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Georgetown Prep football coach Dan Paro has learned to be ready for anything each time his team plays crosstown rival Landon.

This year's game was no different.

Despite a slow start, the Little Hoyas rallied in the second half behind their defense to take a 23-18 victory Saturday at William H. Triplett Field, spoiling the Bears' homecoming. With the win, Prep takes the first Davis & Fegen Trophy, named for former athletic directors Lowell Davis of Landon and Jim Fegen of Prep.

"I've been around this game long enough to expect the unexpected," said Paro, in his 13th season. "It was a crazy game. But that's high school football; it's always fun to be a part of."

Nothing was crazier than the game's last 2 minutes. With Prep (6-3) clinging to a 23-16 lead, Landon junior linemen Max Lehrman and Terrence Fullum sacked Little Hoyas quarterback Jack Schryber on third down and forced a punt on fourth-and-long. John Macomber's 29-yard punt put the Bears (7-2) 44 yards away from tying the score with 2 minutes, 2 seconds remaining.

On first down, Landon senior quarterback Sam McDonough dropped back and heaved a long pass down the sideline, right to Prep junior Bobby Rutland, who intercepted the pass before falling out of bounds.

"I knew he was looking deep, and it hung up there for a good five seconds. I just came down with it," Rutland said. "Words can't describe how it felt."

Two plays later, Prep gave Landon another chance when Bobby Gribbin fumbled and the Bears' Kellen Miller recovered at the 22-yard line with 1:10 left.

But McDonough was caught looking deep again, and senior Matt Peterson picked him off at the 1 on second down to all but secure the victory. McDonough completed 9 of 18 passes for 62 yards with three interceptions.

"Sam has made plenty of big plays for us this season; I'm not going to criticize him for a couple of mistakes," Landon coach Rob Bordley said. "I'm happy with the way we played, even if I'm disappointed with the result. I thought it was a heck of a game."

For much of the first half, the Bears had the upper hand.

The Little Hoyas scored on their first possession, when Gribbin punched in the first of his two touchdowns on a 7-yard run 4:25 into the game. But Landon responded with a touchdown of its own, a 5-yard run by Delonte Wellington with 1:16 left in the first quarter.

And Bears senior Wes Lincoln blocked the punt that ended Prep's next drive. When senior Jack Findaro covered the loose ball, his team was 7 yards away from another touchdown.

Three plays later, Andrew Wills ran 1 yard into the end zone for a 14-6 Bears lead 10:13 left before halftime.

"We started slow as an offense in the first half," said Schryber, who completed 10 of 20 passes for 139 yards with one interception. "But we picked it up, and our offensive line played great. It just means so much to win. There's nothing like a Landon-Prep game."

Georgetown Prep cut the lead to 14-9 when Macomber hit a 40-yard field goal with 3:25 left in the second quarter.

The Little Hoyas dominated the second half. After stopping the Bears' first possession, Prep got going with a 44-yard dash by Mazzie Rutland. On fourth-and-2 at the 4, the Little Hoyas got a favorable pass interference call that gave them a first down at the 2. Rutland scored on a 1-yard dive two plays later to give Prep the lead for good, 15-14, 5:52 into the second half.

Gribbin added his second touchdown on a 3-yard run with 8:44 to play, and then caught a pass from senior quarterback Jack Schryber on the conversion to give the Little Hoyas a 23-16 lead.

Wellington finished with 54 rushing yards to lead the Bears offense, which also benefited from two safeties in the second half. Rutland finished with 69 rushing yards, and Gribbin added 51 in the win.

"Crazy things just have a way of happening in this game," said Paro, whose teams have won the last two meetings in the series. "I'm very happy with the way we responded to adversity; we made the big plays we needed to make."