South River Defense Shines In 19-14 Victory over Urbana
September 26, 2025
IJAMSVILLE, Md. — In a game that was at times as sloppy as the weather, the South River Seahawks (4-0) defeated the Urbana Hawks (2-2) 19-14 on Thursday night to remain undefeated on the season.
Leaning heavily into its high-scoring offense so far this season, South River relied on its defense to stop Urbana, as the Seahawks were never truly able to get things consistently clicking on offense against the stout Hawks defense.
The game began with a brief weather delay as rain and storms moved through the area, and ball security in the first half was just as murky as the sky. Each team turned the ball over twice in the first half, with several coming in prime scoring position to abruptly end drives.
After both teams alternated punts to start the game, South River was the first team to break the ice on a 6-yard touchdown run by Korey Warren. The Seahawks would take that lead into the second quarter, but Urbana was threatening to score.
On the first play of the second quarter, Urbana attempted a 37-yard field goal, but the kick was blocked. It was one of two blocked kicks in the game, as the Seahawks special teams also blocked an Urbana punt in the first half.
Right after the missed field goal, neither team kept possession of the ball for very long. South River QB Ben Raines overthrew his receiver, and the ball landed in the hands of Urbana’s Jayden Sharper. However, on the next play, Urbana would fumble the ball, and the Seahawks would take it right back. But after another fumble by South River, Urbana would score the equalizer on a 10-yard run from Sharper to tie the game at 7-7.
Late in the second quarter, Urbana had a touchdown called back because of an illegal shift penalty, and the Hawks would fumble inside the 5 yard line on the next play. The score remained tied 7-7 heading into halftime.
Midway through the second quarter, Raines found Warren down the sideline for a long pass, which setup the Seahawks in the red zone. On the next play, Warren ran it in from 2 yards out to give South River the lead back. The extra point was blocked to make the score 13-7.
Urbana seemed to find something that worked on offense, as the Hawks stuck solely to the run game on their ensuing drive, and seemingly moved the ball at will and in big chunks. The Hawks would take their first lead of the game as that drive was capped by a 10-yard run by Ryder Smart, and the extra point gave Urbana a 14-13 advantage.
The score would stay in Urbana’s favor heading into the final quarter of play, but just two plays in, South River would take the lead right back. Another long pass from Raines connected with receiver Jaden McDuffie in the end zone from 35 yards away to go back in front. The Seahawks went for two, but were unsuccessful, and had nearly an entire quarter to protect a 19-14 lead.
With the game on the line, the South River defense came up big with stops when needed. Although Urbana was able to move the ball, and had moved into Seahawks territory with just over a minute to play, it was the South River defense that made the big plays when it counted. The Seahawks defense forced two turnovers on downs in the final six minutes of the game, the final one coming with less than a minute left, to seal the game.
In total, the South River defense and special teams forces two fumbles, blocked a field goal and a punt, and forced the two crucial turnovers on downs late in the game.
South River returns home next weekend to host Severn Run, while Urbana looks to bounce back on the road at Oakdale.
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