Patapsco used a strong defense and three Wyatt Perry touchdowns to win their third straight game by shutting out Chesapeake 24-0.
It was senior day and senior quarterback Wyatt Perry didn’t disappoint in his final home game with two rushing touchdowns in the second half and he threw a screen pass that fellow senior Wilson Smith took 48-yards for a touchdown late in the second quarter.
Chesapeake’s offense started off strong. Running back Jacob Raysor had over 50 yards rushing in the first half and the Bayhawks got down to Patapsco’s goal line on their first two drives with other big runs from quaterback Dakari Noble and running back Zaiden Brisoe.
The Patapsco defense ended the first drive with a Kaydence Watkins interception at the Patapsco 2-yard line and Patriot defenders Wilson Smith and Braeden Malloy stopped Chesapeake on a fourth-down play near the goal line on the next drive. Senior defensive lineman Sean Guarnera also had two sacks for the Patapsco defense on the afternoon.
Patapsco coach Tyler Clough said those defensive stops kept his team in the game and the turnover changed the momentum of the game.
“Turning point today was Kaydence Watkins’ interception on the goal line. Chesapeake came out and dominated the first drive taking nine minutes off the clock and we had no answer ” Clough told Eastcountytimes.com .
“Kaydence came up huge and got us the turnover to get us off the field.”
The Patriots recorded two safeties in the game too.
After Smith’s touchdown and Patapsco’s two-point conversion, the Patriots were up 8-0 with 29 seconds left in the half.
Patapsco’s special teams pinned the kickoff inside the Bayhawk 5-yard line.
Chesapeake decided to run a play before the half but was called for holding in the endzone resulting in a 2-point safety and a 10-0 halftime lead for Patapsco.
In the fourth quarter, a Perry punt for Patapsco rolled to the Chesapeake 1-yard line. The Bayhawk sideline thought the ball bounced over the pylon for a touchback but the ball was placed near the goalline.
The next play another Patapsco senior, Jordyn Ridgel, forced a fumble that was recovered by Chesapeake for a second safety in the game.
The Patriots were up 10 at halftime and had a similar two possession (nine point) lead over Sparrows Point in September and lost the game, but Patapsco finished the second half strong against Chesapeake.
“The difference today compared to Sparrows Point is we dominated the field position battle. We were able to consistently make Chesapeake drive 70-80 and even 99 yards and they weren’t able to do so,” Clough said.
“Against Point we had an unlucky fumble and I called a fake punt that didn’t work giving them short fields to score.”
Chesapeake falls to 4-4. The Bayhawks defense was able to shutout Patapsco for the first 19 minutes of the game as Omari Mitchell had an interception and Max Gonzales had two sacks. Chesapeake hosts Eastern Tech next Saturday in their final game of the year.
Patapsco is now 3-5 and closes out the season on the road at Loch Raven on Friday.
“I’m proud of my boys and this team. After starting 0-5 these kids couldn’t quit and not one of them did. That’s a testament to them and the Senior leaders we honored today,” Clough added. “Three wins in a row and [We] have one more regular season game left.”
