Meade Beats Arundel on Gutsy 2-Point Conversion Call

If there is an award in high school football for guts, Meade Head Coach Rich Holzer may deserve it. 

The Meade Mustangs secured the Class 4A East regional football title Friday with a 22-21 win over Arundel. The game was won when Holzer elected to go for two after a touchdown with 48 seconds left. Jamarkeus Hammond took the handoff and busted through a hole for the clinching points.

"I never hesitated," Holzer said of deciding to go for two. 

With the win, Meade secured its second straight regional title, and for the second year in a row it beat Arundel to get there. Last season, Holzer was praised for another gutsy move when he called for a fake punt play that helped seal the win.

Friday night's game was one that Arundel appeared to have under control, despite falling down 14-0 early in the first quarter. 

The Wildcats clawed back on touchdown receptions from Jordan Stewart and Don Keith, then went ahead 21-14 in the third quarter on a 4-yard run by Larry Barnes. 

Meade struggled to move the ball for most of the second half, but its defense also kept Arundel from extending the lead. 

With two minutes to go, Meade found itself on its own 30 yard line, down by a touchdown. Quarterback DJ Pate completed several passes to get into Arundel territory. Then with 48 seconds left, he hit a leaping Tyree Turner over the middle for a 29-yard score. 

That's when Holzer decided to go for the win, not overtime. 

He called for a play that the Mustangs had practiced all year, but never used. The ball would be handed off to Hammond, who had not touched the ball all year. 

"[The hole] was wide open, wide open," Hammond said. "Once I saw it, it was a wrap."

Meade will next play the winner of Saturday's game between Suitland and Duval in the state semifinal.