It was a bizarre sequence of events over two days for the Hagerstown football team. The Tigers were scheduled to host Shenandoah in a non-conference game on Friday, Sept. 27. Storm damage from remnants of Hurricane Helene knocked out power shortly before game time. The Shenandoah bus was blocked in by fallen trees and utility poles. Eventually a path was cleared for the Raiders to leave and the game was rescheduled for Saturday afternoon on Sept. 28 at Shenandoah.
The Tiger defense held the Raiders to only five first downs, none in the first half. The Tigers blocked two punts and scored on a safety when Will Combs broke through the line to tackle the quarterback in the end zone. The offense, on the other hand, controlled time of possession and field position but could not score. The Tigers went to halftime clinging to a 2-0 lead.
Little changed in the second half. Twice in the third quarter the defense intercepted Raider pass attempts and couldn’t capitalize. The Raiders finally scored the only touchdown of the game on a fourth and ten 20-yard pass from Jerrett Helman to Max Seaburn. Cash Cowley ran in the two point conversion to give the Raiders an 8-2 lead. Neither team scored in the fourth period.
The Tigers gained 83 yards rushing. Aiden Grover was the Tiger workhorse gaining 54 yards on 21 carries. Cowley led the Raider ground game with 34 yards in six carries. Helman connected on seven of 18 attempts for 82 yards. Tiger QB Kaagen Kendall was 11-28 for 42 yards.
Leyton Berger was the leading tackler for Hagerstown with 12; Isaac Schmitz had 11. Roy Thornbury had two sacks. Ben Hokey had two interceptions.
Hagerstown head coach Scott Snodgrass said it was a tough loss, but it was not from a lack of effort. “This team is improving,” Snodgrass said. “We played several freshmen today because of injuries and they played well. I am proud of our effort. The kids are focusing on getting better and they are putting in the work.”
Shenandoah (4-2) 0 0 8 0 8
Hagerstown (3-3) 0 2 0 0 2
A version of this article appeared in the October 2 2024 print edition of the Western Wayne News.