By Phil Murphy
Senior Multimedia/Content Manager, Washington D.C. Metro Area
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T.C. Williams (2-2, 0-1) at West Springfield (2-2, 1-0)
Last Week: T.C. Williams lost to Lake Braddock, 35-26; West Springfield beat West Potomac, 38-28
Current Playoff Seeding: T.C. Williams 9th Div. 6; West Springfield 8th Div. 6
If the playoffs started today, West Springfield would be the last team
to qualify, while T.C. Williams would have its bubble burst by less
than half a Power Point.
Last week, the Titans lost to the Bruins, but closed the gap
substantially in the final quarter. Still, they could not overcome five
interceptions, despite 261 passing yards. T.C. Williams had just nine
rushing yards on 24 carries.
West Springfield, meanwhile, beat West Potomac on the road and was led
by their second-half defense. The Spartans allowed 25 net yards, one
first down and sacked five times. The Wolverines had 27 second-half
penalty yards, so they technically moved backwards two yards in seven
second-half possessions.
West Springfield senior defensive end Reese Mullins had three second-half sacks, a fumble recovery and a blocked punt.
That is all in addition to a fumble-recovery touchdown in the end zone by senior defensive end Maurice McKinney in the second quarter.
T.C. Williams needs to defend the running game if it is to rebound from
last week’s loss to Lake Braddock. It yielded 233 rushing yards, 164 of
which were to the Bruin quarterback. It also gave up 271 rushing yards
in a season-opening loss at Robinson.
West Springfield features a pair of athletic quarterbacks in senior Eric Schauder and junior Matt Prokop. Schauder averages 5.6 yards per carry, Prokop 6.5 per rush.
Collectively, they have 418 rushing yards this season.
The Spartans need to do two things to get back above .500.
First, they need to defend better against a well-distributed pass
attack. West Potomac had five receivers with multiple receptions last
week en route to 241 yards with three scores and one pick. T.C.
Williams features a similarly balanced passing attack and passed for
261 yards against Lake Braddock last week, though it used four
different quarterbacks to get there.
Also, the Spartans can’t kick to in the same zip code as Titan senior Cortez Taylor. He is the best returner in the Northern Region. Period.
T.C. Williams snapped an 11-game losing streak in the series last year.
Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.com
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