals of this league is to teach these kids the fundamentals, the sportsmanship and the fair play in order to prepare them for high school football," said League President Don Davis said. "I think that it is going to be an exciting season, because I think that all of the teams are on an even level. I don't really think that there are going to be any teams dominating like there was in the past."

The two-time defending league champion Williamsport Bears defeated the Hagerstown Packers 34-24 in a rematch of last year's league championship game.

The Packers rallied to close within 28-24 with just 2:18 remaining until D.J. Love broke loose along the right sideline and ran for a 60-yard touchdown with 1:30 to go to extend the Bears' lead to 10 points. Love had 92 yards rushing.

Conner Arnone rushed seven times for 113 yards and a pair of touchdowns on runs of 25 and 52 yards. Tyler Shank and Kemper Baker ran for a touchdown each for the Bears.

Jovann Carter rushed 25 times for 298 yards for the Packers, including scoring runs of 57, 56, 24 and 5 yards.

In other games, the Hagerstown Steelers scored early and held on for a 14-7 win over the Hancock Raiders.

Ian Anderson scored on touchdown runs of 40 and 5 yards to help the Steelers build a 14-0 halftime lead. Trey Jesse recovered two fumbles for the Steelers.

The Smithsburg Jets came back from a 14-6 deficit with 30 points in the middle two quarters to beat the Hagerstown Giants, 36-14.

Jason Kendall threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Conway and ran for a 1-yard score for the Jets, while Alex Akers scored on runs of 15 and nine yards.

Mason Burnett rushed seven times for 103 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown run, for the Giants.

Alec Nelson carried nine times for 229 rushing yards and touchdowns of 20, 63 and 71 yards to help the Hagerstown Browns beat the Smithsburg Patriots, 41-19. Michael Russ added scoring runs of 4 and 27 yards for the Browns, while Blake Bandeff intercepted two passes.

Benjamin Daniels scored on runs of 42 and 3 yards for the Patriots.

Justin Gross scored from the 1 to give the Hagerstown Redskins a dramatic, come-from-behind 12-8 win over the Clear Spring Chargers. Gross set up his touchdown with a 62-yard run just a few plays earlier.

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