But the game quickly went south. The Bulldogs came out unfocused, and Walter Johnson jumped out to a 22-0 lead at halftime. It seemed Churchill (8-1) was going to end the regular season with a dispiriting loss.
“It just felt like we were off mentally,” Avit said. “We knew our only option was to lock in and go to work in the second half.”
Avit first realized the Bulldogs had a chance when he caught a 44-yard touchdown late in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 22-14. After a defensive stop, Avit scored again on a seven-yard run. Tie game.
Churchill recovered a fumble with four minutes remaining, and Avit struck again, stunning the Wildcats with an 81-yard touchdown run to put Churchill up 29-22.
“Every time I touch the ball, I think I have to score,” Avit said. “So when I have a game like that, it doesn’t shock me as much as it might shock everyone else.”
Walter Johnson responded, coming up with a touchdown of its own just after the two-minute mark. The Wildcats went for two and got it, grabbing a 30-29 lead. With Avit an obvious target, Churchill fed the ball to its other playmakers and set up a short field goal in the closing moments. Senior Nasim Elkassem nailed the kick, giving Churchill a 32-30 win and a heavy dose of momentum as the postseason begins.
Avit finished with 248 rushing yards, more than 300 all-purpose and four total touchdowns.
Churchill will host Richard Montgomery this week in the first round of the Class 4A bracket.
“Now it’s the best time of year,” Avit said. “Time for playoff football.”
Maret embraces nomadic life
For 18 years, Maret’s Mike Engelberg has coached a team without its own practice field or a home stadium.
“We’ve always just kind of been nomads for football,” Engelberg said. “Our kids just don’t know any different.”
In 2024 that will change, as construction on a new field is set to finish before next fall. For now, the Frogs continue to live out their version of normal. When they practice, they split space with Maret’s soccer teams. They use two assistant coaches as goal posts for their kicker. They can’t practice throws to the sideline; at the start of each season, Engelberg often yells at his players to spread further out wide in games because they’re used to cramping together.
And yet, the Frogs have found benefits to their situation.
Diminutive space has allowed for more work with small-space movement and tackling. Because of field constraints, the Frogs spend about 45 minutes of practice time every day in the classroom working through scouting and film, which, at that time and consistency, is nearly unheard of for a high school team. That’s allowed them to run a particularly efficient no-huddle offense predicated on smart, efficient football. They’re also situated right next to the school’s weight room, making the Frogs one of the strongest pound-for-pound teams in D.C.
And of course, there’s the motivation that comes with their situation.
“We’re always going to be the underdog; we’ve never not taken the bus to a game, at least as long as I’ve been here,” Engelberg said. “There’s that built-in chip on our shoulders.”
Though the Frogs (8-1) fell to Flint Hill on Friday, all-but eliminating them from contention for the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference title, they’ll compete in the D.C. State Athletic Association tournament in the weeks ahead with a chance to finish on a high. And it hasn’t affected quarterback Roman Jensen, who is on pace to exceed 3,000 yards for the second consecutive season.
“We’re always maximizing our time,” Engelberg said.
Taj Kontosis, Blake: The senior came up with two interceptions, including a pick-six, as the Bengals beat Blair, 34-7, to finish the regular season undefeated for the first time in school history.
Cedric Benning III, Episcopal: The senior running back tallied 160 yards and two scores on 27 carries in the Maroon’s 24-17 upset win over Georgetown Prep, putting Episcopal in position to likely win a share of the Interstate Athletic Conference title.
Donte Howard, Eleanor Roosevelt: The senior led a powerful running game, racking up 123 yards and a touchdown during the Raiders’ 24-14 win over Bowie.
Dawson Pough, Tuscarora: The junior came down with a highlight one-handed touchdown snag in the Huskies’ win over Woodgrove to help Tuscarora keep its undefeated streak alive.
Westfield at No. 8 South Lakes, Friday, 7 p.m.
Coolidge at Anacostia, Saturday, 6 p.m.
St. Charles at Northern, Friday, 7 p.m.
No. 7 St. John’s at No. 12 Gonzaga, Saturday, 2 p.m.
Champe uses close win as playoff lesson
Champe’s shootout victory over Broad Run on Friday in Ashburn wasn’t the clean game Coach Lee Carter wanted his team to play. The Knights needed a stop on a two-point conversion attempt with less than a minute remaining to escape with a 55-54 victory over the Spartans (3-6).
But, as Carter noted after the win, that type of game best prepares a team for the postseason.
“A game like this was something that can’t be simulated in practice,” Carter said. “You can talk about it, you can try to create situations, but you only learn from experience.”
The Knights (8-1) took an early 20-8 lead but watched it slip away as the Spartans played an aggressive brand of football into the second half. Broad Run attempted multiple onside kicks and converted a slew of two-point conversions in their upset bid.
Still, the Knights were able to extend their winning streak to eight games. Seniors Greg Spiller and Michael Clark each ran for more than 100 yards as Champe scored on every second-half possession and held strong on the last play of the game.
The Knights, who close the regular season against Freedom (South Riding), will then bring one of the strongest résumés into the Class 4C region playoffs. After Friday’s nail-biter, they now have another close win to their name.
“Mentally, it helped our guys know what playoff football is, what they can expect in the playoffs,” Carter said.
As the Maryland playoffs arrive, the Douglass Eagles are aware their impressive 8-1 regular season record now resets and that they can’t get too comfortable.
“What I’ve been telling [my teammates] is they got to keep being on our A-game,” senior running back Mekhi Smith said. “We can’t let them see us down, because then that’s when they’re going to try to attack us. So we got to keep pushing, keep pushing.”
The Eagles closed the regular season with a 51-0 win against Surrattsville. Making it through the 2A/1A South region — considered the toughest region in the classification, with opponents such as Patuxent and Calvert — will be a greater test.
First up is a rematch against Friendly, which the Eagles beat, 29-6, in Week 8 after cleaning up some missteps in the first half. Coach Monty Sutton has stressed the importance of learning from mistakes of last year, when Douglass lost in the second round of the playoffs against Huntingtown.
“Last year, I feel like they didn’t really didn’t take them seriously,” Sutton said. “They were already looking ahead to their third round, quarterfinals round, and Huntingtown did a good job of creeping up on us. … With those guys in the locker room, sometimes you got to close the door and let them get after it with each other to make sure that the guys are really mentally locked in and separated from outside distractions.”