Patriots Ride Chesson's Seven Touchdowns to State Finals (Video)

The Old Mill Patriots are headed to the Maryland 4A State Finals on the back of their electric runner, , and a stout defense that has allowed only 34 points in the playoffs.

Against Catonsville High School, it was business as usual. Different opponent, same outcome.

rolled up 306 yards rushing and scored all seven of Old Mill’s touchdowns as Catonsville fell behind early in the first quarter and never could keep pace, falling 49-20.

(13-0) held the Comets to season-lows in points and total rushing yards. Catonsville, who averaged 362 yards on the ground in its previous two playoff games, could only muster 171 yards on 35 carries Friday night.  

“Catonsville has a ton of speed and our kids showed a lot of respect for them and understood what they were getting into," said . "They had a few long runs, but overall we were able to hold them to minimal gains.”

On offense, Chesson, as he’s done to , carved up the Comets on defense. 

A Catonsville fumble on the opening possession set up the Patriots for a six-play, 67-yard drive that culminated in Chesson’s first score from 27 yards out. After Old Mill recovered the ensuing onside kick, the Patriots needed only four plays for the senior running back to find the end zone once more. (The score, Chesson’s 44th on the year, set a new Maryland state record for touchdowns in a season.)

Unfortunately for Catonsville, he was just getting warmed up.

After a long drive and touchdown for the Comets brought the game within seven, two possessions later, Chesson ripped off a 50-yard touchdown run around the right end, and, would go on to add two more scores in the final two minutes of the second quarter to turn a 20-7 deficit into a 34-7 route come halftime.  

“I’ll tell you what, he looked great on film, but today he looked unstoppable,” Catonsville head coach Rich Hambor said of Chesson. “Whether that was a little bit of us—but I think that was a lot of him—he’s the greatest back I’ve seen in years. His speed, his vision, his cutback ability, his patience too—he had it all.”

It's no secret that , but like Hambor said, sometimes the running back just can't be stopped. 

"If [Chesson's] doing well, he's a kid I'm going to give the football to a lot," McCormick said. "Fortunately for us, he wasn't able to be stopped tonight. 

Chesson’s sixth and seventh touchdowns both resulted in a running clock, which goes into effect when one team is up by 35 or more in the second half.  

However, the Comets certainly didn’t throw in the towel, as Catonsville's Josh Hylton’s touchdown gallop from 22 yards out and Deniko Carter and Aaron Jones’ 47-yard scoring hookup gave their fans a little reason to celebrate even with the outcome of the game all but secured.

"Overall, we just showed up. We made good plays when we needed to and we hung in there on defense. I think we're just all around a complete team," said . 

"We have very little weaknesses, but we work hard for it day and night. We're family," Brown-Lee said.

When asked how difficult it may be to focus on his school work with the Maryland 4A State Finals looming ahead, he said, "It's gonna be real hard but I gotta do what I gotta do."

In the state final, Old Mill will face undefeated Quince Orchard from Montgomery County in what McCormick said will be a "very tough football game."

The Old Mill head coach said he and his staff plan to watch plenty of game film of Quince Branch over the weekend so that they can begin implementing their strategies on Monday.

BOX SCORE

Old Mill 49, Catonsville 20

OM 14 20 7 7 ---- 49

C    0   7   7 6 ----  20

1st Quarter

OM -- Chesson 27 run (Hannon kick)

OM -- Chesson 1 run (Hannon kick)

2nd Quarter

C -- Lane 3 run (Medinger kick)

OM -- Chesson 50 run (kick failed)

OM -- Chesson 34 run (Hannon kick)

OM -- Chesson 39 run (Hannon kick)

3rd Quarter

OM -- Chesson 5 run (Kess pass from McKinney)

C -- Josh Hylton 22 run (Medinger kick)

4th Quarter

OM -- Chesson 6 run (Hannon kick)

C -- Carter 47 pass from A. Jones (kick failed)