The first Friday of fall was not kind to the Hammond Golden Bear varsity football team.
The Glenelg Gladiators scored 30 points in the first quarter while sophomore running back Wande Owens scored three first half touchdowns as GHS finished off Hammond 44-0 Friday night at Golden Bear Stadium.
Owens scored on runs of three, 16 and 54 yards as the Gladiator offense piled up 325 offensive yards by halftime. The biggest play from the Hammond offense in the first half was a 37-yard pass reception to Kirkland Wise from quarterback Elijah Lindsey.
“Whenever you get shutdown and you get a running clock put on you, it’s tough,” Golden Bear Head Coach Shawn Frederick said. Maryland high school rules state when the point margin is 35 or larger, the game clock will continuously run except for time outs and injury time outs.
Glenelg led 37-0 at halftime.
The Hammond highlight in the second half came during another Glenelg drive when Paskel Cheeves intercepted a Gladiator pass at the HHS 14 yard line and sprinted close to midfield with a 31-yard return.
The Golden Bears are now 0-4 on the season, while Glenelg improved to 3-1 in 2016.
Before the opening kickoff, 12 Hammond Golden Bear players knelt during the national anthem and used their freedom of expression in response to civil rights tensions across the country.
Frederick said he was made aware of what would occur during the anthem, and he commented about the kneelings following Friday’s game.
“The message I sent to them is that I’m fine with you fulfilling your rights,” Frederick said. “I told them to make sure they know why. I told them don’t take a knee because all eyes will be on you.”
In the junior varsity contest, Glenelg handed the Hammond JV team its first loss of the season. The visitors beat the Bears 14-8.