Chopticon edges Leonardtown

Braves knock off Raiders despite their penalties, turnovers

Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by REID SILVERMAN Chopticon’s Matthew Loving sacks Leonardtown quarterback Will Pagliarulo late in the fourth quarter of the Braves’ victory Thursday evening over the Raiders. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

The Braves (2-1, 2-1 SMAC) were reserved with their emotions, appreciative of the win but wondering if they should have won by more.

Despite defeating Leonardtown (0-3, 0-3), Chopticon was consumed at times by its own mistakes, racking up nine penalties for 95 yards and three turnovers. While they showed flashes of brilliance at times, the Braves left the game knowing they had plenty of work left if they hope to make it back to the Class 3A South region playoffs.

‘‘I’m glad that we won, it’s good to get a ‘W’,” Chopticon quarterback Leo Kyte said. ‘‘We could have played better. It wasn’t pretty.”

The Braves were sloppy, but they weren’t all bad. Kyte threw for 218 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Aaron Makle toted the ball 19 times and, while he only walked away with 56 yards, his production was steady and he notched the game’s first touchdown in the first quarter with a 3-yard run.

‘‘I like it, but I expect more out of myself,” Makle said. ‘‘I’m not doing as much as I should be doing. I’m doing well, but I just gotta pick it up.”

Makle was among the Braves who felt the team could have –– and should have –– done more.

‘‘I feel like we should have 50 [points] right now,” Makle said. ‘‘We didn’t play Chopticon football. We expected to win before the win even happened. We gotta come out hitting hard and we came out flat. We just can’t play like that.”

Chopticon head coach Tony Lisanti had similar feelings about the win, saying his team didn’t perform at the level he expected.

‘‘I didn’t really feel very good about it, to be honest,” Lisanti said. ‘‘I’m very disappointed in the maturity level of my players. We didn’t play our game tonight, didn’t execute like we could have.”

Lisanti said his team made too many uncharacteristic mistakes throughout the game, including what he called ‘‘silly” penalties and hinted that his team’s concentration and focus needed to improve.

‘‘We have got to be smarter than that,” Lisanti said. ‘‘We need to understand the importance of every single play while we are on the field and not be so selfish.”

Makle and Kyte were left without words trying to explain Chopticon’s mistakes when the Braves are known for being a well-disciplined team. But Lisanti said that Leonardtown’s performance must be credited and that the atmosphere of the game may have also played a role.

‘‘Part of it was the excitement of playing our archrival, knowing that they would really love to beat us,” Lisanti said. ‘‘I don’t really know why some of these guys made these uncharacteristic mistakes, but I do know that I will fix it.”

Leonardtown had little to smile about after the game, knowing that it let a win slip away given all of the extra chances Chopticon gave it. Senior Michael Copenhaver carried the load for the Raiders, rushing 13 times for 45 yards and Leonardtown’s only score, an 11-yard run midway through the first quarter.

‘‘That’s a tough one to lose,” Leonardtown head coach Anthony Pratley said. ‘‘It’s a county rival and our kids played really hard tonight. But, Chopticon is a playoff team and we have to keep that in mind –– they are a really good team.”

Pratley said he was proud of his team’s effort and noted that his squad has improved since its first game of the season, a 32-0 loss to Thomas Stone.

‘‘That’s not the way they play,” Pratley said. ‘‘It was a gift. They gave us too many gifts. But, as a young team, you learn how to take care of those gifts eventually. We really are young and I’m not making excuses but these kids will learn. They will win. Their time will come.”