McDaniel football comes up short, falls to Century 26-24 in home opener
Though the McDaniel High School football team was able to erase a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter against Century on Friday, Sept. 12, the Mountain Lions couldn't overcome a slew of mental errors and late penalties, losing 26-24.
"Towards the end of the game, it just seemed like (the penalties) were piling up, " McDaniel head coach Russell Millage said. "I felt like the opportunity that we had was pretty much taken away from us with the penalties, but we're going to come back stronger, hungrier. We still believe in our group that we have here."
Junior quarterback Marlan McCowan led the Mountain Lions with 210 yards passing, throwing 15-for-24 while combining for 79 yards rushing alongside sophomore running back Jesse Jones and senior wide receiver Tre'Marion Crawford.
Crawford added an impressive 120 yards receiving on seven receptions. Century, meanwhile, recorded almost 200 total rushing yards.
"We're going to come back tomorrow (and) watch the film (then) flush the film," Millage said. "(Afterward) we won't even be thinking about Century again, but hats off (to them)."
McDaniel didn't get onto the board until early in the second quarter, finding the end zone on a 12-yard rush by Jones, which was followed by a successful 2-point conversion courtesy of Crawford, serving as the Mountain Lions' only lead of the evening.
Later in the period, a huge sack by McDaniel's Christian Taylor led to a Century punt. Leading 8-7, the Mountain Lions failed to take advantage, eventually turning it over on downs despite recording consecutive completions to open the drive.
The Jaguars didn't make the same mistake. Facing a 4th & 5, Century's Damian Elizarraras connected with teammate Cam Jorgensen on a 28-yard completion. However, the drive soon stalled, Century seemingly having to settle for a field goal until a McDaniel penalty bailed the Jaguars out.
And they didn't waste the opportunity, scoring on a 3-yard completion between Elizarraras and Andrew Williams, leading 13-8 at the half.
Mistakes littered McDaniel's opening second-half drive, namely a holding penalty that cancelled a sizable rushing gain and an interception thrown by McCowan. The Jaguars responded quickly with a score, needing only a handful of plays, bolstered by a 30-yard scamper by Jermaen Smith.
McCowan appeared unfazed by his previous mistake, opening the ensuing drive with a 47-yard completion to Jaydin Jordan. The drive soon lost momentum, until Crawford exploded for a 25-yard gain facing a 3rd & 18, with Jones capping the sequence with a rushing touchdown.
After a successful 2-point conversion, McDaniel trailed just 20-16. Century held possession until the end of the third quarter. McDaniel's Amir Sanders recovered a fumble as time expired in the period, but the Mountain Lions again failed to capitalize.
There was an immediate flag due to a player safety penalty. Then there was a negative run, and then a sack. And then another penalty.
Facing a 4th & 30 deep in their own territory, the Mountain Lions' punter Emmett Letson opted to fake his punt, attempting a dash toward the sideline, ultimately coming up way short of a first down.
With favorable field position, the Jaguars quickly scored. And though McDaniel was able to respond to make it a two-point game with just under seven minutes left, the Mountain Lions' just couldn't quite get out of their own way, essentially granting Century the victory on a 4th & 4 after an offsides penalty with two and a half minutes left.
"We get a penalty offsides with our corner lining up, but he's a sophomore. This is his first game he's ever played in football," Millage said. "With some of our younger guys, there will be some growing pains and things like that."
McDaniel sits at 0-2 overall on the season. The Mountain Lions will look to bounce back and open up league play against the reigning PIL champions Ida B. Wells on Friday, Sept. 12, on the road.
