On Thursday, in B-CC Varsity Football head coach Matt Schwartzback’s first playoff game for the Barons, he faced a team all too familiar. Wheaton, the team that Schwartzback was previously the head coach of, fell short to the Barons 28-7.
The Barons were looking for a similar result to their match up in the regular season against the Knights, which was a 47-0 blowout win. Instead, this time, the Barons got out to a slow start, only leading 9-0 before the half.
Wheaton was quick to answer back as the first play of their opening second-half drive was a long touchdown pass to make it 9-7. This was the Knights’ lone score of the game. B-CC responded with a touchdown and Wheaton’s next drive came to an end after freshman Jack Conley intercepted a deep pass to set B-CC up with good field position. The Barons would not let this opportunity go to waste as senior Najee Ankoma-Sey caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from Hahn to put the Barons up 22-7 with three minutes left in the fourth quarter.
The star of the night was senior John Dale, who had two touchdowns – one coming on a 25-yard pass from senior quarterback Danny Hahn and the other on a 4-yard rush up the middle. Dale showed up for the Barons in a time of need because of the absences of two other top players. Dale had a season-high 17 touches – running the ball 14 times for 55 yards and catching three passes for 34 yards.
The most highlight-worthy play of the night came from senior defensive end Milki Bato, who sacked the Knights’ quarterback and forced a fumble that was picked up by and returned for a touchdown by junior John Thorsen to seal the game. Bato is now at 10 sacks on the season, leading in Montgomery County and putting him at seventh in Maryland. “It was amazing blowing up the quarterback and changing the momentum for the team,” Bato said.
This win puts B-CC at 7-3 on the season and advances them to the next round of Maryland’s state playoffs, where they will play at Montgomery Blair on Thursday. Blair beat the Barons 24-7 in the regular season.
