Brunswick

The South Hagerstown football team had that look about it. The Rebels looked like they just got hit by a train. Well, almost. They were sidetracked by a bunch of Railroaders. Brunswick unleashed its wide-open passing attack to take the lead in the third quarter, then used its ground game to run the Rebels over on Friday to score a stunning 42-32 MVAL Antietam victory over South to derail all aspirations of a perfect season. Collin Nusbaum hit on 32 of 50 passes for 323 yards and two touchdowns in the 'Roaders' spread offense and was backed by Joey Conrad's 70 yards and two scores on the ground to knock the Rebels from the ranks of the undefeated.

Tuesday was just another day to South Hagerstown football coach Toby Peer. It was just another day in the football season - no more or less important than any one of them since mid-August or heading to mid-November. And that's the way Peer likes it. For the Rebels' football program, it was rather a momentous day. But shhhh, Peer would rather not let anyone know it. South Hagerstown cracked the Maryland Media High School Football State Poll for the first time ever on Tuesday, checking in at No. 22 in the Top 25 standings.

A few weeks ago, my wife and I found ourselves driving down through the beautiful foliage of Harpers Ferry road as we headed to Brunswick days.  This is the same road that my Father in law Leon travelled for over thirty years when he worked on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. As we enjoyed the scenery, we continued our trip by Sandy Hook where all the houses are built on one side of the street, and made our way through the little town of Knoxville and by the location where the old Acme store used to be. Times have changed a lot since my youth and the history of Brunswick goes back a lot further than I once realized.

Florence Isabella "Flo" Compher Thompson, formerly of Brunswick, Md., went to be with her Lord Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012, at Ravenwood Lutheran Village in Hagerstown. Born Sept. 5, 1915, in Lovettsville, Va., she was the daughter of Charles Elbert and Buda Harrison Compher. Flo was the oldest member of Mount Olivet Methodist Church in Lovettsville and the Ladies of the Moose. She worked at the Brunswick umbrella factory in 1941, then Price Electric in Frederick, Md., and Frederick Airpax until she retired.

Anyone who knows local football would not have expected to witness what turned into a one-team show on Friday night, as Boonsboro pancaked Brunswick 47-0 in a successful Homecoming affair. “We expected a shootout,” said Boonsboro coach Clayton Anders. The Warriors (7-1, 3-1) dominated from the beginning of the MVAL Antietam contest when they took the opening kickoff and marched 50 yards to paydirt, with Justin Jardeleza scoring from the 4 with less than 3 minutes having elapsed.

Thursday, October 11, 2012 BOYS SOCCER SMITHSBURG - Ryan Byard had three goals and an assist to lead North Hagerstown in a 10-0 MVAL Antietam rout of Smithsburg on Thursday. Connor Troxell had two goals, Dereck Cermeno and Mark Grunberg each had a goal and an assist, Zach Barton, Max Ober and Martin Rivas each had a goal, Yusuf Bodirov had two assists and Casey Goodrich and Neal Dossouvi each had an assist for the Hubs (6-5, 2-3). Adam Dwyer had five saves for the Leopards (1-9, 0-5)

Monday, October 8, 2012     BOYS SOCCER Clear Spring 6, Smithsburg 1 CLEAR SPRING - Corey McClure scored two goals as Clear Spring (9-2-1, 3-1-1) rolled past Smithsburg in an MVAL Antietam game. Nick Brandt, C.J. Elwood, Logan Speak and Kevin Carbajal all scored for Clear Spring and Bradly Mills and Jonathan Henesy each recorded two assists and Matt Lowenhaupt had one. Smithsburg dropped to 1-8 and 0-4 in the MVAL. Brunswick 2, Williamsport 0 BRUNSWICK, Md. - Drew Demich scored two goals for Brunswick in an MVAL Antietam victory over Williamsport.

JoAnn Thompson, 73, of Brunswick, Md., died Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012, at Meritus Medical Center near Hagerstown. A memorial service will be Tuesday at 1 p.m. at New Hope United Methodist Church, Brunswick. Arrangements are by John T. Williams Funeral Home, Brunswick.

Ironically, in a classic battle between North Hagerstown's running attack and Brunswick's passing game, it was Brandon Brown's 77-yard interception return that gave the Hubs the cushion they needed to secure a 35-21 victory over the Railroaders in an MVAL Antietam game at Mike Callas Stadium on Friday night. Just 94 seconds after a Nick Karlen quarterback sneak gave North (4-1, 1-0) a 13-8 advantage, Brown picked off Collin Nusbaum's pass and sped down the right sideline to provide the Hubs with a two-touchdown advantage.

Friday's football game between Smithsburg and Brunswick came down to the wire, but in the end the Railroaders found some late magic to earn a 27-20 MVAL Antietam victory. With the game tied at 20 in the fourth quarter, Smithsburg recovered an onside kick, setting up a drive on Brunswick's 35-yard line. A third-down pass by quarterback Zach Krall was broken up by Brunswick defensive back Shane Gerstner, setting up a fourth-and-9 play. Gerstner picked off Krall's fourth-down pass and returned it to Smithsburg's 36, which set up quarterback Collin Nusbaum's game-winning pass to receiver Blaine Price.