Screaming Eagles Win On 67-Yard Pass Play
By Jeff Nelson
Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, September 13, 2008; E10

On a night when Northwest tried to inflict football’s version of death by a thousand cuts, Seneca Valley won the Battle for Germantown with one big play.

Screaming Eagles senior quarterback George Lerch found senior wide receiver Mark Henderson for a 67-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter and those points held up — albeit barely — in Seneca Valley’s 6-0 victory.

The win gave the 15th-ranked Screaming Eagles (2-0) the coveted King’s Trophy — awarded to the winner of this cross-town rivalry each year — and their second shutout in as many games.

“I was surprised that we shut them out,” Screaming Eagles Coach Fred Kim said. “I didn’t expect that at all. I’m just stunned that we did that, but heck, I’m happy also.”

The Jaguars had seven possessions inside Seneca Valley territory, but they ended with one fumble, one interception, one missed field goal and four turnovers on downs.

Most of the drives were the result of junior running back Hassan Dixon’s steady, if not spectacular, production.

Dixon, a transfer from Good Counsel, rushed 27 times for 109 yards, but was unable to break anything longer than nine yards. Still, his ability to gain a few each time allowed Northwest to mount its most serious threat in the fourth quarter.

On a 14-play drive, Dixon ran the ball 11 times as the Jaguars slowly moved the ball from their 49 to the Seneca Valley 6-yard line with six minutes to play. But on a fourth and one, Dixon was stuffed for no gain.

“That’s the way the defense is made, to bend, but not break,” Screaming Eagles senior linebacker Thomas Best said. “We give them a couple yards, but as long as we don’t give up the big one, the game-losers, we’re good.”

Northwest (1-1) had two more possessions in the fourth quarter, but Seneca Valley senior Joe Ranking ended the first one — a pass by a wide receiver on a trick play — with an interception, and helped end the other when he and Jaiqaun Moore knocked down a Jaguars pass in the end zone on the game’s final play.

Only Henderson, who missed last week’s game with a fractured wrist, had the feeling of reaching an end zone with the ball, the significance of which grew with each defensive stop.

“That touchdown ends up winning the game, it’s a big play, against your arch-rival,” Henderson said. “What more can you ask for?”

No. 15 Seneca Valley 6 Northwest 0 Hardware Claimed: Seneca Valley now has a 6-4 edge in the Battle for Germantown and has won the King’s Trophy two years in a row and four out of the last five. X Marks the Hurt: Seneca Valley senior Xavier Hughes, a standout safety and defensive captain, missed last night’s game after separating his shoulder last Friday. He will have an MRI exam today and if that checks out fine, Screaming Eagles coaches said he could be back for the team’s fourth game.

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