D.C. female coach earns first career win

Natalie Randolph finally got one.

The much-publicized Coolidge (Washington, D.C.) head football coach, the first woman in the Washington area to serve in that role and believed to be the only active female varsity football head coach in the country, celebrated her first career victory with a 48-12 win over Anacostia (0-5) Friday night.

Senior running back Christopher Strong ran for four scores and junior quarterback Femi Bamiro threw two touchdown passes in his debut for Coolidge (1-5).

"It means everything to me," Randolph told The Washington Post. "What they get out of it, I get out of it. I'm ecstatic for them. They needed it."

2. Atholton upsets River Hill: River Hill (Clarksville, Md.) (4-1) came into Friday night's game with a 48-game winning streak over opponents from Howard County. But the Hawks' streak was snapped Friday night by Atholton (Columbia, Md.), as the host Raiders came away with a 10-0 win.

Quarterback Brian McMahon scored the game's only touchdown on a 6-yard quarterback keeper in the first quarter and Brett Haas connected on a 25-yard field goal with 15 seconds left in the half to give Atholton (3-2) its biggest win in recent history.

River Hill's last loss against a county opponent was to Long Reach, 15-14, on Oct. 29, 2005.

3. Salesianum continues dominance: Senior running back Ryan Kilpatrick, who will play lacrosse at North Carolina next fall, rumbled for 207 yards and three touchdowns (31, 39 and 61 yards) to lead No. 1 Salesianum (Wilmington, Del.) to a convincing 27-0 win over previously unbeaten and third-ranked Middletown (Middletown, Del.) (3-1, 1-0, Del.).

Senior quarterback Jonathan Godwin plunged from 1-yard out for the other score and Matthew Szczecinski had two interceptions to lead a Sallies defense that has held four opponents to a total of 25 points.

Salesianum (4-0) held Middletown quarterback Darius Ware to just seven completions on 20 attempts for 109 yards, and sacked the left-handed freshman five times.

4. Phoebus justifies top ranking: Phoebus (Hampton, Va.) scored 43 second-half points and cruised to an easy 50-10 win over Woodside Saturday. The win was the 35th consecutive for the Phantoms, ranked No. 1 in Virginia AAA in the first Associated Press high school football poll released Monday.

Phantoms quarterback Jordan Roby tossed two touchdowns (19 and 55 yards) and plunged in from 2 yards out for another to lead Phoebus (5-0), which has now outscored its opponents 256-16. Roby completed six of nine passes for 155 yards.

Running back Tyree Lee led the Phantoms on the ground with 82 yards on 14 carries and scored two touchdowns on runs of 17 and 7 yards. Breon Key, who has committed to play basketball at Old Dominion next year, got Woodside (3-2) on the scoreboard first when he returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown.

5. Turf Bowl field hockey tradition continues at University of Delaware: William Penn (New Castle, Del.) coach Loveita Moffett had all the confidence in the world in her team entering Friday night's 12th annual Turf Bowl, an annual mid-season field hockey tournament held at Rullo Stadium on the University of Delaware campus. And the Colonials didn't let their coach down.

Senior Karri Moorehead spearheaded a true team effort with a goal and two assists as the Colonials cruised to an easy 5-0 win over Brandywine High (2-2-1, 2-1 Blue Hen Flight A).

"This win meant the world to our girls," Moffett said after the game. "When setting our goals for this season, No. 1 on our list was to win the Flight A championship, and to do that we knew we had to beat tough opponents like Brandywine. I am very proud of our lady Colonials for handling such a big game on such a grand stage."

Morgan Parsons, Danielle Kreider, Nicole Voegele and Renee Schneider each scored goals for William Penn (6-0-1 overall, 5-0 Flight A). Martha Davidson recorded six saves to earn the shutout.

Other Turf Bowl scores:
Mount Pleasant 2, Concord 0; Ursuline 6, Delcastle 0; A.I. du Pont 4, Tatnall 3; Cape Henlopen 7, Middletown 1; Polytech 4, Sussex Central 0; Glasgow 5, Christiana 0; St. Mark’s 4, Charter of Wilmington 0; Newark 3, St. Elizabeth 2; Lake Forest 1, Brandywine 0; Archmere 2, Red Lion Christian 0.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
* Kevin Thompson, senior, McKinley Tech (Washington, D.C.): Rushed for 230 yards on 23 carries and scored three touchdowns and two PATs in a 42-12 win over previously-unbeaten Cardoza High.

* Desmond Sivels, senior, Sussex Tech (Georgetown, Del.): Rushed for five touchdowns of 66, 23, 14, 98, and 2 yards to lead the Ravens to a 48-27 win over Cape Henlopen High School.

* Troy Scharfen, senior, Langley (McLean, Va.): Caught nine passes for 187 yards and a touchdown in Langley's 31-10 win over Herndon.

* Caroline Casey, senior, Mount de Sales Academy (Catonsville, Md.): Had 14 kills and six blocks to lead the Sailors to a 25-18, 15-25, 25-13, 25-17 victory over Seton Keough.

GAME TO WATCH
DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) (3-2, 1-1) travels to Our Lady of Good Counsel (Olney, Md.) (4-1, 2-0) Friday night at 7 for a key Washington Catholic Athletic Conference game.

RECRUITING NEWS
Several University of Arkansas blogs reported that Razborbacks recruiting coordinator Tim Horton was on hand to watch Oscar Smith (Chesapeake, Va.) wide receiver Quinta Funderburk in a 43-14 victory over Hickory.

THE BUZZ
Caesar Rodney (Camden, Del.) has hired ex-Harlem Globetrotter Donell Thomas as its basketball head coach. The 39-year-old, who has been an assistant at CR since 2003, also played at nearby Delaware State University in the early 1990s. … Middletown High (Del.) honored the memory of former athletic trainer Terri Schall at its home opener Friday night. Her husband and two young children served as honorary captains. An empty chair with a medical kit will be on the sideline at all home games this season, which is being dedicated to Shaw, who was tragically killed in July. The moment was a somber reminder that as much as we get wrapped up in high school football, it really is just a game in the grand scope of life.

Jon Buzby is the sports columnist for the Newark Post, a freelance writer, and color commentator for the 1290am The Ticket High School Football Game of the Week. You can reach him at jonbuzby@hotmail.com.