QO Ends Gaithersburg's Playoff Hopes

There’s an old adage in sports, “offense wins games but defense wins championships.”

Quince Orchard moved a step closer to capturing its second state championship in five years and third overall title with a 35-0 victory Friday over crosstown rival Gaithersburg on “Senior Night” at the Cougar Dome.

Meanwhile, Gaithersburg was likely eliminated from playoff contention after suffering its fifth consecutive loss after a 4-0 start.

“They were 4-4 but they had 8-0 talent and there’s no question about that,” said Quince Orchard head coach Dave Mencarini. “Give them credit, they hung in there, man. They made it tough for the first half.”

Not only did Gaithersburg lose the game but they lost two of their top playmakers in senior wide receiver Billy Brown and sophomore running back Solomon Vault who were both sidelined by injuries.

Vault, Gaithersburg’s leading rusher, was injured on the first play of the third quarter and had to be carried off the field. Vault and Brown were both taken to the hospital according to Gaithersburg head coach Kreg Kephart.

Due to injuries to key players, Gaithersburg (4-5) was forced to turn to junior varsity call-ups for much of the second half.

“You got to go with what you got to go with,” said Kephart. “We knew we didn’t have depth and we played a good team and things didn’t go our way.”

Quince Orchard took a 7-0 lead in the second quarter when linebacker Carlo St. Regis intercepted Gaithersburg quarterback Lincon Reyes and raced 30 yards before diving into the end zone for the score.

Although the game was close in the first half, Quince Orchard dominated the second half and outscored the Trojans, 28-0.

The Cougars added a pair of Mark Green touchdown runs in the third quarter to take a 21-0 advantage. Green’s 6-yard run was set up by Darnell Leslie’s fumble recovery near midfield. Green later scored on a 17-yard run with 1:32 left in the period.

Quince Orchard senior quarterback Billy Plante completed a 1-yard touchdown pass to Marty Heyn in the fourth quarter and the Cougars also got a 13-yard touchdown run from Tyrell Williams.

“We have a lot of depth,” said Mencarini. “They were short on guys so we were just able to take advantage of the fact that we got depth.”

Quince Orchard (9-0) has already locked up a playoff spot and heads into next Friday’s regular season finale at Magruder seeking more momentum for the postseason.

“I want to win next week to have the possibility for [a] home field [advantage] throughout [the playoffs],” said Mencarini.