2015 Springbrook Summary
By Eric Goldwein
Washington Post
Blair safety Lytton Xu had his eyes glued to quarterback Lawrence Cadet, looking for a tell. The Springbrook offense had been giving the Blazers’ defense fits early on with a combination of fake handoffs and real ones to Shawn Cazeau.
But after Cazeu was sidelined with a knee injury, Xu knew a pass was coming.
As the ball left Cadet’s hands, the Blazers senior leaped up and grabbed it out of the air, then ran 34 yards for the touchdown before getting mobbed by his teammates on the sideline.
“I was just reading the receiver, and I jumped it,” Xu said. “Our offense was slow in the first half, so I felt like that was a turning point.”
The pick-six was a momentum changer for Blair in its 38-20 over visiting Springbrook Friday night in Silver Spring. The Blazers (4-2, 2-1 Montgomery 4A East) had a sluggish start, perhaps a byproduct of a two-hour rain delay. Aside from his 70-yard pass to Clifford Carter, quarterback Desmond Colby struggled to establish a rhythm with his receiving corps for most of the first half.
But the Blazers were able to recover, thanks both to a defense that forced several fumbles and interceptions out of Springbrook (4-2, 1-2) and an offense that rebounded after the intermission.
Xu’s acrobatic interception gave Blair a 17-8 lead in the second quarter, and Colby picked up his lead in the second half, finishing with 383 passing yards and four touchdowns. The junior hit Chris Green for a 12-yard touchdown to open the scoring in the third quarter, then tacked on another score with a 58-yard touchdown pass to Eric Zokouri.
Springbrook didn’t go down quietly. Cadet threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Deson Flood late in the third quarter and was threatening to score in the fourth. But with the Blue Devils driving, Xu made another impressive play in the air by deflecting the football to Carter, who pulled down the interception.
Colby threw an interception, but the Blazers got the ball right back when Green picked off a pass on the Blair 1-yard line.
On the ensuing possession, Colby threw again to Green, who ran 99 yards for a touchdown, breaking a school record and clinching the victory.
“It’s my last homecoming,” Green said. “We had to come out here and dominate. We couldn’t lose on our homecoming.”
The win gets Blair one step closer to returning to the playoffs after making its first appearance a year ago.
“This was a must-win. If we wanted to go to playoffs, this was a must-win,” Xu said.
Washington Post
Blair safety Lytton Xu had his eyes glued to quarterback Lawrence Cadet, looking for a tell. The Springbrook offense had been giving the Blazers’ defense fits early on with a combination of fake handoffs and real ones to Shawn Cazeau.
But after Cazeu was sidelined with a knee injury, Xu knew a pass was coming.
As the ball left Cadet’s hands, the Blazers senior leaped up and grabbed it out of the air, then ran 34 yards for the touchdown before getting mobbed by his teammates on the sideline.
“I was just reading the receiver, and I jumped it,” Xu said. “Our offense was slow in the first half, so I felt like that was a turning point.”
The pick-six was a momentum changer for Blair in its 38-20 over visiting Springbrook Friday night in Silver Spring. The Blazers (4-2, 2-1 Montgomery 4A East) had a sluggish start, perhaps a byproduct of a two-hour rain delay. Aside from his 70-yard pass to Clifford Carter, quarterback Desmond Colby struggled to establish a rhythm with his receiving corps for most of the first half.
But the Blazers were able to recover, thanks both to a defense that forced several fumbles and interceptions out of Springbrook (4-2, 1-2) and an offense that rebounded after the intermission.
Xu’s acrobatic interception gave Blair a 17-8 lead in the second quarter, and Colby picked up his lead in the second half, finishing with 383 passing yards and four touchdowns. The junior hit Chris Green for a 12-yard touchdown to open the scoring in the third quarter, then tacked on another score with a 58-yard touchdown pass to Eric Zokouri.
Springbrook didn’t go down quietly. Cadet threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Deson Flood late in the third quarter and was threatening to score in the fourth. But with the Blue Devils driving, Xu made another impressive play in the air by deflecting the football to Carter, who pulled down the interception.
Colby threw an interception, but the Blazers got the ball right back when Green picked off a pass on the Blair 1-yard line.
On the ensuing possession, Colby threw again to Green, who ran 99 yards for a touchdown, breaking a school record and clinching the victory.
“It’s my last homecoming,” Green said. “We had to come out here and dominate. We couldn’t lose on our homecoming.”
The win gets Blair one step closer to returning to the playoffs after making its first appearance a year ago.
“This was a must-win. If we wanted to go to playoffs, this was a must-win,” Xu said.
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