by Alan Goldenbach
The Washinton Post
09-15-2007

As if Montgomery County's biggest rivalry needed more bad blood, Seneca Valley gave it a new dose of vitriol last night with a 34-13 win over Northwest that resulted in postgame shouting between opposing players and coaches and prevented the teams from shaking hands afterward.

The Screaming Eagles (2-0) dominated the line of scrimmage, rushing for 245 yards and five touchdowns, the last of which followed an interception with 1 minute 33 seconds left.

With the ball at the Northwest 47, Seneca kept its starters in the game and ran four times, sandwiching a deep pass that fell incomplete, before senior Jamaal Martin scored his second touchdown of the game to cap the scoring with 23 seconds left.

Northwest players and coaches felt the visitors were running up the score, and the two teams shouted at one another after the final whistle. Some players and coaches needed to be restrained.

"I can't tell them not to score," Seneca Valley Coach Fred Kim said. "If [Northwest] were in the same position, they would have done the same thing. We hate each other, but we respect each other.

"We're not going to back down from anyone. We're going to stomp on your throat."

The two Germantown schools had split the eight prior meetings, with Northwest winning last year's game, 21-19; the past four have been decided by a combined 13 points. This was the most lopsided meeting since Northwest's 22-0 victory in 2002.

"I was a little disappointed by how they handled the last minute and a half," Northwest Coach Andrew Fields said. "That was a little uncalled for, but, hey, that's Seneca Valley. That's how they want to handle it, but we would never handle it like that."

Seneca Valley jumped on top after Northwest bungled a punt attempt at its own 11. On the next play, senior Taquain Hill ran around right end for a touchdown to make it 6-0.

After Northwest answered on the following possession to go ahead 7-6, Seneca Valley quarterback George Lerch sneaked in from a yard out to give the Eagles the lead for good at 14-7.

The Eagles took control in the second half, as they rushed for 155 yards and wore down Northwest. Kim and his players admitted it was a sharp departure from their game plan, which initially focused on the passing game.

"We thought we had to air it out on them," said senior Aron McDonald, who ran for 70 yards and a third-quarter touchdown on nine carries. "I was pretty surprised that we could run like we did."

Seneca Valley 34, Northwest 13 Nice Debut: Seneca Valley senior Jamaal Martin, who was suspended for last week's season opener for a violation of team rules, according to Coach Fred Kim, rushed for a team-high 81 yards and two touchdowns. New Territory: Northwest is 0-2 for the first time since 1998, the Jaguars' first varsity season.