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With the win, the Patriots (6-4) earn a bid to the Class 4A North Region playoffs, where they will visit top-seed Linganore in first round action next week.

The Patriots were led by bruising junior tailback Nick Forbes, who racked up 141 rushing yards to go along with two touchdowns and a two-point conversion. Senior Brock Chapman added 71 yards and senior wide receiver Jordan Dorsey scored from 35 yards out on an end-around.

Forbes did most of his damage in the first half, as Thomas Johnson twice built 14-point cushions, 14-0 and 21-7. On the opening drive alone, Forbes broke off two 30-yard runs before finally bullying his way into the end from three yards out just 2:33 into the game.

After forcing a punt, Pats' quarterback D.J. Jenkins connected with D.J. Scott on a 53-yard touchdown with 4:33 left in the first quarter. Jenkins finished the day 9-15 with 158 yards and a touchdown, but sat out the second half with an ankle injury.

Frederick would come back during the second quarter, capitalizing on a few Patriots' miscues. The Cadets' Alec Ahearn fell on top of a fumble at the TJ 41-yard line. Aided by a 15-yard facemask penalty, the Cadets scored nine plays later when quarterback Andrew Zimnik found freshman Jalen Gee for an eight-yard score. Thomas Johnson would respond with a touchdown of its own, going 71 yards on 9 plays in less than four minutes. Forbes finished the drive, rumbling in on a draw play from 17 yards out.

Frederick marched right back down the field, scoring when Zimnik connected with junior Andrew Hartman from 15 yards out. The Cadets missed the extra point, but still cut the lead to 21-13 with 2:59 left in the half. Zimnik again found Gee for a 50-yard score before the half. Frederick failed on the two-point conversion and headed into halftime down just two points, 21-19. Gee finished with 86 yards receiving and two scores, while Zimnik completed 10 out of 17 passes for 137 yards and three touchdowns in the first half.

Thomas Johnson head coach Ben Wright was not pleased with the way his team allowed Frederick to come back.

"I thought at the start we played pretty intensely," said Wright. "Then we got ahead and they relaxed. I can't tell you what we said at halftime, but once we got them back focused on what they were doing, they played better."

The Patriots came out strong in the second half, especially on defense side of the ball. They stopped the Cadets on their first two possessions, picking off a Zimnik pass and forcing a three-and-out.

After Dorsey scored his touchdown to put the Patriots up 28-19 with 3:57 left in the third quarter, it looked as if Thomas Johnson would once again allow Frederick back into the game. The Patriots held the Cadets on a third down, but a penalty gave the Cadets a first down.

The Cadets would get the ball inside the 10, but on a 4th-and-3, TJ junior Marquis Woodyard jumped a swing pass and took it back 95 yards for a touchdown.

"I saw the play coming," said Woodyard, who would pick off another delivery on the ensuing possession. "I knocked it up and the ball landed in my hands. After that, I was looking straight at the end zone and just kept running."

On Frederick's first play from scrimmage after the kick off, Woodyard again picked off Zimnik, the quarterback's third of the half.

"We weren't executing in the first half," said Woodyard, who also broke up two passes in the second half by putting big hits on Frederick receivers. "So we just started executing in the second half. This was a big game, we knew we had to win this game [to make the playoffs]."

Frederick finished the season at 3-7. Josh Jackson led the Cadets with 118 total yards, while Zimnik finished up with 18-32 with 175 yards and 63 yards rushing.