Trojans Fall To Seneca Valley

An old school rivalry was renewed in Rockville Saturday when Gaithersburg played host to Seneca Valley.

After falling behind 8-0, Seneca Valley rallied behind senior quarterback Tanner Vallely en route to a 22-8 victory over the Trojans.

The rivalry between Gaithersburg and Seneca Valley dates back to the 1970’s when Al Thomas left Gaithersburg to become the Germantown school’s first head coach. Four decades later, Seneca Valley owns more state titles (12) than any other Maryland high school and has become a traditional powerhouse in Montgomery County.

“I had some great battles against Gburg when I was younger,” recalled Seneca Valley head coach Fred Kim, a Seneca Valley graduate who played on the Screaming Eagles 1987 state championship team coached by Thomas.

After three decades of playing each other annually, the rivalry discontinued after the 2006 season. However, Saturday the rival schools met again for the first time in five years.

Seneca Valley improved to 7-1 with the win while Gaithersburg (4-4) suffered its fourth consecutive loss after opening the season with four straight wins.

“The good thing was we eliminated the mistakes that have been hurting us the last three weeks,” said Gaithersburg head coach Kreg Kephart. “We came out, we played a good team [and] played them tough.”

Gaithersburg scored on Billy Brown’s 4-yard run and added the two-point conversion on a pass from quarterback Lincon Reyes to wide receiver Simba Gwashavanhu with 10:33 remaining in the second quarter.

However, Seneca Valley responded late in the quarter when Vallely led the Screaming Eagles on a 69-yard scoring drive capped by the quarterback’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Tre Cunningham.

Vallely again connected with Cunningham on the two-point conversion to knot the score at 8-8 at halftime.

A 34-yard run by Darius Lewis in the fourth quarter set up Vallely’s 2-yard touchdown run with seven minutes left and helped give the Screaming Eagles a 15-8 advantage.

Gaithersburg went three and out on the ensuing possession and Lewis’s punt return gave Seneca Valley good field position.

The Screaming Eagles drove 56 yards in eleven plays capped by Vallely’s 1-yard touchdown run with 1:36 remaining.

However, Gaithersburg responded by driving 80 yards in nine plays capped by a 28-yard touchdown pass from Reyes to Brown with 16.2 seconds remaining. Reyes connected with Gwashavanhu (11 receptions, 114 yards) for the two-point conversion.

Gaithersburg attempted an onsides kick but Seneca Valley recovered and secured the win by running out the clock.

 “It was a tough loss but we still control our own destiny,” said Brown, who caught five passes for 130 yards including a touchdown. “We’re still going to keep our heads high and just hope for the best next week.”

The Trojans travel across town to face unbeaten Quince Orchard at the Cougar Dome on Friday.

“They’re a good team,” added Brown, “but I think if we play the way that we know we can play it’s going to be a good game.”