Henrik G. de Gyor/The Gazette Seneca Valley senior running back Eric Yancey set a school record with his 245 yards on 28 carries Friday. He scored all four of the Screaming Eagles' touchdowns in a 26-7 rout of Northwest. The win kept Seneca Valley undefeated at 6-0 and dropped Northwest (3-3) out of playoff contention.

There was an unusual lack of spice on the Screaming Eagles' offensive menu against Germantown-rival Northwest at Seneca Valley Friday night. There was little passing, little finesse, just hard-nosed, smash-mouth football. The result was still a savory 26-7 win, the sixth without a loss for the Eagles this season.

"I love throwing the football, but [Northwest] came out and they were not going to let us throw down field," said SV head coach Terry Changuris. "They were leaving just seven [players] in the box and not supporting [the run] with an eighth, like they usually do. Once we realized that, we changed our style of play and went to the power running attack and they never stopped it the whole game."

Senior running back Eric Yancey was the Eagles' main ingredient, rushing for a school-record 245 yards on 28 carries and scoring all four SV touchdowns.

"I think this shows we can win running or passing or with a combination of both," Yancey said. "We're a very versatile team."

The Screaming Eagles typically win with a balanced offensive game plan. They entered the contest averaging 151 yards passing and 184 rushing. Against the Jaguars, senior quarterback Chris Crosby completed just 2 of 8 passes for 15 yards, but the team rushed for 270 yards. Most were gained by Yancey behind the blocking of linemen Jason Mangus, Carlos Barreto, Ronnie Ricketts, Dustin Jeter and Lloyd Washington and tight ends Shamar Pusey and Devin Kennedy.

"They've [Seneca Valley] been pretty balanced all year," said Northwest head coach Randy Trivers, whose team dropped to 3-3 for the season. "We were certainly concerned about their running game, but they had really hurt people with the pass."

Seneca started the game with intentions to throw, but several incompletions and a couple Northwest sacks of Crosby had the Eagles grounded in the early going. For the first 21 minutes, the Jaguars defensive strategy worked well. They probably had the better of play and the score was tied at 7-7.

But with 3:02 left in the half, SV took possession at its own 47-yard line. Six rushing plays later, Yancey was in the end zone from 2 yards out, his second score of the night.

The rest of the game followed a similar theme. Yancey's third touchdown, midway through the third quarter, was a 69-yard thrill ride. He sealed the Jaguars' fate with a 10-yard scoring run with 8:08 to play to make the score 26-7.

"Yancey just seems to be getting better every week," said Changuris. "If something works I'm going to keep going to it. I may love to throw the football, but if we can beat their butts by running it right at them, that's what we're going to do."

The win puts SV at the top of the county's 4A/3A League standings and has it on target to return to the state playoffs after missing out last year for the first time since 1989. The Eagles have won more state titles (11) than any other school in Maryland.

"I'm not sure if we're championship-good or not," said Changuris. "I think we're getting there. At times, I think we look as good as any team we've ever had. But then there's times I wonder, 'Is it really there?'"

For Northwest, any hopes of a third straight trip to the postseason were dashed with the defeat.

"Seneca Valley's a great football team," said Trivers. "And you have to bring your best against them for a whole game. ... Their running game was outstanding, we couldn't stop them, and we couldn't keep things going ourselves."

Notes: Senior running back Eugene King returned to action for Northwest after missing the last two games. He rushed for a team-best 71 yards on 18 carries and scored the Jaguars' only touchdown on a 1-yard run in the first quarter. Senior wideout Calvin Jenkins had his best game of the year for Northwest with 4 catches for 79 yards. Quarterback Brad Henry completed 7 of 24 passes for 103 yards and 1 interception. ... Yancey has 670 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns for the season.