Britt helps Sherwood rebound

Bouncing back: After watching its 20-game winning streak end last week with a loss to Damascus, Sherwood shut out its fifth opponent this season and avoided consecutive losses for the first time since 2003.

Inside source: The game was broadcast by Video On Location (VOLi) Sports, and providing the color commentary was former Sherwood coach Al Thomas, who retired after leading the Warriors to the Maryland 4A title last year.

Cyrus Britt spent his first two years of high school looking for the right fit in a football team. The shifty running back was at Bowie as a freshman and Carroll as a sophomore. Neither felt right.

Last summer, Britt decided to move in with his father, Travis, in Olney and give Sherwood a shot. He said there was one enticing aspect of Sherwood's program.

"They run the ball a lot," he said, grinning broadly.

And Friday night, Britt, once again, did most of the running for the 19th-ranked Warriors, carrying 28 times for 128 yards and a touchdown and catching a 39-yard pass to set up the clinching score in a 17-0 home victory over previously unbeaten Churchill.

The 5-foot-8, 170-pound Britt has been a workhorse for the Warriors since returning Oct. 2 from a knee injury on the first play of their Sept. 17 victory over Paint Branch. Despite his slight frame, Britt has shown a surprising ability to withstand plenty of pounding, carrying 102 times for 632 yards and six touchdowns over the past four games.

Britt didn't show up at Sherwood until the second day of practice, and Coach Pat Cilento said he had no idea what had fallen into his lap.

"It took us three or four days to recognize what a talent he was," Cilento said.

Churchill (7-1) noticed it much quicker. On his first carry of the game, Britt ran around right end for 21 yards.

Britt was critical to Sherwood's game plan of keeping the ball out of the hands of Churchill's triple-option offense, which had scored at least 30 points in each of its past five games. Sherwood (7-1) ran 45 times for 202 yards and held the ball nine minutes longer.

Britt opened Sherwood's second drive with runs of seven and 10 yards and capped it with a six-yard touchdown run to make it 7-0 early in the second quarter. Andy Estrain's 20-yard field goal at the second-quarter whistle made it 10-0, after Sherwood couldn't punch it in after first and goal at the Churchill 5.

Sherwood put away the game late in the third quarter. Taking over at their 38, the Warriors went to Britt for runs of 11, 4 and 1 yard before facing third and five at the Churchill 46. Quarterback A.J. Pignone hit Britt on a swing pass to the left side that Britt broke down the left sideline for a 39-yard gain. Kye Hopkins's seven-yard touchdown on the next play closed out the scoring.