Despite a solid performance from senior quarterback Lincon Reyes, the Gaithersburg Trojans couldn’t overcome a hungry Clarksburg team and its star player Stefan Houston.
Houston, a Division I prospect who has verbally committed to play college football at the University of Maryland, helped lead the Coyotes to a 26-21 victory Thursday over the Trojans in Clarksburg.
The Maryland recruit scored three touchdowns and finished with 102 yards rushing on 19 carries and had four receptions for 89 yards against the Trojans.
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“I knew who Houston was last year,” said Gaithersburg head coach Kreg Kephart. “He played a hell of a game up here last year against us. He’s a great ball player.”
Reyes completed 13 of 29 passes for 215 yards and accounted for all three Gaithersburg touchdowns.
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Gaithersburg sophomore Solomon Vault rushed for 84 yards on 18 carries but had a 65-yard touchdown run in the third quarter negated by a penalty. The Trojans also missed senior wide receiver and defensive back Simba Gwashavanhu, a Delaware recruit who was sidelined with a dislocated elbow, suffered in last week’s loss to Churchill.
The Trojans were led on defense by senior lineman Billy Brown who registered three quarterback sacks.
Houston scored the game’s first touchdown on a 22-yard interception return late in the first quarter and the Coyotes led 6-0 after a failed extra point.
However, Gaithersburg (4-2) tied the game on a one-yard run by Reyes midway through the second quarter and took a 14-6 lead at halftime on the quarterback’s 19-yard scamper and two-point conversion pass to Brown.
“He looked a little rusty in the first quarter but as the game went on he got his legs on him a little bit and he came out fighting,” Kephart said about Reyes. “He’s a tough kid.”
Clarksburg quarterback Mike Sheehan connected with Derrell Howard on a 22-yard scoring toss in the third quarter but the two-point conversion failed and the Coyotes trailed, 14-12.
Operating out of the Wildcat formation, Houston scored on a 12-yard run on the second play of the fourth quarter to give the Coyotes a 20-14 lead.
On the ensuing possession, Reyes connected with Brown on a 30-yard touchdown with 8:44 remaining but Clarksburg forced a Gaithersburg turnover late in the period.
The Coyotes responded, scoring on Houston’s three-yard run with 1:05 remaining. The Trojans, however, drove deep into Clarksburg territory and had a chance to score but Howard intercepted Reyes’s pass as time expired and preserved the victory for Clarksburg (4-2).
“We had our opportunities,” said Kephart, whose team has lost two straight after a 4-0 start.
