Football Blunders In Playoffs

Written By:
Ebony Turner

Published:
Dec. 04 2009

      The Devils took on the Sherwood Warriors on November 14 at Montgomery Blair High School in the first round of the playoffs. Two weeks prior to this match up, the Devils played the Warriors in the regular season and were dominated 33-13.
   The Warriors picked apart the Devils defense and held the offense in check minus a few big plays from senior wide receiver and cornerback Mitchell Pollard.
     “We need to play better team defense,” head coach Rob Wendel said, “We also need to control the ball to keep their offense of the field.”
       With the starting quarterback, senior Eric Freniere, out with a torn MCL, senior Chris Tolbert had to step in and play quarterback.
    Although Tolbert is a starting cornerback and wide receiver he has had experience at the quarterback position. Last season Tolbert played quarterback while last years starting quarterback, alumni Phoenix Butler-Poole was suspended.
The change at quarterback affected the performance of the Devils offense. They ran numerous quarterback draws and option plays. They were able to move the ball effectively, getting into the red zone numerous times. The offense failed to get the ball into the endzone though, turning it over each time.
    The game remained scoreless through the majority of the first half until the Warriors scored a touchdown on their final possession of the half. They never looked back.The Devils were unable to execute their strategies as Sherwood imposed their will, winning by a score of 24-2.
      To earn the right to play in the postseason the Devils routed the Paint Branch Panthers 20-0 on November 6 to clinch their first playoff berth in 5 years. The Panthers were favored coming into the game 8-1 compared to the Devils who held a record of 6-3.
      In control the entire game, the defense swarmed to the ball causing the Panthers offense to turn the ball over multiple times. The devils offense was led by junior running back Devon Pestano who scored the Devils first two touchdowns.
      The Devils were on defense with a 14-point lead when Pollard intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown.
       The final record for the Devils was 7-4. The Devil’s ended with a first round playoff loss to the Sherwood Warriors.
        Although it is a tough way to end the season, all in all the season was not without accomplishments.  This was the first Devils team to reach the playoffs in the last five years.