Iron Horses suffer second loss of season to Georgetown

There are certain verities in football. No 1 on the list is the team that controls the line of scrimmage is the one that conquers its opponent.

That was the case Friday night when Philip Simmons High School traveled to Georgetown and was on the wrong end of a 46-7 decision.

The Bulldogs churned for 330 yards and five touchdowns on the ground and added 118 yards in the air. The Bulldogs nearly picked up a first down every time they ran the football. The winners averaged 9.2 yards per carry.

The Iron Horses, meanwhile, managed 96 yards in the air and netted only 69 yards on the ground because of bad snaps and sacks.

The battle at the line of scrimmage was the difference. It certainly didn’t help the Iron Horses’ cause that they were playing without three starting linemen, who were among six starters who missed the game with injuries.

“It’s hard enough to play at that level -- to just step in and play physical football,” Philip Simmons coach Eric Bendig said. “We had to shuffle the players and we just don’t have that level of experience. A lot of the players who stepped up were freshmen and sophomores.”

It was the Bulldogs’ first game of the season. It was also their first game under new coach Jordan Ward. Philip Simmons fell to 0-2.

Georgetown’s Bret Kirtley threw two touchdown passes while Paul Lance rushed for two scores including a 45-yarder to open the scoring. The Bulldogs led 27-7 at halftime. Javier Collins-Smith scored the Iron Horses’ only touchdown on a 1-yard run with four minutes left in the first half. He carried 13 times for 1001 yards. Omar Asby completed 6 of 12 passing for 96 yards. R.J. Watson caught three passes for 80 yards.

Nathan Newman led the Iron Horse defenders with 12 tackles while Tyler Harper logged nine. Wes Michaels recovered a fumble and Hunter Ramey recorded a sack.

The Iron Horses are in their first year of varsity football and Bendig knew Georgetown, a program with a proud history, would present a formidable challenge.

“We knew it was going to be a tough one,” Bendig said. “We knew we would have to play an almost perfect game. Having six starters out made it even tougher.”

“I will tell anyone who asks, we don’t make excuses,” Bendig added. “We don’t point fingers. We have a number of ninth- and 10th graders striving to do the best job possible. We try hard all the time.”

Philip Simmons plays Charleston Charter this weekend. The Iron Horses return home and will play a Riptide team that has surrendered 114 points in two losses.

“They have numerous players who play on both sides of the ball,” Bendig said. “They played Porter-Gaud and Academic Magnet, two physical teams and got pretty tired. It will be a challenge. And, we must be up for the challenge.”