New field, big win for Havre de Grace

On a night where Havre de Grace High celebrated its new turf field as well as homecoming festivities Friday, the Warriors christened the new James R. Harris Stadium with a 35-8 victory over Elkton in a Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference Chesapeake Division contest.

Throwing through the crisp October night, the Warriors (4-1 overall, 2-0 Chesapeake) had a suspicious connection between junior quarterback Darin Washington and senior receiver Monty Werts, contributing three touchdowns en route to a running clock.
in the third quarter.

But the eerie throw-and-catch chemistry between the two over Elkton (1-4, 0-2 Chesapeake) is quickly transformed into pure appreciation of talent when one finds out the secret to their bond.

They are family.

Being cousins, the two often stay after practice and run routes together, according to Washington, who completed 14 of 22 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns, along with a third quarter rushing touchdown.

“Most of the time we stay after practice and throw the ball,” Washington said.  “And we are cousins, so we are around each other all the time.  We know each other.”

Werts and Washington converted a fake punt for 24 yards to set up the first Warrior touchdown.

“I think we played pretty well,” Havre de Grace coach Johnny Brooks said.  “We had the passing game clicking today, Darin had a great game, Monty Werts played well,  the running game started to come alive and the defense was good.

Werts found the end zone twice in the first half, catching touchdown passes from his cousin on 22-yard and 26-yard receptions to help the Warriors post a 21-0 halftime lead. He added a 71-yard score in the third quarter to round out his 220-yard night.

“He is one of the kids you don’t have to motivate,” Brooks said of Werts. “He is just a hard worker, had a little case of the drops last game, but came out here and worked hard in practice, and it looked like his hard worked paid off for him.”

“I just had to get real focused before the game,” Werts explained.  “I had to be where I needed to be on the field, and run real crisp routes and just get open.”

The Warrior offense accumulated 336 yards with 271 in the air. The defense also held strong, keeping Elkton scoreless through nearly 46 minutes of the game, forcing three turnovers on downs, two punts and two interceptions from junior Chris Askew.

Elkton scored its only touchdown when Charles Stewart slipped into the end zone on a six-yard run, stopping the running clock for the remaining two minutes of regulation. Stewart totaled 91 yards on the ground, adding to Michael Bowers’ 94 yards.

The Warriors will welcome back senior Dayshawn Bolling for next Friday’s game with Aberdeen. He’s been out with a collar bone injury.

The Warriors have outscored their opponents 122-39, in their four victories. Havre de Grace’s lone loss of the season came against No. 3 Calvert Hall College, 55-0, in week three.

“Basically we have to stay healthy,” Brooks said.  “We are getting one of our key players back on Monday, so that is going to help us a lot, but we only have 26 players on the roster, so we cant afford for anyone to go down.”

Elkton will look for its first conference win of the season Friday when they host C. Milton Wright.

CLICK RELATED VIDEOS AT TOP OF ARTICLE FOR GAME HIGHLIGHTS AND POST-GAME INTERVIEWS