Southern Rams

4 SOUTHERN RAMS, FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2019

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to playoffs led by its stingy defense Rams finished with five shut outs

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CUMBERLAND TIMES-NEWS

The 2018 Southern Rams returned to the Maryland 1A state playoffs as the No. 4 seed in the West Region and finished the year with a record of 8-3.

The Rams averaged 30 points a game during the season, but were led by their defense, which gave up an average of 13 per game after surrendering just 8.6 per game during the regular season. Southern had five shutouts — Smithsburg and Moorefield backto-back to open the season, and Clear Spring, Allegany and Northern consecutively in the second half of the year.

Three Rams were named to the first team Times-News All-Area squad, as Joe Custer was a repeat selection on the offensive line. Cole Sweitzer, Southern’s leading tackler, was selected at defensive line and Jace Guy at linebacker.

Southern 35, Smithsburg 0

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OAKLAND — Nate Tasker ran for 131 yards and Hayden McLaughlin passed for 100, as Southern cruised to a win in a weather-shortened game against Smithsburg.

After a scoreless first quarter, Tasker put the Rams on the board with a 21-yard run 57 seconds into the second period.

Just under three minutes later, McLaughlin connected with Brandon Lucas on a 47-yard touchdown pass.

Parker Meyer’s point-after kick put the Rams ahead 13-0.

Jace Guy gave Southern a 21-0 lead going into the halftime break when he scored on an 8-yard run, then ran it in on the two-point conversion at the 2:21 mark.

Tasker scored his second touchdown of the night 14 seconds into the second half on a 49-yard scamper.

Luke Adams added a 9-yard touchdown run at the 7:50 mark.

Meyer kicked the extra point on both third-quarter touchdowns.

The game was halted at the 3:18 mark in the third quarter, giving the Rams a 35-0 win to start the season.

Tasker carried the ball just five times, averaging 26.2 yards per carry.

McLaughlin went 7 for 8 through the air.

Southern 42, Moorefield 0 MOOREFIELD, W.Va. — Hayden McLaughlin rushed for three touchdowns, Nate Tasker added a pair of rushing scores and the Southern defense limited Moorefield to 127 yards in a win.

The quarterback McLaughlin led the Rams’ rushing attack with 103 yards on 11 carries while scoring Southern’s final three touchdowns on runs of 7 and 22 yards in the third quarter and 32 yards in the fourth.

Tasker scored twice in the first quarter on a 42-yard scamper and a 1-yard plunge. He finished one yard shy of 100 on 15 carries.

Jace Guy scored the Rams’ other touchdown on a 15-yard run on their opening drive in the second half.

Parker Meyer converted on all six of his extra points.

Catoctin 28, Southern 27 OAKLAND — Passing game won over ground game at Southern, where Catoctin handed the Rams their first loss in a fight to the finish.

Christian Michael threw four touchdown passes, the final one giving the Cougars the lead for good with 6:35 left, and Catoctin overcame an early 13-point deficit for a 28-27 victory.

Catoctin produced little on the ground and Southern produced nothing through the air. The Cougars finished with 267 yards passing and the Rams 261 yards rushing. Catoctin managed just 59 yards on 30 rushes. Southern was 0-for-2 passing.

Nate Tasker led all rushers with 22 carries for 130 yards, and scored the first points of the game on a three-yard run with 10:26 left in the first quarter.

Parker Meyer’s kick made it 7-0.

Jace Guy charged in from 12 yards out in the final minute of the quarter, giving the Rams a 13-0 lead after one.

Michael, who completed 12 of 17 passes, rallied the Cougars in the second, with a 45-yard pass to Mason Park midway through the period and a seven-yard pass to Park 18 seconds before halftime. Both kicks were good, and Catoctin led 14-13 at the half.

Tasker put Southern ahead again with a four-yard run midway through the third quarter, and ran for the conversion to give the Rams a 21-14 advantage. Michael answered again, this time hitting Hunter Grimes for a 24-yard touchdown pass. The kick by Fields tied it, 21-21, with 4:30 left in the period.

Guy gave the Rams a final lead with a three-yard run with 9:35 to go in the fourth. A run for the conversion failed, leaving the Rams clinging to a 27-21 lead.

The Rams had the Cougars pinned

SEE 2018 — 14

SOUTHERN RAMS, FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2019 5

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Defensive coordinator Chris Groves makes a point during practice Wednesday in Oakland.

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SOUTHERN RAMS, FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2019 7

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Quarterback Zack Rohrbaugh will be in charge of the Rams’ offense for this season.

Southern: Rohrbaugh is the starting QB CONTINUED FROM 6 in scoring (17 touchdowns, 104 points), rushing (772 yards) and all-purpose yards (1,258).

“He’s a very intelligent young man.

More than likely he’ll be the salutatorian or valedictorian of the ROHRBAUGH senior class,” Nazelrod said of Rohrbaugh.

“He aspires to go to the Naval Academy. He’s a great student, great kid with great leadership qualities. He’s one of those kids you hope your son emulates.”

At fullback will be Declan McCann (5-11, 165, Sr.), Cole Baker (5-11, 175, Sr.), or Luke Adams (6-0, 165, Sr.), with Jacob Nazelrod (5-9, 150, Sr.), Pattison and Baker at halfback.

Jacob Richter (5-11, MCCANN 165, Jr.) is also in the mix at the backfield positions.

“Jacob Nazelrod is one of the fastest

kids in the backfield, McCann is a toughnosed runner at fullback and shows good quickness as well,” Nazelrod said. “Jeremiah Pattison is a heck of an athlete.”

The top returning rusher is Nazelrod, NAZELROD who ran 19 times for 129 yards and 6.8 yards per carry.

Versatility may be one of the key words in describing the pieces on the offensive side of the ball.

“All of our running backs can play either fullback, halfback, wing or slot,” said coach Nazelrod. “We have a good healthy rotation there. And our linemen are rotating within their positions, too.”

Last year’s team averaged 30 points per game. Nazelrod feels the team can expect the production to continue.

“I believe it can continue ... we just need to stay healthy. I really believe that all the parts are there. As long as we stay healthy, we’ll get good production.”

The defense was pretty stout a year

SEE SOUTHERN — 11

8 SOUTHERN RAMS, FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2019

Head coach Jon Nazelrod Season: 7th Jon Nazelrod returned to become the head coach at his alma mater seven seasons ago and has helped restore the Rams football fortunes, as the team enters the 2019 season with back-toback 8-2 regular seasons and seeking a third straight playoff appearance.

Nazelrod, a 1990 Southern High graduate, was an All-Area lineman and linebacker while playing for Tom Woods, a member of the Maryland Football Coaches Hall of Fame.

Nazelrod was Southern’s Most Valuable Player as a senior in 1989, playing middle linebacker and offensive guard.

His coaching career began in 2007 under Barry Lattimer at Fort Hill, where he coached the offensive and defensive lines on the freshman and junior varsity teams. He was a varsity assistant coach at Southern from 2008 to 2012, coaching the linebackers, offensive linemen and tight ends.

In addition to head coaching duties,

Nazelrod will again be the Rams’ offensive coordinator.

14 SOUTHERN RAMS, FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2019

2018: Southern rides four-game win streak into the playoffs for the second-straight year CONTINUED FROM 4 at their own 10 later in the quarter.

Michael dropped a shotgun snap, managed to scoop it up and then found Fields for a 45-yard gain. That thirddown conversion came on a scoring drive that was capped by Michael’s fourth TD pass, again to Fields, covering 31 yards. Fields booted the conversion for a 28-27 lead with 6:35 on the clock.

The Rams, who had three drives stall in Catoctin territory in the second quarter because of holding penalties, had two more chances but came up empty. The last one came with 1:53 left after a fumble recovery, but Catoctin escaped further damage with an interception, which helped seal the win.

Southern 35, Pendleton 21 FRANKLIN, W.Va. — Hayden McLaughlin ran for three touchdowns and passed for two as he led Southern to a come-from-behind victory at Pendleton County.

The Rams (4-1) overcame a 14-0 deficit after halftime and entered the fourth quarter trailing 21-19 before McLaughlin hit Brandon Lucas with a 31-yard touchdown pass to go ahead 25-21 with 4:46 to play in the game. Jace Guy ran in the two-point conversion for a 27-21 lead.

Guy then thwarted the Wildcats’ own comeback with an interception that he returned to Pendleton’s four. McLaughlin sealed the victory with a one-yard run and the two-point conversion with 2:22 remaining.

The Wildcats outgained the Rams by eight yards, 257-249. Southern ran for 214 yards on 53 attempts while Pendleton was limited to 69 yards on 19 rushes. Puffenberger completed 10 of 28 for 188 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. The Rams’ McLaughlin attempted six passes, had one intercepted and completed two — both for touchdowns — for 44 yards.

Southern 47, East Hardy 7 BAKER, W.Va. — Quarterback Hayden McLaughlin scored two touchdowns to get the Southern Rams on their way to a win over East Hardy.

McLaughlin scored the first two touchdowns of the game, the first from 44 yards and the second one from 47 yards, with both coming in the first quarter. Parker Meyer kicked both extra points to start a day in which he would kick six altogether, as well as a 23-yard field goal.

After a Brandon Lucas interception, Nate Tasker scored the next Rams touchdown from 37 yards out. Lucas then came up with his second interception, returning the second one for a touchdown.

After the Rams recovered a muffed punt, they tacked on three more with 10 seconds left in the half on Meyer’s field goal to make it 31-0 at the half.

In the third quarter, Jace Guy scored from 33 yards out with 9:22 left, before the Cougars got on the board at 1:29 when Austin Alt took the option 80

yards for the touchdown.

Southern started the fourth quarter with a safety, and then scored for the final time at 1:46 of the fourth when Jacob Nazelrod went in from 20 yards out.

Fort Hill 16, Southern 9 OAKLAND — Blake Beal scored on a 10-yard run to snap a tie game late in the fourth quarter, and Danny King booted three field goals, including a school-record 54-yarder, to help Fort Hill pull out a victory at Southern.

Beal’s run, which capped an 80-yard, six-minute drive, came with only 21 seconds remaining and enabled the Sentinels to escape the upset-minded Rams and remain undefeated.

The win was also the 123rd for head coach Todd Appel (123-14 record), breaking a tie with Mike Calhoun (12231) for second place in career victories at Fort Hill. Charlie Lattimer (157-40-4) is No. 1.

Southern (4-2) took advantage of the second of two Fort Hill fumbles, and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty tacked on 15 more yards, giving the Rams the ball at the Fort Hill 11.

Three plays later, Hayden McLaughlin found Brekale Washington in the end zone on a 7-yard touchdown pass, tying the game 6-6 with 4:48 left in the third period. The extra-point kick was wide.

The Sentinels, who lost two fumbles and were penalized 11 times for 111 yards, scored on their final two possessions. The first ended with another King field goal after a 63-yard, 10-play drive stalled at the Southern 7-yard line.

Parker Meyer kicked a 32-yard field goal, knotting the game 9-9 with 6:25 left.

That’s when Fort Hill, after a touchback on the ensuing kickoff, took over at the 20, and ate 6:04 of the final 6:25, scoring on Beal’s 10-yarder with 21 seconds to go.

McLaughlin led the Rams, completing 8 of 15 passes for 126 yards. He was 6 for 11 for 114 yards in the fourth quarter.

Southern 35, Tucker Co. 14 HAMBLETON, W.Va. — Hayden McLaughlin reached the end zone four times, leading Southern past previously undefeated Tucker County.

McLaughlin rushed seven times for 135 yards, with all of his scores coming on the ground. He opened the scoring less than one minute into the game on a 70-yard scamper. Parker Meyer converted the point-after try and went on to make all five of his extra-point attempts on the night.

McLaughlin reached the end zone on a 23-yard run in the opening two minutes of the second quarter to put the Rams ahead 14-7.

The senior quarterback reached the end zone on third-quarter runs of 5 and 30 yards.

Jake Nazelrod had the Rams’ final score, a 34-yard run with 8:11 to play.

Southern outgained Tucker County, 467-202, including 416-47 on the ground.

Jace Guy finished as the Rams’ lead-

ing rusher with 17 carries for 143 yards.

Nate Tasker recorded 71 yards on 12 rushing attempts. Guy also forced and recovered a fumble and also tallied a sack defensively. Cole Baker and Jordan Rohrbaugh each had an interception.

Southern 39, Clear Spring 0 CLEAR SPRING — Hayden McLaughlin was involved in four of Southern’s touchdowns, as the Rams ran through Clear Spring.

McLaughlin had touchdown runs of 8, 11 and 3 yards, and also threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Brekale Washington.

Southern 28, Allegany 0 OAKLAND — The Southern Rams smothered Allegany from both sides of the line of scrimmage, keeping the Campers’ offense out of their end of the field until very late in the game as the Rams further enhanced their return to the Maryland 1A playoffs with a win at Rams Stadium.

Dustin Green scored a pair of touchdowns as Southern scored 22 second-quarter points to essentially put the game away in winning their third straight game and improving to 7-2. The Campers fall to 4-4 and have lost three of their last four.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Rams faced a third-and-eight at the Allegany 11 after a 45-yard gain, and after a gain of four on third down, Green burst into the end zone for the seven-yard touchdown run at 11:11 of the second quarter to cap the six-play, 63-yard scoring drive. The kick for conversion failed.

The Campers fumbled the ensuing the kickoff, and Southern recovered to take over at the Camper 29. First downs by Brandon Lucas and Hayden McLaughlin and two personal fouls on Alco later, Green went over the left side for the touchdown from two yards out with 6:22 left in the half, with the two-point conversion making it 14-0.

Southern then held the Campers to a three-and-out and got the ball back on its 47 before putting together a twoplay, 53-yard scoring drive, with Jace Guy accounting for all of them on a second-down play. After being hit in the backfield, Guy broke tackles and hit the sideline and raced to the end zone at 3:11 of the half, with the run for two points putting the eventual halftime score at 22-0, Southern.

The Rams went right back to work to start the second half with first-down gains by Green for 15, Nathan Tasker for 10 and Guy for seven. After a series of penalties on the Rams, however, they punted, with McLaughlin pinning the Campers down to their own five.

The Rams then held and took possession at the Allegany 36, but the teams would continue to exchange possessions through the fourth quarter.

After Southern held Allegany to a fourand-out into the fourth quarter, the Rams took over at the Camper 32 and needed just one play, as Tasker burst through the secondary at 10:55 for the 32-yard

touchdown run to put the eventual final score at 28-0.

Southern 20, Northern 0 OAKLAND — Dustin Green scored in the first half and Hayden McLaughlin and Brekale Washington helped Southern pull away with touchdowns in the second as Southern blanked Northern earning a spot in the Class 1A West Region playoffs on a rainy night at Southern.

Green had the only score of the first half, a six-yard run that came in the final minute of the first quarter. The conversion failed.

Southern (8-2), denied twice inside the Northern 10 in the first half, led by that touchdown until McLaughlin dashed 24 yards for a score with 6:36 left in third. Jace Guy ran for the twopoint conversion to give the Rams a more comfortable 14-0 cushion.

Brekale Washington provided the clincher, picking off a pass at the Northern 15 and returning it for a touchdown that made it 20-0 with 4:55 left in the fourth period.

McLaughlin, the Southern quarterback, led all rushers with 17 carries and 110 yards. Guy gave the Rams a pair of 100-yard rushers, running 20 times for 107 yards.

Southern led in rushing yards, 240 to 42, and in total offense 254-117.

Guy and Jordan Rohrbaugh led the Southern defense with seven solo tackles.

Fort Hill 59, Southern 8 CUMBERLAND — Bang!

That’s how the Class 1A West Region playoffs opened Friday night at Greenway Avenue Stadium, and it was defending champion Fort Hill making all the noise.

Braeden Askins scored twice in the first five minutes and had three on the night, Colten Crabtree scored on an interception return, Davian Little scored on a punt return and Wyatt Brehm had four sacks as the Sentinels rolled over fourth-seeded Southern.

Carson Snyder scored twice, Tyreke Powell once and Danny King kicked a field goal for Fort Hill (10-0).

In the rematch of a regular-season game a month ago in Oakland that Fort Hill won 16-9 with a touchdown with 21 seconds to go, the Rams were ambushed from the start by the Sentinels defense, which forced three turnovers.

“I’m proud of the kids as far as their work ethic. They worked very, very hard this week. I think sometimes you see students that are ready to go into the next sport. That did not happen this time. These kids were totally committed to seeing football all the way through. I’m very proud about that, and I’m very proud of the season we had.”

Hayden McLaughlin had the big play of the night for Southern, speeding 66 yards for a touchdown with just over five minutes left. Jace Guy ran for the conversion.

SOUTHERN RAMS, FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2019 15

Southern High School LOCATION

— 345 Oakland Drive, Oakland, Md.

BUILT

— 1953

MASCOT

— Ram

PRINCIPAL

— Nicole Miller

ENROLLMENT

— 680