Blazers show off in Homecoming game vs. Rams

On Oct. 8, The Blazers (5-1) clutched up at home against the formerly undefeated Rockville Rams (5-1) with a final score of 42-31. Rockville had trouble containing Blair’s superb offensive performance and allowed the Blazer to clinch a Homecoming nailbiter. Blair remains in the 3rd-place spot of the 4A division. 

Blair came into the first half determined to dominate the Rams, yet the Rams' offense managed to outshine the Blazers early on with a smooth 2-yard rushing touchdown making the score 7-0. Senior Blazer defensive end Keshav Mehta-Harwits described the energy on the field after that play as nerve-wracking. “[The energy] was tense, but since our team is so set on winning we turned that energy into wanting that dub’ more,” Mehta-Harwits said.

But the Blazer defense responded with their first big defensive stop on the Rams’ second possession by sacking the quarterback. “We needed that sack; it definitely hyped up our offense,” Mehta-Harwits said

On their second possession, Blazers’ junior quarterback Kendall Anderson turned it up with an electric QB rush with over 3 minutes left in the first quarter. Immediately afterward, Anderson threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Mikhail Seiken to tie the score at 7-7. 

The Blazers' defense, inspired by their offense’s sensational plays, came out with a vengeance to end the first quarter. Every play Rockville attempted was read and stopped by the Blazer’s great defense.

During the second quarter, Rockville seemed to realize that they were an undefeated team. They scored their second touchdown by keeping the ball in the air the entire drive, ending with a 42-yard touchdown pass to make the score 13-7. 

After an unsuccessful possession, the Blazers got the ball right back in their hands thanks to an interception by Seiken. While the Blair student section erupted in cheers, junior receiver Jamall Worrell caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Anderson to give the Blazers a 14-13 lead. The Blazer offense managed to capitalize on offense one more time in the first half by closing out with a 7-yard rush by junior running back Arnauld Tegrom for a touchdown, making the score 21-13.

The Blazers continued their electric offensive performance into the third quarter with two excellent runs. Senior running back Michael Dinkel topped off the possession with a 1-yard rushing touchdown resulting in a 28-13 score. 

Rockville’s third-quarter performance was sloppy on both sides of the field. Their quarterback tried to complete a huge pass, but it was picked off by senior cornerback Andy Merrill.

After the turnover, Blair’s offense looked unstoppable when making a spectacular 77-yard touchdown catch by Seiken. But Seiken’s great game doesn’t come as a surprise to him. “This is expected considering how hard my team and I work,” Seiken stated.

With the Blazers pulling away from the Rams with a 35-13 score, the Rams began minimizing the mistakes that had taken the ball out of their hands. They were making smarter offensive decisions; and made the last touchdown of the third quarter with an explosive 47-yard pass, making the score 35-19.

Rockville continued their performance in the fourth quarter and managed to pull off a little comeback against the Blazers. The Rams blocked Blair’s kick return and gave themselves a start at the 3-yard line. 

Rockville’s quarterback came out with more energy, starting the possession with a QB rush. Although Rockville focused on their ground game for the drive, they surprised the Blazers’ defense with a 9-yard pass into the endzone, bringing the score to 35-25.

It began to look like Rockville could pull off a miracle on the Boulevard and bring the game back. With over seven minutes left on the clock, Rockville needed to continue their outstanding offensive performance. They were able to finish their drive with a 30-yard touchdown pass to make the score 35-31, and it became up to Blair to stop the Rams’ roll. 

When the Blazer offense got the ball back, the pressure was high. And it was even higher during the third down, Anderson fumbled the snap, allowing the defense to swarm him. But right before he was sacked, he heaved the ball for a jaw-dropping nearly 40-yard completion to Worrell, who had a phenomenal moss over the Rams’ defense. After a few more runs, the Blazer offense dashed any hope of a Rockville comeback with a 4-yard rush touchdown by Dinkel to make the score 42-31.

Head Blazer coach Samual Nosoff commented on the team’s ability to stay in the game despite Rockville’s effort in the fourth quarter. “We’ve done a lot of work this offseason with getting better mentally [and] turning things back on when we need to. I knew that at some point we were going to get back to what we were doing,” Nosoff said. 

Nosoff also acknowledged the importance of the Homecoming game and how the team came into the game with determination to win. “We needed this, this student section needed this, the community needed this and we had a bunch of alumni. Everyone really needed a game where we perform on both offense and defense,” Nosoff said.

Check out a gallery of photos from Cal Tobias, a writer for Silver Chips Print and freelance photographer, here.