The Washington Post - USA (2021-11-23)

D4 EZ M2 THE WASHINGTON POST.TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23 , 2021

because of covid,” Coach DaLawn Parrish said. Consistency has played a part in the Pumas’ resurgence, but the recent play of Buffalo commit Nik McMillan and Maryland- bound Jayden Sauray is what makes Wise the favorite to win its sixth state championship. Against Blair, Sauray account- ed for six touchdowns — three of which came on passes to Mc- Millan, a wide receiver who has fit in just fine after transferring in the summer. “Jayden trusts me enough to know that in a one-on-one situa- tion, nine times out of 10 I’m beating my man,” McMillan said. With C.H. Flowers knocking off Broadneck, 43-36, in overtime Saturday, the scene is set for a rematch of their Oct. 9 game. The Pumas won that matchup, 20-19, on a failed two-point conversion

by Flowers. “The key to our success is just winning on all [sides] of the ball,” McMillan said. “When the of- fense, defense and special teams are all hitting, can’t no team in Maryland play with us.” — Tramel Raggs

Centreville doubles up High school football coaches like to say it’s hard to beat the same team twice. But there aren’t many adages that describe how difficult it is to beat the same team twice when that opponent is your biggest rival and a spot in a region final is on the line. That was the challenge Centre- ville faced this weekend as it took on Westfield in a Virginia Class 6 Region D semifinal. The Wildcats beat their neighboring foe, 20-0, in the regular season finale. But a program such as Westfield is

bound to make adjustments, which is why the Wildcats had beaten it twice in the same season just once before — in 2013, when Centreville went undefeated and won the state title. “We can’t avoid the rivalry stuff and the things people like to talk about,” Centreville Coach Jon Shields said. “But when we were preparing for this game, the focus is on how we can get better and how we’re going to handle the adversity that is sure to come.” Friday’s game started with the teams trading scores, and it was tied at 14 by halftime, a sign that this meeting might not go like the previous one. But Shields said his team showed no panic at halftime, and he tried to mimic that calm. “There was no screaming and yelling,” Shields said. “It was just

a lot of talk about staying focused and making adjustments.” The Wildcats pulled away in the second half for a 28-14 victory. Junior running back Isaiah Ragland, a workhorse all season, finished with three touchdowns. Centreville will face Madison, arguably the strongest Class 6 team in Northern Virginia, in the region final. “You always want to practice on Thanksgiving to play that weekend,” Shields said. “For us to get here shows the improvement of the team and the program.... All you can ask for is the opportu- nity to play games like this.” — Michael Errigo

WCAC superlatives A normal fall season is in the books for the Washington Catho- lic Athletic Conference, so ahead of next month’s All-Met selec-

tions, here are a few awards: Best comeback: Good Counsel wins this one with a one-week turnaround. The Falcons were thoroughly dominated, 28-0, by DeMatha at home Nov. 5, then edged the Stags, 17-15, in the WCAC semifinals a week later. Best upset: For its third straight championship in the Metro division, St. Mary’s Ryken stunned previously unbeaten Archbishop Carroll, 24-12, two weeks after losing to the Lions at home. Best play: St. John’s running back Jamar Curtis’s 74-yard run against Good Counsel on Oct. 30, for the sheer speed of it. When the Cadets took the field at their 26-yard line, the game clock showed 6:00. When Curtis crossed the goal line, the clock read 5:50. Including a shotgun snap and a handoff, Curtis trav- eled 79 yards from north to south, in pads, against a defense, in 10 seconds. Best game: By now, it seems to be a contractual agreement that St. John’s and Gonzaga must play a close game in the regular season finale. Even this year, with St. John’s entering at 8-0 and Gonzaga at 5-4, the rivals played a 20-17 slugfest that Gon- zaga led at halftime. The Cadets escaped with a win after salting away the last 8:38 on one offensive drive. — Jake Lourim

FROM STAFF REPORTS

When Chesapeake Coach Rob
Elliott began watching Victor
Listorti in a local youth program
about a decade ago, Listorti was
short and skinny. But Elliott saw
potential in him because of his
aggressiveness and determina-
tion.
In high school, when Listorti
grew to 5-foot-11 and 192 pounds,
he possessed the size and atti-
tude to become a star running
back. This season, the senior has
rushed for 1,866 yards and 26
touchdowns to lead Chesapeake
to its second Maryland 3A semifi-
nal appearance.
“His strength and his speed
have really increased as he’s
come through high school,” said
Elliott, whose team beat Athol-
ton, 27-0, in the quarterfinals.
“So he’s really a kid that’s really
developed each year. It’s been
dramatic improvement over top
of dramatic improvement.”
Elliott expected Listorti to
break the Anne Arundel County
program’s single-season rushing
record, which Listorti accom-
plished when he elapsed 1,500
yards this month. But Elliott
wondered if his squad’s young
offensive line could help Listorti
reach his potential.
After growing pains in a 2-2
start, the Cougars (10-2) have
won their past eight games by an
average of 29.3 points. Chesa-
peake reached the semifinals for
the first time in 2018, when it fell
to Linganore by 39 points.
“We were happy to be there,”
said Elliott, whose squad will
visit Northern on Friday night.
“It made it not seem like such a
far-fetched goal. Now it’s trying
to get that step: Can we get one
more game than we did in ’18?”
— Kyle Melnick

Wise is leaving no doubt

After dominating Prince
George’s County — and the state
of Maryland — in recent years,
Wise appeared vulnerable this
season, needing narrow escapes
against C.H. Flowers and Eleanor
Roosevelt.
But if the postseason reveals a
team’s true quality, the 4A play-
offs have shown Wise is still the
cream of the crop. In three play-
off games, the Pumas (11-0) have
outscored opponents 178-17, in-
cluding a 62-2 win over Blair in
the quarterfinals Friday.
“I think that the biggest differ-
ence for us is that we’ve gotten to
consistently play games during
the playoffs — unlike the regular
season, when we would miss a
game here or miss a game there

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

Tailback

bulked up,

now carries

Chesapeake

THE POST TOP 20

The St. John’s Cadets are not going anywhere. They have spent much of this fall atop these rankings and completed a perfect season Sunday night in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship game. The weekend’s biggest upset came in the W CAC Metro division, where Archbishop Carroll, previously undefeated and looking to win the program’s first title in recent memory, was upset by St. Mary’s Ryken.

Battlefield (12-0) LR: 12
The Bobcats stayed perfect with a 48-13 win over Osbourn in the
Virginia Class 6 Region B semifinals.
Next: Saturday vs. Freedom-Woodbridge, 1 p.m.

Northwest (11-1) LR: 13
The Jaguars held off a late surge from No. 20 Paint Branch and
punched their ticket to the Maryland 4A semifinals.
Next: Friday at No. 4 Quince Orchard, 7 p.m.

Broad Run (11-1) LR: 14
The Spartans beat Loudoun County to move on to the Virginia Class 4
Region C final against Tuscarora.
Next: Friday vs. No. 16 Tuscarora, 1 p.m.

Archbishop Carroll (11-1) LR: 5
The Lions fell to St. Mary’s Ryken in the WCAC Metro title game.
Next: Saturday vs. Dunbar, 1 p.m.

Theodore Roosevelt (10-1) LR: 16
The Rough Riders will play for a city championship Thursday.
Next: Thursday vs. H.D. Woodson, 11 a.m.

Tuscarora (10-2) LR: NR
After holding off Heritage, the Huskies are set to face No. 13 Broad
Run in the Virginia Class 4 Region C final.
Next: Friday at No. 13 Broad Run, 1 p.m.

South County (10-2) LR: NR
The Stallions earned a statement win at Robinson, toppling the
top-seeded Rams in the Virginia Class 6 Region C semifinals.
Next: Saturday vs. West Potomac, 1 p.m.

Douglass (11-1) LR: 19
The Eagles went on the road and beat Kent Island, 20-14, to move on
to the Maryland state semifinals.
Next: Friday vs. Oakland Mills, 7 p.m.

Huntingtown (10-1) LR: 20
The Hurricanes used a strong second half to move past Stephen
Decatur, 28-14, in the Maryland state quarterfinals.
Next: Friday vs. Milford Mill, 7 p.m.

Paint Branch (9-2) LR: 15
The Panthers couldn’t keep up with No. 12 Northwest in the Maryland
4A quarterfinals.
Next: Season complete.

Dropped out: No. 17 Broadneck, No. 18 Robinson On the bubble: Georgetown Prep, Northern, Centreville

St. John’s (11-0) Last ranked: 1
The Cadets scored 30 first-half points and then held on for a WCAC
championship victory over No. 8 Good Counsel.

Stone Bridge (12-0) LR: 2
The Bulldogs kept a perfect season alive with a 58-3 pounding of
Riverbend in the Virginia Class 5 Region D semifinals.
Next: Friday vs. Mountain View, 1 p.m.

Wise (11-0) LR: 3
The Pumas topped 60 points for the second time this postseason in a
62-2 rout of Blair.
Next: Saturday vs. No. 10 C.H. Flowers, 1 p.m.

Quince Orchard (12-0) LR: 4
The Cougars set up a state semifinal meeting with Northwest by
running past Old Mill, 41-6, in the Maryland 4A quarterfinals.
Next: Friday vs. No. 12 Northwest, 7 p.m.

Madison (11-1) LR: 8
The Warhawks set up a meeting with Centreville in the region final by
dispatching South Lakes, 48-0.
Next: Saturday vs. Centreville, 1 p.m.

Rock Creek Christian (7-1) LR: 7
After losing their season opener, the Eagles put together seven
victories.

Archbishop Spalding (10-1) LR: 9
The Cavaliers saw their title hopes end in the first round of the
Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association playoffs.

Good Counsel (7-5) LR: 6
The Falcons couldn’t slow red-hot St. John’s in the WCAC
championship game.

DeMatha (7-3) LR: 10
The Stags fell to Good Counsel in the WCAC semifinals.

C.H. Flowers (10-1) LR: 11
The Jaguars protected their home field in the Maryland 4A
quarterfinals by beating Broadneck in overtime.
Next: Saturday at No. 3 Wise, 1 p.m.

Players of the week WR/CB Nik McMillan, Wise. The senior did a bit of everything in the Pumas’ 62-2 win over Blair: He had 186 receiving yards and three touchdowns and also added an interception.

WR Braden Boggs, Battlefield. The sophomore helped keep the Bobcats’ perfect season alive with 193 receiving yards and three touchdowns in a 48-13 rout of Osbourn.

LB/FB Hunter Green, Arundel. The senior set up the winning score in his team’s 29-21 victory over Seneca Valley. He blocked a punt in the third quarter that the Wildcats recovered for a touchdown before he ran in the two-point conversion.

WR DJ Linkins, St. John’s. The senior was the star of the Cadets’ electrifying passing attack in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship game, posting four catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns in a 30-14 victory over Good Counsel.

Games to watch Northwest at Quince Orchard, 7 p.m. Friday

Freedom (Woodbridge) at Battlefield, 1 p.m. Saturday

C.H. Flowers at Wise, 1 p.m. Saturday

Maret vs. Bell, 4 p.m. Saturday at Georgetown University

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Former Raiders wide receiver
Henry Ruggs III received a stern
talking-to from a Las Vegas judge
Monday but was allowed to re-
main on house arrest with a con-
tinuous alcohol monitor on one
ankle and a GPS monitor on the
other following a fatal crash he’s
accused of causing by driving
drunk.
Justice of the Peace Suzan Bau-
cum told Ruggs and his lawyers
she was “comfortable with a high-
er level of monitoring” after a
hearing about a delay in Ruggs
providing a remote breath-alcohol
test with a handheld device
Nov. 13.
“But if there are any misses, if
there are any problems, if there is
any alcohol detected in your sys-
tem, you need to know that’s going
to be problematic for this court
going forward,” she said.
Attorneys David Chesnoff and
Richard Schonfeld said their cli-
ent took a test anyway “out of an
abundance of caution” N ov. 13 and
met a three-hour requirement by
submitting the negative test.
“Henry still did the right thing
by testing within the window,”
Chesnoff said, standing with
R uggs before the judge. “He
should not be punished because
his case attracts so much atten-
tion.”
Since his Nov. 3 release from jail
on $150,000 bail, Ruggs has
passed more than 77 breath-alco-
hol tests, his lawyer told the judge.
Ruggs’s lawyers also submitted
testimonials from two people who
said they were with Ruggs when
he missed the call Nov. 13 and
didn’t hear a signal from the moni-
tor.
Las Vegas police still have
R uggs’s cellphone, Chesnoff said,

and he has now provided a new phone number to the monitoring system. The handheld device emitted a signal while Ruggs stood before the judge, requiring Ruggs to sub- mit a breath test after his court hearing. Police and prosecutors say R uggs, 22, and his girlfriend, Kiara Je’nai Kilgo-Washington, were injured in the predawn Nov. 2 crash, when Ruggs’s Chevrolet Corvette slammed into the rear of a Toyota Rav4 that caught fire. Tina Tintor, 23, died in the Toyota. Chesnoff didn’t specify Ruggs’s injuries, but he told the judge that a leg cast that initially prevented the use of the ankle monitor had been removed. Prosecutors say Ruggs’s blood alcohol level was 0.16 percent — twice the legal limit for drivers in Nevada — and his vehicle hit speeds of 156 mph before the crash. Ruggs is due for a Dec. 16 evi- dence hearing on two felony driving under the influence charges that each carry mandatory prison time of two to 20 years if he’s convicted, plus felony reckless driving and a misdemeanor weap- on charge. Police say they found a loaded handgun in his wrecked sports car. The Raiders released Ruggs just hours after the crash. The team made Ruggs its first pick in the 2020 NFL draft, from Alabama, and he had been an emerging star for the Raiders this season. l BRONCOS: Denver and wide receiver Courtland Sutton agreed to a four-year contract extension worth more than $60 million with $35 million guaranteed, a deal first reported by the NFL Network. Sutton’s extension came two

days after wide receiver Tim Pat- rick signed a three-year extension worth $30 million with $18.5 million in guarantees. Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson or any other veteran quarterback who might have his eyes on Den- ver in the offseason will see that the Broncos have their top four wide receivers — Patrick, Sutton, 2020 first-rounder Jerry Jeudy and 2020 second-rounder KJ Hamler — under contract for sev- eral more seasons. Sutton, Denver’s second-round draft pick in 2018 out of SMU, has 43 catches for 617 yards and two touchdowns in his return this season from a torn ACL that sidelined him for almost all of 2020. l SEAHAWKS: Seattle lost rookie starting cornerback Tre Brown to an injured patellar ten- don in his left knee in Sunday’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Coach Pete Carroll said Brown is expected to need surgery. It’s a big blow as Brown had played well since coming off injured reserve and provided stabili- ty to a position that was in flux. Brown and D.J. Reed appeared to be a solid duo for Seattle to build around moving forward. The Seahawks face the Wash- ington Football Team on Monday night. l CHARGERS: Defensive tack- le Linval Joseph entered the league’s covid-19 protocols following a positive test. He is the fifth Los Angeles defensive player over the past two weeks who has either tested positive or had to go on the c ovid-19 reserve list as a close contact. Joseph missed Sunday night’s win over Pittsburgh because of a shoulder injury and will be out for this week’s game at Denver because he is unvaccinated.

NFL NOTES

Ruggs allowed to stay on house arrest

ASSOCIATED PRESS

A lex Newhook scored the go- ahead goal with 1:33 left, sending the Colorado Avalanche past the Ottawa Senators, 7-5, on Monday night in Denver for i ts fifth straight win. Zach Sanford scored his first career hat trick for Ottawa, but it was not enough as the team played its first game in a week. The Senators had not played since a 4-0 loss to Calgary on Nov. 14, and they were unable to practice for five days because of a coronavirus outbreak. They got back on the ice Saturday after eight players and associate coach Jack Capuano were taken off the NHL covid-19 protocol list. Artem Zub and Josh Norris also scored and Brady Tkachuk had two assists for Ottawa, which was outshot 40-21. Filip Gustavsson made 33 saves. Nazem Kadri had a goal and three assists, Cale Makar had two goals for the second straight game and Mikko Rantanen, Devon Toews and Valeri Nichuskin also scored for Colorado. O ttawa led 5-4 on Sanford’s third goal of the night early in the third, but Rantanen tied it at 9:08 and Newhook’s second of the season put the Avalanche in front. Kadri added an empty-net goal with 12 seconds remaining. l PENGUINS 3, JETS 1: Dan- ton Heinen scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, Tristan Jarry allowed one goal after back-to-back shutouts, and Pittsburgh won in W innipeg. Dominic Toninato scored on

Jarry in the first period, but that was it as Jarry finished with 30 saves after posting shutouts in the first two games of a three-game Canadian trip, at Montreal and Toronto. Jason Zucker and Jake Guent- zel also scored for the Penguins, whose perfect road swing followed a three-game skid. Connor Hellebuyck had 33 saves for Winnipeg, which lost its third straight and fell to 7-2-1 at home. l BLUES 5, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 2: Justin Faulk scored his 100th career goal to cap a quick three-goal outburst by St. Louis in the first period, and the Blues beat visiting Vegas. Ryan O’Reilly, Tyler Bozak, Brandon Saad and Niko Mikkola also scored for the Blues, who entered with two wins in their previous 10 games. Jordan Binnington, who had lost six of his last seven starts, was sharp and made 32 saves. Chandler Stephenson and Reil- ly Smith scored for the Golden Knights, who had won five of six. St. Louis trailed 2-0 before it exploded midway through the first period. O’Reilly scored from a tough angle when his shot hit goalie Robin Lehner’s leg and bounced in at 10:15. It was his first goal in nine games since returning from the covid-19 list. Bozak followed with his first goal of the season about a minute and a half later when he jammed in a deflection from the left faceoff circle. Faulk had fed the puck into the slot for Klim Kostin, who redi- rected it on goal. Lehner made the save, but Bozak put home the re- bound. Then, 33 seconds later, Faulk beat Lehner on a breakaway with a

wrist shot up high, his first goal since the Blues’ second game this season. l PREDATORS 3, DUCKS 2: In Nashville, Yakov Trenin scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period and had an assist, Ryan Johansen added a goal and an assist and the Predators edged Anaheim. Mikael Granlund also scored for the Predators, and Juuse Saros made 33 saves. Nashville stopped a two-game skid and handed Ana- heim i ts second consecutive loss. Rickard Rakell and Jamie Drysdale scored for the Ducks. Trenin fired a wrist shot over the shoulder of goaltender John Gibson as he skated through the slot on a two-on-one rush at 12:10 of the third. l BLUE JACKETS 7, SABRES 4: Jack Roslovic had two goals and an assist to lead v isiting Columbus past B uffalo. Max Domi added a goal and two assists and Joonas Korpisalo made 29 saves t o help give the Blue Jackets their third victory in the last four games. Tage Thompson scored twice for the Sabres and matched his career high for goals with eight in just 1 8 games.

NHL ROUNDUP

Colorado wins its fifth game in a row

AVALANCHE 7, SENATORS 5

CAPITALS’ NEXT THREE

vs. Montreal Canadiens

Tomorrow 7NBCSW Plus

vs. Florida Panthers

Friday5NBCSW

at Carolina Hurricanes

Sunday1NBCSW

Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500 AM)

The Washington Post - USA (2021-11-23)

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