By D. Matt Dale
MaxPreps.com
A 22-point first quarter helped Concord hand Hodgson its first loss of the season and end the Eagles 17-game winning streak. The Raiders went wild and walked away with a 42-13 win on Saturday.
Concord cornerback Travis King drew first blood and put the Raiders up 7-0 with a 58-yard punt return. Later in the quarter, King intercepted a pass from Hodgson’s Jamie Treml, setting up a 4-yard touchdown run by Concord running back Joe Hughes. King then caught a pass in the end zone from quarterback Ryan McCarthy for a successful 2-point conversion to give Concord a 15-0 lead.
Treml made up for his interception by throwing a touchdown to 6-foot-4, 220-pound tight end Jamil Merrell to cut the deficit to 15-7.
McCarthy and Hughes led the Raiders offense down the field and Hughes eventually crossed the goal line for a 9-yard touchdown run to make the score 22-7 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter was primarily a defensive battle, culminating with a Concord defensive back knocking down a pass from Treml in the end zone to keep the game 22-7 at halftime.
Hughes scored two more touchdowns off 10 and 3-yard runs in the third quarter. His fourth and final touchdown was set up when Concord lineman Morgan Hunt recovered a fumble by Treml.
In the fourth quarter, offensive lineman T.J. Harding caught a 15-yard pass from McCarthy to put the game away for Concord. Tight end Kyle Cooke would score a late touchdown for Hodgson, but it was too little too late and the game ended with a final score of 42-13.
Both the Raiders and the Eagles sit at 4-1.
More Football: William Penn Blanks Newark
William Penn earned another conference victory Saturday with a shutout 28-0 victory over Newark.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Colonials’ Eric Thornton blocked a Newark punt and Joebree Harris-Turner recovered the ball in the end zone to give William Penn a 7-0 advantage.
The Colonials scored again before halftime when quarterback Calvin Butcher capped off a 50-yard drive by hitting Lewis Toler on a 9-yard touchdown pass just before the end of the first half.
William Penn’s defense not only kept Newark scoreless throughout the rest of the game, but also helped set up two more Colonial touchdowns.
The first came in the third quarter when Ali Kamara recovered a fumble on Newark’s 25-yard line, which led to a 2-yard touchdown run by Brian Fields.
The second came in the fourth quarter Thomas Davis intercepted a Newark pass and returned it inside the Yellowjacket’s 30-yard line. Field’s would find pay dirt again, this time off a 1-yard run to give the Colonials a 28-0 win.
William Penn is 3-2 overall but remains undefeated in Blue Hen Conference Flight A. Newark falls to 2-3 and is an even 1-1 in conference play.
Conference News: Concord, Brandywine Headed to Blue Hen Conference Flight A
During a monthly meeting on Monday, it was decided that Concord and Brandywine will be included in Blue Hen Conference Flight A for the 2009-10 school year.
The Delaware Military Academy will leave the conference and will probably join a conference made up of private schools.
The conferences are determined by school enrollment records every two years. Although the plans are set for now, both Concord and Brandywine may find themselves back in Flight B as enrollments at schools such as Appoquinimink and St. Georges are expected to rise over the next two years.
