When the Winchester Golden Falcons came to Mark Childs Field on Friday, Oct. 4, it renewed a decades-old rivalry between the schools and reunited the two longest-serving head coaches in the Tri-Eastern Conference. The two programs have combined to win 39 conference titles in the TEC over the years. Scott Snodgrass, in his 14th year as the head coach at Hagerstown, and Mike Jones, in his 13th year as the head coach at Winchester, have developed a mutual respect and friendship. Both programs have been hard hit with injuries this season, but both show up on game night and go to battle with the players they have. In the waning seconds of the game Winchester was clinging to a 28-21 lead. The Tigers were marching toward the end zone. With 45 seconds remaining the Tigers were on the 17 yard line with a first and 10. The Falcon defense successfully defended four pass attempts to the end zone to hang on for the victory.
The Falcons held a 7-0 lead after the first quarter after Cam Baldwin connected on an 85-yard touchdown pass with Carter Campbell and Aubrey Weigand kicked the PAT at the 8:14 mark.
The Tigers tied the game on a 6-yard TD pass from Kaagen Kendall to Roy Thornbury with 6:58 remaining in the second quarter, and Aiden Grover added the PAT. The Falcons retook the lead less than two minutes later when Baldwin threw a 22-yard TD pass to Brandon Jones and Weigand added the PAT. The Falcons added to their lead with 10 seconds remaining in the first half on a Campbell rushing TD from 10 yards out.
The Tigers closed the gap in the third quarter when Kendall threw another TD pass to Thornbury with 6:22 remaining in the period, but the Falcons’ Colten Ruth blocked a Tiger punt from the end zone and fell on it for a touchdown with 40 seconds left to give the Falcons a 28-14 lead entering the final period. The Tiger defense kept the Falcons from scoring in the final period and Kendall scored on an 11-yard run, but time ran out before they could score again.
Campbell rushed for 27 yards for the Falcons and caught four passes for 100 yards. Baldwin was 10-22 passing including two TD passes. Kendall was 11-32 passing for the Tigers including two TDs and rushed for a TD. Grover was the leading rusher with 61 yards. Zach Gollliher and Isaac Schmitz each had nine tackles to lead the Tigers. Fletcher Callahan, Grover and Cale Schmitz each had eight. Ben Hokey had two interceptions.
Tiger head coach Scott Snodgrass said he was proud of his team. “Injuries can be a part of life in small enrollment schools and both of these programs have been hard hit,” Snodgrass said. “We are playing kids we did not expect to play when the season started and they are working hard and getting better. I am proud of them.”
Winchester (2-5, 2-4 TEC) 7 14 7 0 28
Hagerstown (3-4, 3-3 TEC) 0 7 7 7 21
A version of this article appeared in the October 9 2024 print edition of the Western Wayne News.