The Blake Bengals defeated the Sherwood Warriors in Flag-Football on Monday, October 5 with a final score of 20-13. On an unusually cold October night at Sherwood High School in a battle of undefeated squads, the Bengals brought the fire, sustaining long drives that ended in scores on offense, and getting key stops on defense thanks to a suffocating pass rush, complimented with a strong secondary.
The game got off to a slow start, with both offenses going stagnant early on, resulting in quick changes of possession. Once Blake got the ball back after stopping Sherwood on fourth down, they marched all the way from their own goal line to the end-zone, led by sophomore duel-threat quarterback Saniyah Watson who threw a beautiful pass to senior leader Nya Jackson for six points to put the Bengals up early.
With Blake leading 7-0, Sherwood looked to even the score with a lengthy drive of their own. However, those plans were thwarted by the strong Blake pass rush. Junior Anna Smith was eating good all night, having multiple sacks throughout the game. After a few punts from both sides, Blake nearly scored another touchdown. However, the clock expired before they could do so, keeping the score locked at 7-0 going into the second half.
Thanks to an opening drive interception by freshmen defender Victoria Mbeng, Blake quickly got the ball back for their offense, where they retained their dominance with long drives thanks to designed quarterback runs and short flat routes mainly caught by sophomore Andrea Sob, who proved herself as the X factor in the Bengals passing game throughout the entire second half.
When it looked like Blake was about to finally score their second touchdown, Sherwood senior Maddie Slavin made a miraculous flag grab at the one yard line to force a turnover on downs. Sherwood would take the momentum generated by the defense and turn it into a fourth quarter touchdown, with senior Quarterback Cara Farr leading the Warriors down the field thanks to big plays from the senior Payne twins on third and fourth downs. They failed to score the extra point, however it was apparent that Sherwood finally had life after a dormant first three quarters.
On the ensuing Blake drive, Watson would put on a clinic, using the same short pass and run formula that allowed them to move the ball down the field, eventually leading to a Watson rushing touchdown and extra point to put the Bengals up 8 with four minutes to play.
With Sherwood driving down the field on offense late in the game, it was the freshman Mbeng who hauled in a clutch interception to set up a first and goal scenario for Blake, where Annie Smith would secure the game sealing touchdown to put the Bengals up fourteen, after the failed extra point. Sherwood would score on the ensuing drive to make it 20-13 thanks to Melanie Payne, but it was too little too late.
Blake secured the seven point win to maintain their perfect season, along with snagging the teams first ever division title.
Looking into the future, the Roaring Bengals will travel to Wheaton to take on the Knights at Wheaton High School on Wednesday, October 7. Sherwood will go on the road to Rockville for a bout with Wootton High School on the same day.
