This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Cougars Cruise to First-Round Win Over B-CC, 52-7

Quince Orchard builds 45-point lead at the half en route to playoff victory; Mark Green rushes for three touchdowns.

Dave Mencarini called it the best first half he's been part of in his 10 years at Quince Orchard (eight as the school’s head coach, two as an assistant). 

The Cougars forced four turnovers and converted all four into touchdowns to help QO build a 45-point halftime lead en route to a 52-7 win over visiting Bethesda-Chevy Chase in the first round of the Maryland 4A playoffs Friday night at the Cougar Dome.

"We came out like a tidal wave and I'm really proud of the way our guys played," Mencarini said. "Especially in the second quarter. The kids did what we talked about doing all week: taking our game to another level. We took a big step tonight."

Find out what's happening in North Potomac-Darnestownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

QO running back Mark Green scored three touchdowns in the win, bringing his season total to 21. He finished with 104 yards off 12 carries and, like most of his fellow first-string teammates, rested the entire second half.

"This was a great win for our team," said Green, who turned in his seventh multi-touchdown game of the season. "It feels great to practice all week and come out and put plays together and come out with a bang."

Find out what's happening in North Potomac-Darnestownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

And come out with a bang the Cougars did.

After a defensive stand on the Barons' first possession, the Cougars (11-0) took over deep in their own territory and on the first play from scrimmage, Green ripped a 25-yard run to set the tone for QO's offense early. Green capped the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run that put QO up, 7-0, with 6:26 to play in the first quarter.

On QO's next possession, Green picked up his second touchdown, this time from 2-yards out to finish a drive that also featured a 51-yard run by Tyrell Williams. The score gave Quince Orchard a 14-0 lead at the end of one. That's when QO began to apply the pressure.

The Cougars got their first turnover -- a D'andre Johnson interception -- with 9:20 to go in the half that came after B-CC crossed into Cougar territory for the first time. On the first play of the Cougars' ensuing possession, quarterback Billy Plante (5-for-9 for 87 yards) connected with Matt Choi for a 38-yard pass completion that set up Green's third touchdown, a 23-yard run that gave the Cougars a 21-0 lead with 8:43 left in the second quarter.

After QO added to its lead on a Chris McPherson 28-yard field goal, QO's Malcolm Brown forced a fumble on the first play of B-CC's next drive that set up a 15-yard Plante-to-Choi touchdown to give the Cougars a 31-0 advantage with 3:51 to play.

But Quince Orchard wasn't done.

On the very next possession for the Barons, Carlo St. Regis returned a fumble 21 yards for a touchdown, which put QO up 38-0 before the Cougars forced another fumble the next time B-CC had the ball, this time at the Barons' 16-yard line, and Kenny Lang scored on QO's first play on the ensuing drive to give the Cougars a 45-0 lead with 2:50 to play.

Quince Orchard scored three touchdowns in less than a minute of football and the result was the school's most productive first half in program history.

Meanwhile B-CC had just one first down in the first half and only crossed into Quince Orchard territory once. But that drive was immediately cut short thanks to Johnson's interception.

"We wanted to establish our dominance at the line of scrimmage and put it in B-CC's head that it was going to be a physical game on both sides of the ball," Mencarini said. "We wanted to line up on every snap and do whatever we needed to do to show our dominance."

Facing a running clock the entire second half, the Barons' lone score came on a Cory Applequist run with 11 minutes left in the game that made it 45-7. QO's Devon Whitaker scored the game's final touchdown on a 24-yard run (his first of the season) to close out the game, 52-7. 

For the Barons (6-5), it was a difficult ending to an otherwise successful year. The Barons finished with their best record since 2005 and made it to the post-season for the first time since 1995.

Quince Orchard, meanwhile, advances to the regional finals for the seventh consecutive time under Mencarini. However, he was quick to point out that in six of those seven years, his team has lost its second-round game, with the one exception being 2007 when his team won the Maryland 4A state title.

"My teams have always had great years and great seasons but we got to take it to another level at this point in the season," Mencarini said. 

Quince Orchard hosts Churchill (10-1) in the Maryland 4A West regional finals next Friday night. The Bulldogs defeated Gaithersburg, 24-6.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from North Potomac-Darnestown