Maryland Football: Gwynn Park edges Potomac, 14-12

By Greg Schimmel,September 03, 2011

Gwynn Park senior Mike Wingard saw the ball go up and knew he needed to make a play.

Gwynn Park had given visiting Potomac too many chances to complete a comeback Saturday afternoon, and Wingard had a chance to clinch the game — which he did.

Wingard made a leaping interception in the end zone as time expired to preserve a 14-12 victory in a Prince George’s 3A/2A/1A game.

“I thought about how many times the ball had been in the air and I didn’t get it,” Wingard said. “I just knew I had to get it right there.”

The Wolverines (0-1) played without senior running back-defensive back Ron Darby, a Notre Dame recruit. He was out with a groin injury he sustained in practice.

Potomac had six offensive drives begin in Gwynn Park territory, but turned only one into a touchdown; that includes coming up empty on a third-quarter possession that opened on the Gwynn Park 1-yard line. But after all the missed opportunities and without their two-way star, two failed two-point conversion attempts were all that stood between the Wolverines and a tough road win.

“Those missed opportunities are what kill you,” Potomac Coach Ronnie Crump said. “That’s plain and simple.”

Yet the Wingard interception should not have happened.

Gwynn Park was kneeling to run out the clock and the public address announcer was telling fans to “Have a blessed weekend,” when a Yellow Jackets player fumbled what would have been the last snap; Potomac linebacker Joshua Thorne fell on the ball at the Gwynn Park 29-yard line with two seconds left.

Earlier, Thorne had made it 14-12 with 8 minutes 26 seconds to play when he burst through the line and pounced on another fumbled snap in the end one for a touchdown.

An interception by Potomac defensive back Adam Coles — Darby’s replacement — set up Potomac’s first score when quarterback Antonio Washington found Tavon Young for a five-yard touchdown pass that made it 14-6 Gwynn Park with 41 seconds left in the third quarter.

Gwynn Park scored its points in the first quarter when linebacker Nate Barnes returned an interception 82 yards for a touchdown and sophomore quarterback Jay Adams found Wingard for a 40-yard touchdown pass on the next possession.

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