Published on: Thursday, October 11, 2012

By Daryl Buchanan

BETHESDA- The Bethesda-Chevy Chase Barons celebrated their homecoming Friday night in fine fashion, dispatching the Paint Branch Panthers 27-21 in a classic upset.

Paint Branch was coming into Guckeyson Memorial Stadium after losing a stunner against Springbrook a week ago, while B-CC was riding high on a win over Whitman.

Paint Branch started the action off and struck first when quarterback Gaston Cooper found receiver Javonn Curry over the middle. Curry would turn the pass into an 86-yard touchdown reception. Following a successful PAT the Panthers were up by seven early.

Later in the first the Barons special teams came up big when they blocked a Paint Branch punt. The Barons recovered and found themselves on the Paint Branch six-yard line. They were in prime position to score and that’s just what they did. Cory Applequist pounded his way up the middle for a six yard touchdown. The extra point was successful and the game was all tied up.

Paint Branch appeared to be in position to score before the end of the first quarter, but numerous penalties hampered their efforts. The penalties came back to haunt the Panthers and dead coach Mike Nesmith said it has been an ongoing issue for his team this year.

In the second quarter Paint Branch came out very strong scoring their own running touchdown and extra point to raise their lead by seven. Back and forth action continued into the second. B-CC quarterback David Hogan led his team valiantly on the night. Hogan threw a 50-yard strike to Jake Shapiro over the middle. The pass put the Barons in position to score in the final moments of the second.

A few plays later Marquel Lee ran a touchdown for a quick score before the half, the Barons field goal was blocked. The score at the half was Paint Branch 14 B-CC 13.

B-CC came out in the third hot as fire. Jack Sieber carried the ball for 22 yards up the sideline for the Barons third rushing touchdown of the night. B-CC gambled and won on a two-point conversion when Sieber ran past the Panther defense. The score was now 21-14 in favor of BCC.

Paint Branch responded quickly when Javonn Curry got behind the Barons defense. Curry was wide open and Cooper made an easy pass for six points. The field was successful and the game was again knotted at 21 all.

The fourth quarter belonged to B-CC. The Barons stuck to a strong running game throughout the night and it paid dividends. B-CC put together an extremely long grinding drive down field. It culminated in another touchdown for Sieber. The field goal was blocked and B-CC was up by 6 points, 27 to 21.

“We saw that they made a commitment to stop our outside running plays so we focused our attack up the middle and it worked very well for us. We ran the ball a lot tonight and the offense did a heck of a job,” said B-CC head coach Richard Nolan.

The Barons left the Panthers a handful of minutes to mount a miracle comeback. B-CC did manage a big stop early, but were later forced to punt with a little over two minutes left. Paint Branch showed heart and marched down much of the field and got into Barons territory.

The clock ticked down with seconds left. They needed a touchdown to tie; an extra point would give them the lead. The Barons defense stepped up when Nana Amankwah-Ayeh made a huge sack they left 8.7 seconds left. The sack left the Paint Branch in a fourth and 15 situation that ended with an incomplete pass to the corner of the end zone. BCC ended the game on a kneel down and won their homecoming battle.

“This has been a tale of the season. We beat ourselves. Self-inflicted errors, penalties, the blocked punt, giving up big plays. They all hurt us bad tonight. It’s a disappointing loss. It’s the tale of our season unfortunately,” said Nesmith.