No Question, Bulldogs Make A Statement

As a few of Churchill's offensive stars walked toward cheering fans and a jubilant team bus last night, they talked about proving to the rest of Montgomery County -- and to themselves -- that they belong with the best high school football teams in the area.

They said they viewed the preceding two hours at Northwest as a proverbial statement game. And what a statement they made, starting with the first play.

Senior quarterback Curran Chabra connected with senior receiver Danny Holzman on a 64-yard pass to set up Ryan Quinn's short touchdown run less than a minute into the game, and Churchill's offense never slowed down in a 49-27 victory.

With the win, Churchill (5-1, 3-1 Montgomery 4A West) took a huge step forward as it chases its first playoff berth since 2004, which was also the last time the Bulldogs defeated the Jaguars.

Since finishing as the Maryland 3A runner-up in 1995, Churchill has had only three winning seasons (1999, 2000 and 2004) and just the one postseason appearance, so plenty of skeptics remained after the Bulldogs' 4-1 start this season.

"Before this, we only had one good team we beat [this year], which was Gaithersburg," said Holzman, who finished with six catches for 174 yards and two touchdowns. "All the others teams were 0-5 or 1-4. So this really showed that we can actually play with the big boys."

Churchill's modus operandi this season has been running the ball effectively, with just enough passing to keep the other team honest. With that in mind, the Bulldogs' coaching staff decided to surprise Northwest (3-3, 3-1) with a long pass on the first play.

"We've talked to our kids about doing two things all year: coming out and throwing the first punch, and finishing," Bulldogs Coach Greg Neuendorf said. "So if we're going to preach it to our kids, we've got to call a play that's going to throw a punch."

Even after Northwest scored a touchdown less than a minute later on an 18-yard pass from Jarrhett Butler to Marcus Whitfield, the Bulldogs kept delivering haymakers.

Chabra finished the first half 8 for 8 for 195 yards and a touchdown as Churchill scored on its first four possessions to take a 28-13 lead into the locker room. Quinn, who finished with four scores, added two touchdown runs in the second half.

"At 5-1, we're in a good position now," Chabra said. "But we can't get cocky. We just have to keep playing hard every week, keep playing like we have something to prove. Because we do have something to prove."

Churchill 49, Northwest 27 Looking Good in a Loss: Northwest wide receiver Marcus Whitfield finished with five catches for 93 yards and two touchdowns. Heads Up: Churchill's opening kickoff of the second half was high and short and took a big bounce between Northwest players. Bulldogs senior Scott Leyba sprinted between the Jaguars and dived on it, setting up another Churchill touchdown.