[Baltimore Sun] Severn football earns rebound win over Boys’ Latin, 31-17: ‘We’re getting it’
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Piling flags and a 42-yard field goal by Boys’ Latin to end the game had every chance of spoiling Severn’s celebratory mood over what had been a dominant — and much-needed — victory over a hardy Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference foe.
But Severn coach Demetrius Ballard couldn’t help but crack a smile at the taunting calls. He’d asked his team to be more aggressive. He’d wanted them to care.
Clearly, they did.
“I want them to have a little bit of swag,” Ballard said, laughing. “We haven’t had that here before, but we’re getting it.”
The Admirals’ offense broke through a stingy Boys’ Latin defense in the second quarter and maintained its momentum through the end of a 31-17 victory, even when the Lakers swapped quarterbacks and forged a comeback attempt in the second half.
Severn now stands at 4-1 in its first foray back in the B Conference since 2019. Back then, the Lakers flattened the Admirals, and those Admirals were pretty used to being roadkill. When Ballard took the head coaching role in 2022 and steered the program to two dominant C Conference titles, his players already knew they were right to believe in him.
If any of them needed any more proof, Saturday’s win moves the Admirals closer to clinching a spot in the B Conference playoffs. Severn has never outright captured the B title.
“In eighth grade, I said we were gonna run it back to the B. A lot of people didn’t believe me,” junior running back-linebacker Jules Floyd said. “But I knew the mission from the start.”
Ty Bussard tinkered with options until he found the right one in the second quarter.
In the first, the Severn quarterback reached the 2-yard line, just for Boys’ Latin defensive lineman Ridgley Ritter to drag him down for a sack.
It was those sorts of mistakes that cost Severn its unbeaten record against St. Vincent Pallotti on Sept. 27. “Coaching mistakes” stranded Bussard in hopeless drives with only short runs to try and remedy them.
“We had to get back to what we’ve been doing all season,” Ballard said, “throwing the ball on early downs, get the defense guessing. Ty’s really accurate on short throws. Today, we were gonna loosen up the run game that way, and it worked.”
On the Lakers’ 20, Bussard scanned the melee before him for Daniel Growney to glide into view. The senior wideout plucked the pass easily and flew into the end zone.
“Once they started having to come down to meet Jules, Runco, we took advantage of that,” Bussard said, “and put it right past them.”
Behind its starting quarterback, sophomore AJ Franchella, the Lakers’ offense couldn’t so much as convert a first down. Handing Severn an easy pass for an encore touchdown didn’t help.
A few plays and a bad snap led Boys’ Latin to punt only a few minutes after the Admirals’ first score. Senior Aiden Szydlik lumbered in and slammed the ball loose, just for Floyd to collect the blocked punt at the Lakers’ 21.
“The main theme was to be more physical and be more poised, dominate every snap,” Floyd said. “We all knew our job.”
The Lakers’ defense would prove its might again later, when forcing Severn to settle for a field goal just before halftime. But with such a gift midway through the second quarter, it took very little for Bussard, tight end Lincoln Watkins and running back Charlie Runco to collab for a touchdown drive after that.
“Lets get some of our big skills on their big skills,” Ballard said. “And I think we won that matchup.”
A 17-0 Severn advantage could’ve swelled had the Lakers not made any changes.
But as soon as quarterback Joey Keller stepped on the turf for the second half and flung a 21-yard spiral, the Admirals had to shift gears.
The Lakers sophomore chewed most of the third quarter as he methodically led his offense downfield, even as Severn’s defense chopped his plays down to single-digit yards nearly every time. A 4-yard passing touchdown was just as good as a 20-yard one.
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Now only up 17-7, the Admirals had to act quickly. Runco had no trouble running 15, 11 yards. But he wasn’t their only option.
Junior Jack Fowler’s 11-yard reception brought Severn across the midfield. His 6-yard catch put another touchdown on the board four seconds before the quarter’s end.
Keller’s follow-up touchdown in the fourth quarter had little bite after that, even less so when Bussard hit Growney for a 52-yard score a few plays later.
The Admirals knew flooding the Lakers’ defense on one side would give receivers opportunities to break through on the other. Fortunately, they had capable receivers to carry it out.
“Pallotti took [Growney] away. They bracketed him and we didn’t have an answer. So that loss really showed us what we needed to move forward offensively,” Ballard said.
BOYS’ LATIN — 0-0-7-10 — 17
SEVERN — 0-17-7-7 — 31
SCORES
Q2
S — TY BUSSARD 20 YARD PASS TO DANIEL GROWNEY — 7-0 WITH EXTRA POINT
S — CHARLIE RUNCO 5 YARD RUSH — 14-0 WITH EXTRA POINT
S — MYLES GOGER 21 YARD FIELD GOAL — 17-0
Q3
BL — JOEY KELLER 4 YARD PASS TO MAX SWEENEY — 17-7 WITH EXTRA POINT
S — TY BUSSARD 6 YARD PASS TO JACK FOWLER — 24-7 WITH EXTRA POINT
Q4
BL — JOEY KELLER 9 YARD PASS TO MAX SWEENEY — 24-14 WITH EXTRA POINT
S — TY BUSSARD 52-YARD PASS TO DANIEL GROWNEY — 31-14
BL — 42 YARD FIELD GOAL — 31-17
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