Coming into their game against Churchill, the Patriots were 1-2 following an impressive win against Clarksburg. Unfortunately for the team, they would have to face three tough opponents in a row, preventing them from starting a win streak.

Churchill hosted the Patriots Friday, Sept. 23. Although the game was away, fans from the school loaded the stands, expecting a close game against our rival school. Little did they know, they would receive the farthest thing from it. Churchill won the game 44-0, dominating the Patriots in every aspect, forcing the team to drop to 1-3.

Next, the school hosted its third game against BCC. In another dominating loss, BCC won the game 42-0, dropping the teams’ record to 1-4.

The next week, the Patriots hosted Seneca Valley. Seen as a top three public school team in the county, no one was expecting much coming into this game. The Patriots were down 35-0 at halftime, continuing the trend of dominating losses. There was a promising ending as the team only allowed three points in the second half, ultimately leading to a 38-0 loss.

Finally, the Patriots were set to play at Whitman. It was both Whitman’s homecoming game and senior night, signaling that Whitman believed they were going to win. The game started out strong with a long rushing touchdown scored by junior captain Matthew Repie. “I saw the hole and ran as fast as I could, I was almost surprised when nobody caught me,” Repie said.
After Repie, who also plays kicker, made the extra point, the score was 7-0 Patriots. This was the first lead and points the Patriots had since Clarksburg. After trading multiple defensive stops, Whitman had the ball. They drove down the field and scored a touchdown, but they were not able to convert on the extra point. The score of the game was 7-6 heading into halftime.
After a scoreless third quarter, Repie found senior captain Ryan McGraw in the endzone to extend the lead to 14-6. This was their fourth touchdown connection of the season. “Scoring touchdowns is always nice but I care more about the numbers on the scoreboard,” McGraw said.

There were around two minutes left in the game. Whitman had the ball down 14-6, and this was their last opportunity to tie up the game to force overtime. The snap was botched: The center snapped the ball, but the quarterback never received it in his hands. Whitman players looked confused on the field, thinking it was a penalty. Senior captain Chris Castelli showed he knew exactly what was happening on the field as he picked up the ball and ran into the endzone for a touchdown. The score was 21-6. “It seemed like no one knew what was going on, but I did not hear any whistle so I picked up the ball and ran into the endzone,” Castelli said.

There was over 1:30 left in the game when Whitman’s players refused to go back onto the field. They did not agree with the no-call on the touchdown play, and were protesting by not playing another snap. For Whitman’s homecoming game and their senior night, they chose to forfeit the game instead of playing it out. This moved the Patriots up to 2-5, and ready for their next game against Catonsville.