West Potomac, Mount Vernon set to clash in regular season finale

November 3, 2016 Sports

It didn’t take long for Monty Fritts to learn about the importance of the Mount Vernon-West Potomac rivalry. After getting hired to be the Majors’ head coach last spring, three of the first people to call and congratulate him brought up Mount Vernon’s struggles against the Wolverines.

“I heard it early, and I heard it often,” Fritts said. “My number goal is to make the West Potomac game a rivalry again.”

Fritts and Mount Vernon (5-4) host West Potomac (7-2) on Friday at 7 p.m., with the Majors looking for their first win against the rival Wolverines since 2006.

The two teams are each playoff-bound, but come into the game heading in different directions. West Potomac enters the contest fresh off a 24-21 upset win against South County, while the Majors are banged up following a 65-0 loss to Lake Braddock.

Nearly perfect

Fritts called West Potomac one of the best teams in the state, and it’s hard to argue with that. The Wolverines’ two losses this season come by a total of four points. Lake Braddock kicked a field goal in overtime to beat the Wolverines in September, and T.C. Williams scored in the final minute to deal West Potomac a one-point loss Oct. 21.

Last week West Potomac scored their biggest regular season win in years, knocking off South County, one of the highest-ranked teams in the state and the team that eliminated the Wolverines from the playoffs last year.

“We’re four points away from being undefeated,” West Potomac Jeremiah Ross said. “We feel like we have something to prove. We had those games.”

West Potomac was able to beat South County without the services of leading rusher Justine Annan, a senior and three-year starter. Annan, who averages more than seven yards per carry and has 10 touchdowns this season while splitting carries with junior Daimonn Cleveland, will be back on the field Friday. Ross calls Annan “an example of everything you want in kid” — hardworking, supportive of teammates, and a good student.

While not the biggest back in the area, Annan is emblematic of West Potomac’s physical style of play. The Wolverines may lack the size of some of the other powerhouse teams, but have gone punch-for-punch with perennial heavyweights like South County, Lake Braddock and Briar Woods.

“I’d say it comes from the weight room,” said Annan, who Ross noted can squat more than 400 pounds. “We emphasize lifting a lot. And I’d say that really comes into play Friday nights.”

Both Ross and Annan said they’re treating Mount Vernon like any other team, and trying not to get too caught up in anything more than winning.

“You can’t put too much stock into one game,” Ross said. “We don’t want to be worrying about playoffs and seeding and that kind of stuff.”

Said Annan: “I expect to see their best. I don’t know too much about them. But I know they have been improving.”

Ready for the challenge

Mount Vernon has gone from two wins in two years to being playoff-bound, and if they can win Friday they’ll secure their first winning season in nearly a decade.

Ross has seen the improvement Mount Vernon has shown this season, but he said he’s not too surprised. He said that the Majors have always had talent, but it’s been a matter of having someone like Fritts come in and create a culture conducive to winning.

“That’s what coach Fritts has done,” Ross said. “He’s put them in a structured environment, [and] they’re believing in each other.”

One player Mount Vernon will be leaning on this week is senior running back Mikel Gamble, a 220-pounder with a rare combination of size, speed and nimbleness. Gamble and his teammates will need to pick up the load usually carried by junior running back/wide receiver Darrien Newton, who suffered a knee injury last week.

Newton led the Majors in both rushing and receiving, catching 57 balls for 818 yards and rushing for an additional 545 yards.

“I don’t know if you can even explain how much he has meant to us,” Fritts said of Newton. “He’s the perfect kid to have. He makes me look smarter.”

Mount Vernon offense

Mount Vernon running back Mikel Gamble (center) has been one of the keys to the Majors’ turnaround this year.

Gamble, a small forward for Mount Vernon’s basketball team who decided to come out for football for the first time this year, expects the Majors to rally together. The loss of Newton, he said, will give other players an opportunity to step up and make plays.

“I think the team will be fine,” Gamble said. “Even though Darrien is an important part of our offense, other guys can make plays too.”

Gamble has seen West Potomac play, and said he knows the type of challenge they present to opponents. He said the team’s practices have been more intense this week, and expects the Majors to enter the game with a different mindset than they’ve had in previous years.

“[West Potomac] is physical, they’re feisty,” Gamble said. “Our goal is just to fight.”