QO Guts Out a Tough Win in Renewed Rivalry With Damascus

By Syl Sobel

I n a big game between big rivals whose big men re-ceived the biggest pregame

attention, it was two of the littlest guys on the field who made the biggest plays for Quince Orchard in their 21-7 victory over Damascus in Fri-day’s home opener.

Senior running back Mar-quez Cooper (5-foot-7, 190 pounds) scored all three QO touchdowns, ran for 174 yards, caught three passes for 26 yards, and became the school’s all-time leading ground-gain-er on his three-yard, go-ahead touchdown run with 3:01 in the game.

And senior safety Tod-dreis Baltimore (5-foot-9, 165 pounds) intercepted a Damas-cus pass and returned it to the 10 in the second quarter, set-ting up QO’s first score and al-lowing the Cougars’ frustrated offense to redeem itself after two long first-half drives came up empty.

“This was a great win, but it’s only (one) win,” QO Coach John Kelley told his team after the game. “Proud of them, be-cause we haven’t beaten these guys since 2013.”

On breaking the QO ca-reer record for yards gained rushing, an emotional Cooper

said, “It means the world to me. … I have been working for this.” He paid tribute to his uncle and two friends who have died in re-cent years, including former QO teammate Tyler Terry.

The win lifted defending state champion QO to 2-0, and they retained their no. 3 spot in this week’s Washington Post rankings. Damascus came into the game ranked eighth.

Friday night’s showdown had been hyped since it appeared on the schedule last summer. The Cougars and Swarmin’ Hornets are two of the metro area’s pre-mier programs and had a fierce rivalry. Entering the season, only one Montgomery County oppo-nent had beaten Damascus since 2011—QO in 2013—and the Hornets beat the Cougars in their past three meetings. The teams hadn’t faced each other since 2016.

The Cougar Dome atmo-sphere reflected the intensity of the renewed rivalry. Media pho-tographers and reporters from local news outlets crowded the sidelines, and both student sec-tions were packed an hour before kickoff. By midway through the game, the stadium was ringed more than five-deep with stand-ing-room-only fans.

Adding to the crowd were scouts from college programs, as

Vol. 16, No. 19 September 20, 2019www.towncourier.com

Gaithersburg’s Hometown Newspaper | Serving Kentlands, Lakelands, Quince Orchard Park and More

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Grand Opening: Cinépolis Marks the Future of Moviegoing

By Lilly Price

A fter more than a year of building and renovations, Kentlands Market Square

has a movie theater again, but one like never before.

Cinépolis USA made its Mary-land debut last Friday with a soft opening in Gaithersburg. A grand opening is planned for this Friday, Sept. 20. At the snap of your fin-gers, or the push of a button lo-cated on all plush reclining chairs, the 34,000-square-foot “luxury” theater takes the moviegoing ex-perience to new heights.

The term luxury goes beyond merely having reclining chairs. Cinépolis, the Mexican cinema chain that means “City of Cine-ma,” takes care of its moviegoers. With in-theater waiter service to take food and drink orders and the ability to order tickets ahead of time on the Cinépolis USA app or website, customers are prom-ised they won’t have to wait in line.

“Service is what separates us,” said David Johnson, general man-ager of Cinépolis Luxury Cine-mas Gaithersburg. “Patrons can get whatever they need. We are here to take care of them.”

Cinépolis has nine spacious cinemas and 540 leather reclin-ing seats. After pressing a button on their recliner to flag a waiter, customers can order off a menu that includes elaborate items such as edamame, truffle flatbreads, gourmet burgers and hummus platters—all made fresh in a full-service kitchen with a chef.

Even the popcorn is served with grandeur in mind, with options like “zebra popcorn” consisting of caramel popcorn with choco-late drizzle or Cheetos-flavored

popcorn with Cheetos mixed in. Pending the approval of its liquor license, Cinépolis will also have a stocked bar that offers “hand-crafted cocktails, crafted beer and wine by the glass or bottle,” ac-cording to Johnson.

The new theater has a futuristic feel. The designated lounge area is open and airy with high ceilings and sleek, modern furniture ac-cented by complementing cream and gold colors. Movie posters are

Photo | Lilly Price

A luxurious lobby sets the stage for the Cinépolis moviegoing experience.

Photo | Mac Kennedy

QO’s Marquez Cooper’s extra effort carried him into the end zone for the first of his three touchdowns in the Cougar’s 21-7 victory over Damascus. Cooper ran for 174 yards and broke the school record for career rushing yards.

n QO FOOTBALL continues on page 11

n CINÉPOLIS continues on page 7

Photo | Phil Fabrizio, PhotoLoaf

An estimated 600 people attended the Musica Viva classical music concert held Sept. 7 on the Kentlands Clubhouse lawn. This was the third free concert in the series organized by Kentlands residents Maestro Simeone Tartaglione and Pompiliu Verzariu and initiated in 2018. According to Verzariu, Musica Viva hopes to hold two full orchestra concerts in 2020 and is starting to raise funds now. Contributions can be sent to Musica Viva in care of the Kentlands Community Foundation, 267 Kentlands Blvd., Box 200, Gaithersburg, MD 20878.

Page 2 THE TOWN COURIER September 20, 2019

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Compiled by Pam Schipper

Arts Barn to Reopen SoonThe historic Arts Barn will reopen

on Oct. 2 after renovations to the roof and HVAC systems, which began ear-lier this summer. To kick off its 17th season of programming, the Arts Barn will participate in the two-day Man-hattan Short Film Festival Oct. 3 and 4. The festival brings 100,000 film lovers together in more than 300 cin-emas across six continents to view and vote on the finalists films.

Housed in a renovated stable once belonging to the Tschiffely family es-tate (circa 1900), the Arts Barn con-tains an auditorium for concerts, live theatre and film screenings. The sta-ble’s stalls and loft were converted into classrooms, a box office, an art gallery, artist-in-residence studios, and a retail space for local artists. The Arts Barn along with the Kentlands Mansion create an arts campus known as Arts On the Green.

Support Ride Allegheny 2019 Ride Allegheny, which began in

2001, has raised more than $3 million in support of wounded American he-roes and Operation Second Chance. This year’s 310-mile, four-day ride from Pittsburgh to Gaithersburg on Oct. 3 to Oct. 6 benefits Operation Second Chance.

If you would like to help Ride Al-legheny reach its $500,000 fundraising goal this year, visit rideallegheny.org.

Mark Your Calendars for Oktoberfest

The 28th Annual Oktoberfest is planned for Sunday, Oct. 13, noon to 5 p.m. in and around the Arts Barn, Kentlands Mansion, Kentlands Vil-lage Green, Main Street and Mar-ket Square. Experience a taste of Germany with performances by the Alte Kameraden German Band and Alt-Washingtonia Bavarian Danc-ers. In addition to traditional festival food, selections from Dogfish Head and other local microbreweries as well as Maryland varietal wines, you can enjoy free horse-drawn wagon rides, strolling entertainers, four stages of live entertainment, family activities, arts and crafts and more.

Get a Jump on Halloween at the Barn

Not a trick! Okto-boo-fest at the Arts Barn during the 28th Annu-al Oktoberfest promises to be a real treat. Just in time for Halloween, Ok-to-boo-fest features themed art activ-ities, games, a costume parade, trick-or-treating and photo opportunities.

AROUNDTOWNCOMMUNITY

Photo | Phil Fabrizio, PhotoLoaf

Maestro Simeone Tartaglione leads a full Musica Viva orchestra of 40 musicians in a free classical music concert held Sept. 7 on the Kentlands Clubhouse lawn. Virtuoso violinist Alessandra Cuffaro, who is married to the maestro, performed “Sarasate Zigeunerweisen Op. 20 (Gypsy Airs).” You can see her perform again with her husband on Oct. 5 at the Arts Barn as the couple kick off the Barn’s 2019-2020 season with “Paganini and Brahms with Alessandra Cuffaro.”

Flowers Inspire Kentlands Photographer Roy Kelley

You may have seen prolific floral pho-tographer Roy Kelley and his wife, Dolores, on one of their flower walks around Kent-lands. A former real estate broker original-ly from Portsmouth, Virginia, Kelley has enjoyed photography as a hobby since childhood. At his wife’s suggestion, pho-tography has become the focus of his re-tirement.

Flower photography, however, came out of the blue. “I was happy because they were there and they were interesting,” Kelley said. “They don’t complain about being photographed!”

The Kelleys, who have lived in Kent-lands since 1995, are art lovers who take day trips to flower and garden venues and museums and enjoy international travel, including trips to Russia and China. Their home has an impressive collection of art by a number of Virginia Beach artists. Dolores is an art history major and former docent at the Corcoran Gallery of Art.

Kelley has developed a signature world-wide following through several Facebook flower- and photography-related sites. He uses social media to test what people like and don’t like, posting one photo a day to each group. He receives hundreds of dai-ly comments on his work and is pleased that his posts have been liked more than 1,400,000 times on Facebook. “It’s vali-dation—it’s a good hobby, and I enjoy the appreciation. It is rewarding that others

see my photos as meaningful. It’s hard to tell what moves them. They may have fall-en on hard times and a single photo can brighten their day. If one person says I’ve made their day, it makes it all worthwhile.”

I was surprised to learn that Kelley does not print or frame any of his photos, uses iPiccy.com for photo editing and has only sold his work for commercial purposes. “I will sell them if people want them, but it hasn’t been my quest,” he revealed.

He captures whatever is blooming during his walks in Kentlands and Lakelands, and has learned the best conditions for pho-tographing, like early morning light, and considers the background as well. “You learn to look at things a different way when

you are photographing,” he said. Locally, the lily season is coming to an

end and dahlias will be in bloom now un-til the first frost. He mentioned that when flowers dry in winter, they take on new forms and provide a unique photographic perspective.

Brookside Gardens is enjoyable for its butterfly show, fall dahlia show and dis-plays of chrysanthemums. He is especial-ly interested in dahlias and orchids as they photograph well and have therefore be-come favorites.

Another regular day trip is the Long-wood Gardens’ Orchid House. “They cater to photographers and have an exotic col-lection. They put dye in the water at their lily ponds so that photographs can stand out more.”

Kelley looks at photography as a year-round hobby. “There is always something in nature to photograph,” he said. He also likes to shoot art and frequents Hillwood Museum, the Chrysler Museum in Nor-folk and Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond.

He writes a popular blog on activerain.com about real estate, local businesses, photography and topics of general interest. He adds a photo of one of his flowers at the end of each blog. Sometimes, he said, “I think there is more interest in the flowers than in the blog!”

“I encourage readers to walk around the area. There is a lot to see in Kentlands and Lakelands and plenty of flowers to photo-graph—always something new to photo-graph and networking to do!” You can see Kelley’s work on his Facebook page and on his activerain blog at activerain.com/blogs/roykelley.

EYEON ART

By Marylou Bono

Photo | Roy Kelley

Roy Kelley photographed this Dahlia, Best Bett, Mystic Spirit at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylva-nia, using a Canon PowerShot G11 camera.

Page 4 THE TOWN COURIER September 20, 2019

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per published twice a month that provides news and information for the communities of Kentlands, Lakelands and Quince Orchard Park in Gaithersburg, Md. The paper is published by Town Courier LLC, which is responsible for the form, content and policies of the newspaper. The Town Courier does not espouse any political belief or endorse any product or service in its news coverage. Articles and letters submitted for publication must be signed and may be edited for length or content. The Town Courier is not responsi-ble for any claims made by advertisers. Letters to the Editor and Commentary do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff, management or advertisers of The Town Courier.

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ARTSPoetry Is Thriving at DiVerse

By Marylou Bono

Q uince Orchard Library was alive with poetry the second Sunday in Sep-tember as the DiVerse Gaithersburg

Poetry Reading & Open Mic group began its third season. The creation of Quince Orchard Park resident Lucinda Marshall, DiVerse holds readings that feature local poets and offer an open mic for those who wish to share their work on the second Sunday of each month from 2 to 4 p.m. at the library. “Prior to when I began host-ing readings in 2017, there were no regular poetry readings in northwest Montgomery County,” Marshall explained. “Given the recent upsurge in poetry’s popularity, it is no surprise that DiVerse has been well re-ceived and attended.”

Readings began in the former Chesa-peake Framing and Art Gallery in Crown and then moved to the Gaithersburg Li-brary in 2018. “When librarian Eve Bur-ton, who is poet herself, suggested that we move to the Quince Orchard Library, I knew immediately that it would be a good fit given that they already have an ongoing poetry workshop program,” Marshall said.

The group draws its audience from all over the metro area. “Area poet Serena Agusto-Cox came up with the DiVerse name, which is a nod to both poetic verse and our diverse community,” Marshall said. “In keeping with that spirit, I try to ensure that we bring in a wide variety of poetic voices.”

Marshall and Burton welcomed the 30-plus attendee group, which included all ages, on Sept. 8. Their format typically features three published poets who each read several of their works. Kristin Kow-alski Ferragut, a Gaithersburg resident, be-gan with selections encompassing themes of daily life, childhood recollections and comparing and contrasting thoughts and memories that her son helped her choose. She is a teacher and has been a featured poet at local area readings and in poetry and prose writing workshops.

Jona Colson, an associate professor of ESL at Montgomery College, read two in-triguing dialogue poems—”Passport Con-trol” and “Doctor to Patient.” Somewhat comical in a slightly melancholy way, the responses are what one internalizes rather than actual responses to questions. Colson is a native Marylander and a sailor who en-joys writing on the themes of water and winter. His rapport with the audience, in-flection and clear presentation make you want to hear more.

Le Hinton, the author of six poetry collections, tackles what you might term “today” feelings—social commentary, current events, to the point themes. But

he presents the memories, lessons and his-tory of the past as well, all with a concise yet gentle delivery. The audience laughed when he said that he chooses what to read by listening to the poems as they speak to him and tell him “if they want to come out to play.” Cotton features as a meandering theme in his work, and he personified it in one selection. He read of his thoughts on the 2015-16 shootings in Lancaster and Charleston, and mature love with an epi-graph from F. Scott Fitzgerald.

DiVerse’s Open Mic attracts “both ex-perienced and newer poets,” Marshall said. “Several people have read their work aloud for the first time at our readings, and we are honored to be able to provide that op-portunity for them. We’ve also had several people who have come just to listen and told me later that they were inspired to go home and try their hand at writing poet-ry.”

Currently scheduled dates for readings are Oct. 13, Nov. 10 and Dec. 8. There is no cost or registration required to attend. October and December readings will in-clude poets who also pursue other creative work; they will discuss how they work with multiple forms of expression. The Quince Orchard Library also sponsors Po-etry Evenings, offering adults an opportu-nity to read, write and share their poetry. Upcoming dates are Oct. 10, Nov. 14 and Dec. 12 at 7 p.m.

For more information, visit www.di-versepoetry.com.

Photo | Marylou Bono

A great gathering of poets and fans kicked off the first 2019-2020 DiVerse Gaithersburg Poetry Reading & Open Mic on Sept. 8 at Quince Orchard Library.

@TownCourier for more neighborhood news!

September 20, 2019 THE TOWN COURIER Page 5

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‘The New Wave’ Solo Art ExhibitThrough Oct. 31; reception Sept. 21, 3-5 p.m., The Framer’s Choice Gallery, 402 Main St.

This solo art exhibition features abstracts by international artist Vian Borchert.

Latino Art League ExhibitionThrough Oct. 28, Bohrer Park

This a recurring exhibit of contem-porary art featuring Latino artists in the greater D.C. area.

Olney Art Association ExhibitionThrough Nov. 12; reception Oct. 17, 7-8:30 p.m., Kentlands Mansion

This group is returning for their third year at the Kentlands Mansion with a ju-ried exhibit.

Main Street Farmers & Artists MarketSept. 21, 28 & Oct. 5, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Main Street Pavilion

Discover local meats and produce, pre-pared foods, cut flowers and potted plants, baked goods, arts and crafts and more.

Kentlands Mansion Bridal ShowSept. 22, 12-4 p.m., Kentlands Mansion

Attend a mock wedding that showcases an officiant, florists and attire vendors. You can also enjoy a mini first dance lesson, a makeup and skincare tutorial, a wedding etiquette Q&A, and samples from wedding caterers. Tickets are $5 in advance and $10 at the door.

Preschool Mornings: Senshi KarateConstitution Gardens Park, 112 Brookes Ave. Sept. 24, 10:30-11:30 a.m.

Enjoy a family-friendly martial arts program complete with a warm-up, story time, and mini class. Free.

Introduction to Data ScienceSept. 25-Oct. 23, every Wednesday evening, 7-8 p.m., Quince Orchard Library

This free course invites high school stu-dents and interested adults to upgrade skills and explore data science as a career choice. The course is conducted by Sanjay Rajvan-shi. No prior knowledge of programming required. Register online and bring a lap-top. Call 240.777.0200 for more informa-tion.

Family Evening with Montgomery County Bee AssociationConstitution Gardens Park, 112 Brookes Ave.Sept. 26, 5-6 p.m.

Join Beekeeper Norma Bell to explore the life of bees, listen to a story and identify bee-friendly plants. Free.

Evenings in Olde Towne: Rhodes Tavern TroubadoursSept. 26, 6 p.m., City Hall Concert Pavilion

Enjoy rock and pop music. Free.

Let’s Cook@Casey: Ultimate Brownie Sundae BarSept. 27, 7 p.m., Casey Community Center

Chef Carolyn Crow teaches you how to build the perfect brownie sundae. Fee is $55.

Tasty Books: Dragons Love TacosCasey Community Center Sept. 28, 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.

The award-winning team of Adam Ru-bin and Daniel Salmieri has created an unforgettable tale of new friends and the perfect snack. This program is for children ages 2 to 8. Admission is $5.

Preschool Mornings With My Gym KentlandsOct. 1, 10:30-11:30 a.m.Constitution Gardens Park, 112 Brookes Ave.

Get moving with tumbling, story time and musical mat time. Free.

Manhattan Short Film FestivalOct. 3 & 4, 7:30 p.m., Arts Barn

Some 100,000 film lovers unite in over 300 cinemas across six continents to view and vote on the finalists’ films. Tickets are $12.

Let’s Cook@Casey: Classic North Indian CuisineOct. 4, 7 p.m.Casey Community Center

Chef Drew Faulkner invites you to ex-plore the art of Indian spicing with tech-niques for grinding, toasting, frying, and blending spices. Fee is $55.

‘Figuratively Speaking’Oct. 4-Nov. 18; reception Oct. 17, 7-8:30 p.m., Arts Barn

This exhibit celebrates the human fig-ure with works by Trish Stockman, Johan Lowie, Myron Barnstone and Maduka Francis Uduh.

Who’s Buried at Aspin Hill Pet CemeteryOct. 4, 7 p.m. Gaithersburg Community Museum

Julianne Mangin shares her knowledge of this unique Montgomery County rest-ing place. Tickets are $10.

Kentlands Family Fall FestivalHosted by Bella Ballet, Oct. 5, 2:30-5 p.m. Kentlands Mansion Lawn

This free celebration features fall treats, face painting, moon bounce, lawn games and more. In lieu of an admission fee, please bring a new backpack or stuffed an-imal to donate to a child in need through Comfort Cases, a local organization that supports children in the foster care system. RSVP by Oct. 4 through the Bella Ballet Kentlands Facebook page.

A&EBRIEFS Compiled by Pam Schipper

Paganini and Brahms with Alessandra CuffaroOct. 5, 8 p.m., Arts Barn

Violin virtuoso Alessandra Cuffa-ro and husband and pianist Simeone Tartaglione share music of Pagani-ni and Brahms. Tickets are $30 for adults, $18 for youth (18 and under).

Page 6 THE TOWN COURIER September 20, 2019

BUSINESSNew Superfood Café Encourages Customers to Stay Awhile

By Lilly Price

S ept. 9 marked the opening week of Berries & Bowls, a fast-paced café with a restaurant vibe that promis-

es customers its fruit bowls, smoothies and juices are the healthiest meal they will eat all day.

Located at 120 Market St., Berries & Bowls is defined by its large windows, orange and purple interior, relaxed atmo-sphere and ample seats—an important fac-tor for owner and manager Brian Levine that led to the café’s placement in the Kentlands.

“We chose this location versus some of the other sites, we wanted to have seats,” Levine said. “We wanted to have people sit and relax and enjoy and spend time here.”

To encourage customers to stay awhile, Berries & Bowls serves its fruit blended product that has the thick, smooth feel of ice cream in a glass bowl with a metal spoon, rather than with paper and plastic typical of quick-service food items.

“I don’t like serving customers in a restaurant in plastic,” Levine said. “To me that’s a takeout container.”

Following Mod Pizza, Berries & Bowls is the second new restaurant to open re-

cently in Kentlands Market Square and has had little difficulty attracting customers. Its most popular item is the acai bowl, a frozen puree of bananas and acai berries, a nutri-tious fruit from a Brazilian palm tree.

Acai berries are considered a superfood because they are packed with antioxidants and regarded as superior in nutritional val-ue and health benefits. Acai berries resem-ble blueberries in appearance but hail from the Amazon rainforest and have a natural, bitter taste.

Acai is one of five fruit-blended bases offered, along with pitaya, kale, spirulina (an algae powder known for its bright blue appearance and health benefits) and coco-nut—the second favorite among custom-ers. There are then 12 combination of fruit toppings to choose from, such as the “Nut-ty Professor” consisting of granola, banana, strawberries, peanut butter, Nutella, pea-nuts and almonds.

The acai berry picked up popularity in California in the 2000s and has since cap-tured the nation’s attention. With an in-creasingly health-conscious society and social media-minded consumers, acai bowl shops and superfood cafes like Berries & Bowls are cropping up all over the country as the food trend continues to expand.

Berries & Bowls has felt the demand. “I’m going through about five cases of

bananas a day. That’s 40-pound boxes, that’s 200 pounds of bananas every single day,” Levine said, who noted customers waited outside for the store to open Friday morning.

The superfood café also prides itself on having no added sugar to its menu items that—along with its “100 percent pure acai” bowls—includes smoothies, chia pudding and vegetable juices.

“It’s all about eating healthy and making good choices,” Levine said.

Photo | Lilly Price

Berries & Bowls opened in Kentlands Market Square on Sept. 9. Since then the new superfood café has served approxi-mately 200 pounds of bananas every single day.

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CITYSCENE Compiled by Pam Schipper

City, Developer Agree to Work Together on Lakeforest Mall

Prior to WRS Inc.’s late July acquisi-tion of the Lakeforest Mall core, the City of Gaithersburg initiated the special study area process to create a holistic vision for redevelopment of the mall. When the South Carolina-based commercial real es-tate company purchased the core area of the mall—Lakeforest’s four anchor department stores continue to own their own spaces—the city began discussions with them.

This unfolding of events resulted in the consideration of dueling resolutions on the Sept. 16 Mayor & City Council agen-da—delay redevelopment of the mall for 18 months while a special study area master plan is completed or work with WRS Inc. (dba Lakeforest Retail Investment, LLC) for a period of 150 days to develop an agree-ment for redevelopment of the property.

The Mayor and City Council voted unanimously to authorize City Manager Tony Tomasello to execute an agreement with Lakeforest Retail Investment, LLC related to the Lakeforest Mall properties.

In addition to working to acquire the four anchor department store spaces, Lake-forest Retail Investment, LLC will agree “not to file any new plans or zoning ap-plications within the 150 days so that we can work cooperatively and craft and de-velop a plan that meets everyone’s needs,” Tomasello said. “They agree to work with us on the public outreach and the planning

process and the public participation re-garding redevelopment of the mall.”

Mayor Jud Ashman said, “I’m glad that we’ve reached an agreement to hold off on the special study area, which is the al-ternative here, in a good faith expectation that the new owner of the core will take the time to get everybody on board and acquire all the properties and come back to the table with the ability to negotiate a development agreement that would be ad-vantageous for everybody.”

City Creates Welcome DoorThe City of Gaithersburg invited resi-

dents to express their sense of communi-ty by writing a message on its Welcome Door, located at the Activity Center at Bohrer Park, starting Sept. 9. Gaithers-burg is joining Montgomery County and the nation in celebrating Welcoming Week Sept. 13 to 22.

“An open door is a great symbol of welcome,” said Mayor Jud Ashman. “In Gaithersburg, we actively foster the con-nections that are so important to making this an inclusive community, a place of ac-ceptance for all.”

Chat With Elected OfficialsMontgomery County Council Vice

President Sidney Katz and Mayor of Gaith-ersburg Jud Ashman invite you to visit

n CITY SCENE continues on page 7

September 20, 2019 THE TOWN COURIER Page 7

Compiled by Pam Schipper

Dake Edward Williams, 28, 100 block of Ellington Boulevard, was arrested Sept. 11, 2019 and faces 10 charges of possession of child por-nography. He was released on bail Sept. 13.

Charges stem from a 2017 drug investigation when police seized electronic devices at Williams’ home. Investigators discovered child pornography on the devices.

Williams was a volunteer assistant wrestling coach at Quince Orchard High School from 2015 to 2018. A 2009 graduate of Quince Orchard, Williams was a member of the foot-ball, wrestling and baseball pro-grams there.

According to a Sept. 16 letter to parents from QO Principal Beth Thomas, “MCPS was just made aware of Mr. Williams’ arrest.” She also noted that “These charges, which stem from a 2017 incident, appear to be unrelated to his role as a volunteer coach.”

A preliminary hearing is set for Oct. 17, 8 a.m. at Montgomery County District Court in Rock-ville.

advertised on digital screens.But the box office is deemed obsolete.

Rather, customers must order tickets and choose their designated seats at a kiosk or on the app.

Tickets range from $8 to $13 for adults and $8 to $10 for children, depending on the day and time. Magic Hour, the name of their discount hours when tickets are $8, takes place Monday through Thursday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. for a limited time. On Tuesdays, tickets will cost $8 and on occasion will feature older classics such as “The Goonies,” “Top Gun” and “Back to the Future.”

Cinépolis’ opening also marks a future change for Kentlands Market Square. The shopping center is in the midst of a $23-million redevelopment by Kimco Re-alty Corp. The luxury movie theater is ex-pected to draw large crowds and boost rev-enue at neighboring shops and restaurants.

“People are excited to see change and revamp the neighborhood,” Johnson said.

For a tight-knit community like the Kentlands, a movie theater takes center-stage. “It’s a piece of the community,” Johnson said. “Everyone is super excited to have that again.”

POLICE BLOTTER

SHOPTALK Compiled by Pam Schipper

Pritchard Music Academy Plans 10th Anniversary & Grand Opening Celebration

Pritchard Music Academy (PMA) will celebrate the grand opening of its bigger location at 221 Kentlands Boulevard on Saturday, Oct. 5—as well as its 10th an-niversary. Come out to Kentlands Square noon to 4 p.m. for live music on a big stage. Donuts for Dinner, Michael Angelo Batio, and Bad Influence will perform. Activities will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony, an instrument petting zoo, giveaways and contests, as well as a five to 80 percent off sale on everything in the store.

The music school and retail establishment opened at 325 Main St. in November 2009. Owners Becky and Joe Pritchard—togeth-er with daughter Olivia—moved into the 2,700-square-foot store at 221 Kentlands Boulevard, right next to Grape Escape, on April 3. In addition to offering musical in-struction for all instruments, ages and ex-perience levels, Pritchard Music Academy is now a full-line music store with strings, brass, woodwind and fretted instruments, electric guitars and keyboards, drums and pro sound.

BobaPop Celebrates One-Year Anniversary

BobaPop recently celebrated its one-year anniversary at 312 Main St. with special Superman bottles full of BobaPop milk tea. The Kentlands BobaPop was the first US location for the Vietnamese milk tea com-pany that offers Taiwan’s most popular bev-erage. It is owned by Quince Orchard Park

residents Sam and Susan Lin, who part-nered with BobaPop founder William Tsai.

Foundry Fitness Organizes Shoe DriveFoundry Fitness, 205 Market St. West, is

collecting shoes for the Rukundo Interna-tional Shoe Drive through Tuesday, Oct. 15. Foundry Fitness hopes to collect 350 pairs of shoes for underprivileged children and their families in Uganda. Please drop off shoes in any condition, style and size in the labeled steel containers outside the gym. To find out more about Rukundo International, visit www.rukundointer-national.org/projects/reuse-recycle-cre-ate-jobs-annual-shoe-collection.

Occasions Gift Store Anticipates October Opening

Occasions Gift Store anticipates a mid-October opening for its second store location at 113 Market St. in Kentlands Market Square. From their Facebook page, “Our walls are painted, the Internet is get-ting installed soon, and fixtures are starting to come in!” The business, owned by local resident Stephanie Menick, also operates in Cabin John Village.

Artists on Market Active in Community

While Artists on Market firms up their new, nearby location after closing at 201 Market St. West at the end of August, member artists are still active in the com-munity. Join them on Oct. 13 for this year’s Oktoberfest Plein Aire Paint Out. You can register in advance at www.facebook.com/

artistsonmarket on the day of the event. Registration and check-in is noon to 1 p.m. at the Arts Barn. Artists are invited to paint anywhere in the festival grounds from 1 to 3 p.m. and then exhibit their work at the Arts Barn from 3:30 to 5 p.m.

More Lakeforest Anchors Leave MallSears will close its doors at Lakeforest

Mall this December. The company plans to close some 100 stores by the end of the year.

RestoraPet Opens in GaithersburgGaithersburg resident Brian Lars-

en is moving his fast-growing compa-ny RestoraPet from Silver Spring to a 6,000-square-foot facility in Gaithersburg this month. RestoraPet offers a blend of all-natural supplements and antioxidants designed to heal cellular degeneration as-sociated with aging. The formula includes the proprietary super antioxidant Vitali-trol, which was developed over a decade and more than 10,000 hours of research.

RestoraPet also offers a CBD product, RestoraPet Hemp, that features full-spec-trum help to unleash a pet’s vitality while fighting discomfort and anxiety. It offers the health benefits of organic, plant-based ingredients without psychotropic side ef-fects.

In addition to supplements for dogs, RestoraPet now has a new vet-approved line of supplements for feline and equine family members. Visit www.restorapet.com for more information.

Photo | Lilly Price

Graphics on the Cinépolis Center Point Way wall are a nod to the theater’s centerstage place in the community.

with them on Friday, Sept. 27, 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. at Einstein’s Bagels, 531 Quince Orchard Road. Enjoy an informal chat about issues import-ant to you—and coffee and bagels while supplies last. RSVP welcome but not required. Contact laurie.ed-berg@montgomerycountymd.gov.

Free Shredding Event Planned

Gaithersburg area residents are encouraged to bring paper and se-lect electronics for secure shredding and disposal to a free Community Shredding and Electronics Recy-cling Event on Saturday, Nov. 2. It takes place from 9 a.m. to noon at the Activity Center at Bohrer Park, 506 S. Frederick Ave., in the park-ing lot next to the Skate Park and Water Park. The event is present-ed by the City of Gaithersburg in partnership with the Gaithersburg Environmental Affairs Commit-tee, Clean Cut Shredding and eAs-set Solutions. While the shredding services are free, food donations to support the efforts of the Gaithers-burg HELP pantry would be very much appreciated.

n CITY SCENE from page 6

n CINÉPOLIS from page 1

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Page 8 THE TOWN COURIER September 20, 2019

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It Chapter Two (R) **Jessica Chastain

(Beverly) and James McEvoy (Bill) mark a major upgrade for the franchise, but they are still not enough to improve the quality of the film much over the original “It” (2017). The plot is more centered this time on the 27-year re-union of “The Losers” from elemen-tary school.

The ostensible purpose of the re-union is to kill “It” (Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise) who snatched Bill’s brother, Georgie, down a storm drain and killed him. The real reason, the film makes out, is to give the seven Losers a chance to reclaim their im-age as Losers and sense of purpose in life.

Eddie, for example, was a Loser be-cause he was fat. Now many pounds thinner and a hunk, Eddie proper-ly delivers the message to any sen-sitive teen or pre-teen: “In order to get the girls, lose weight.” Beverly’s problem is that she had an abusive father. Nothing much she can do to correct that. Seemingly destined for a romantic reunion with stuttering Bill, BFF from grade school, she gets sidetracked along the way in an al-most pathetically uninteresting turn of character.

The scene is set early on for the film as we are forced to endure a full-fron-tal barf, a car crash, an abusive hus-band, the abandonment of a wedding ring and my spilled buttered pop-corn—a very disturbing sequence—followed by a goofy clown with his

red balloon and hideous laughter. But the worst is yet to come as

this movie clocks in at 2 hours and 49 minutes, an almost interminable amount of time that caused me to miss lunch as well as my popcorn. We are reminded that: “No one who dies in Derry ever really dies.” Well, they do, seemingly, but there are repeated rebirths that are as confusing as they are unlikely. Oh, and there are zom-bies scattered around, for those of you who need more subtle forms of terror.

All in all, a rather tedious afternoon at the cinema unless you like rivers of blood appearing for no real reason other than to remind you that this is supposed to be a horror film. “No-body who dies in Derry ever really dies”… ‘tis a pity.

Hustlers (R) ****Jennifer Lopez as Ramona heads

a cast of women—men only have bit parts—in a story based on a New York Magazine article. This is the story of a group of pole dancers, strip-pers and female “entertainers” at one level or another, who tire of being taken for granted by the Wall Street creeps who lavish money on them for increasingly tawdry “dances” and other sex-oriented activities. They are not hookers, but hustlers, just like the men they entertain.

The story starts in 2007, before the disaster that strikes the US and the sex entertainment industry in 2008 with the recession. Destiny (Constance Wu) is just starting in the business and is being tutored by Ramona. They quickly become fast friends as well as colleagues and eventually business partners.

Later, Elizabeth ( Julia Stiles) does an article focused on Destiny and Ra-

mona; the two have split up by then for reasons that become clear as the film progresses. Of the many women in the cast, Lili Reinhart as Annabelle stands out. She has a tendency to lose her dinner at all times, even when un-der moderate stress, and she is a phys-ical presence to be dealt with as well.

The script is sharp and sassy with its poignant moments. Ramona, fac-ing an uncertain future and trying to get Destiny to join her in anoth-er venture, reminds her: “We can’t dance forever.” The group eventually turns to a “double-header” approach to scamming men: One girl applies a poison that makes men careless with their credit cards, the second type of drink makes them happy they in-dulged in what they indulged in. The scam works fine until some of the girls misapply the drugs and trouble ensues, as it must.

The film is light-hearted on the surface but deadly serious about a life-style that was popular for a few years in the ‘80s but destined for failure when the engine driving it ground to a halt.

What of the men involved in buy-ing the girls’ services? They suffer no more than occasional embarrass-ment—certainly no prison sentences equal to those given the women.

There is a lot of skin exposed in the film, of course, but Lopez and Wu carry the film nobly and keep it from becoming overly exploitative. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself re-acting emotionally to the plight of the women and the slothfulness of the men. Both feelings are deserved.

For more Mike at the Movies, visit www.towncourier.com.

MIKEAT THE MOVIES

Photo | Submitted

Bill Skarsgård stars as Pennywise in “It Chapter Two.”

By Mike Cuthbert

September 20, 2019 THE TOWN COURIER Page 9

News and Current Events for Quince Orchard Park n E-mail your contributions to pam@towncourier.com n SEPTEMBER 2019

The ParkPages Meeting CalendarSept. 20—Condo II Board Meeting, QOP Clubhouse, 8 a.m.

Oct. 8—QOP Board of Directors Meeting, QOP Clubhouse, 7 p.m.

QOP NEWS

MANAGEMENT MENTIONS

Dispose of Trash and RecyclingTrash is collected on Tuesday and Fri-

day and must be placed in lidded trash cans. If left for collection in bags only, trash is ripped open by animals and strewn throughout the community. Continued use of bags may result in fines.

Recycling is picked up on Fridays. Con-tainers with lids are now available from the City of Gaithersburg. Please contact the city at 301.258.6370 or recycle@gaithers-burgmd.gov to have a lidded bin delivered and the old one picked up.

Please remember that trash cans and re-cycle bins must be stored out of sight on non-pickup days.

The City of Gaithersburg offers bulk trash pickup (furniture, appliances, mat-tresses, etc.) on the first recycling day of the month. The next bulk trash pickup is Friday, Oct. 4. The City of Gaithersburg and Potomac Disposal (301.294.9700) both offer collection services for bulk items at no cost.

Recycle RightDo you notice more litter in the com-

munity on recycling Fridays, especial-ly on windy days? If you do, you’re not alone. Some QOP streets are veritable wind tunnels, and an empty Amazon box can wind up in a far-off neighbor’s yard.

Please secure your recyclables by mak-ing sure that the top is closed on your 65-gallon cart and using a lid for your 18-gallon bin. Placing a large rock on top of the cart or bin also helps on windy days.

And remember to recycle right. Did you know that pizza boxes; plastic bags, film or wrap; Styrofoam and polystyrene; and empty bottles of motor oil, antifreeze or pesticides are all not recyclable? If you add these to your recycling pickup, the contents of your recycling bin or cart will be left at the curb.

For a complete list of recyclables, visit www.gaithersburgmd.gov.

Do Your Dog Duty Cleaning up after dogs is the legal

responsibility of every canine owner walking a dog in the community. Dogs are not permitted off-leash on common property in the City of Gaithersburg.

Get 20 Percent Off at PGC Did you know that you can save an

additional 20 percent at Potomac Gar-den Center (PGC) just for being a QOP resident? Present your driver’s license and enjoy a discount on regularly priced items at PGC’s 12024 Darnestown Road, North Potomac and 8710 Fin-gerboard Road, Urbana locations. Both locations are open seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

This PGC Community Discount pro-gram excludes gift cards, labor, delivery charges, taxes, sale items, chemicals and fertilizers. This discount can’t be com-bined with other offers. Valid only for residents within communities where PGC provides landscape maintenance.

Please Recommend ContractorsWere you pleased with work done

on your home? If so, please recommend your contractor to your neighbors. Just go to the website, www.quinceorchard-park.com and click on the ACC infor-mation tab. You’ll see the sub-tab “Con-tractor Recommendations” that links to a recommendation form.

QOP Management Contact Info.Quince Orchard Park

Community Manager Ruchita Patel

Co-Community Manager Rich Skobel

c/o The Management Group Associates, Inc.

20440 Century Boulevard, Suite 100 Germantown, MD 20874

Phone: 301.948.6666 Email: TMGAInc@TMGAInc.com

Being Covered Means Submitting Roof Shingles to ACC

The community is getting older, and it’s time for many homes to replace their roofs. If you are considering this, please remem-ber to submit your roof material and color choice to the Architectural Control Com-mittee (ACC) for approval prior to instal-lation. Any substantial repairs to a roof or complete replacements must be approved by the ACC before any work is done.

Four homes were recently cited for re-placing their roofs with light-colored shin-gles, which are not permitted per QOP Design Guidelines. The ACC is currently researching the availability of dark-col-ored, energy-efficient roof shingles and will update the Board soon.

Per the Association’s legal documents, a fine of $100 can be added for completing a modification without prior approval. A separate $100 fine can be charged for start-ing a project before the ACC has rendered a decision.

Draft 2020 Budget Mailed Soon to Homeowners

The draft 2020 budget will be mailed to homeowners soon. The budget reflects a 2 percent increase in assessments, mostly due to taxes, tree maintenance and improve-ments. The Board invites homeowners to comment on the draft budget via email to TMGAInc@TMGAInc.com. Comments will be discussed before the budget is voted on at the Board’s Nov. 12, 7 p.m. meeting.

Secure Your TrashPlease do not leave your trash out for

pickup in bags only. Trash bags are easily ripped open by wildlife who then spread the trash throughout the community. This mess is compounded on windy days.

Instead, please secure your trash bags in tightly covered trash cans. Proper trash et-iquette will go a long way toward keeping our community clean.

QOP Awarded Neighborhood Matching Grant

Quince Orchard Park received a $1,000 Neighborhood Matching Grant from the City of Gaithersburg last month for plant-ings in the community’s common areas. QOP was one of 14 neighborhood and homeowner associations that were award-ed a total of $40,039 through the City of Gaithersburg Frederick J. Felton Neigh-borhood Matching Grant Program. The program provides an incentive for neigh-borhood organizations to improve their communities.

Pond 2 Plantings Under ReviewThe Board is considering engagement of

landscaping design services for Pond 2, but no decision will be made until SOLitude

Lake Management inspects buffer plant-ings put in earlier this year that do not ap-pear to be thriving. SOLitude will deter-mine if the plantings, now under warranty, need to be replaced.

Look for several dead trees to be re-moved soon near Pond 2. These will be replaced pending the Board’s landscaping design services decision.

Tree Removal ContinuesThe City of Gaithersburg will remove

dead street-liner ash trees in September and October, according to Mark Kober, landscape and forestry supervisor. QOP streets with dead trees include Summer Walk Drive, Winter Walk Drive and Swanton Lane.

The city will replace the dead trees and address seeding of disturbed areas. Those trees that are more suited to spring plant-ing will be replaced in March.

Bag Your LeavesAutumn is fast approaching, and with it,

falling leaves. Please remember that leaves should be placed in paper bags only and left out for collection on recycling day. Neither the city nor the HOA will vacuum leaves from the cub.

Leaves should not be blown onto the common areas as the HOA lawn contract assumes that a certain amount of time is needed to clear leaves that fall from the common area trees. If residents blow their leaves into the common area, this could re-sult in a cost increase for the lawn contract.

Alley Entrance Repair PlannedGoshen Enterprises will be repairing the

alley entrances off of Church Gate Lane and Winter Walk Drive. The work is an-ticipated to be complete by Sept. 30.

Spring Forward for Community Yard Sale

A listserv bulletin asked for communi-ty input on holding a spring yard sale, and response was positive. Two homeowners have volunteered to help coordinate the event, but more help is welcome. If you’re interested in helping with the QOP spring yard sale, please contact Ruchita Patel at RPatel@tmgainc.com.

Photo | Submitted

Please place leaves in paper bags only and leave them out for collection on recycling day.

Monster Bash PlannedQOP’s annual Halloween treat

will return on Saturday, Oct. 26 with a monster bash at the clubhouse, 5 to 7 p.m. According to Fran Gianaris, QOP resident and real estate agent sponsoring the event with Charles Wilson of RE/MAX Metroplitan Realty, the par-ty will feature pizza, cake, treat bags with candy, and prizes for the best costumes.

A 7:30 p.m. screening of the original “Ghostbusers” (1984) will follow the party in the clubhouse parking lot. Bring your own chairs and blankets and enjoy free popcorn while supplies last.

Page 10 THE TOWN COURIER September 20, 2019

SPORTS

Sisters Hope to Help QO Golf Qualify for States, Encourage More Female Participation

By Jennifer Beekman

F or two years, current Quince Orchard High School junior Sophia Oristian was the lone girl on the Cougars’ coed

golf team. In fact, until Oristian’s arrival in 2017, only one girl had ever made it into the starting lineup for a coed match, which consists of the team’s top six golfers for reg-ular-season competitions, during Coach Russell Doane’s nine-year tenure. And only two girls, total, had joined the team.

Though female participation in high school golf is at an all-time high (79,821 student-athletes) according to the National Federation of State High School Associa-tions, girls still only account for 35 percent of high school golf teams. Having grown up in a male-dominated sport, Oristian was already quite accustomed to being the only girl, as was often the case in Montgomery County Golf Juniors Golf League. But she admitted she still felt an added pressure to prove her worth among the Cougars’ upper echelon. Early this fall, after bouncing back from a bout with plantar fasciitis during her freshman season, Oristian has well estab-lished herself as one of Quince Orchard’s best and, Doane said, keeps getting better. But this time around, she has younger sister and freshman Grace by her side.

“It’s nice to have another girl, especially it being my sister,” the elder Oristian said. “It’s been fun and we’re really enjoying our-

selves out there representing our school and the Quince Orchard community.”

The sisters, who began playing golf al-most as soon as they could walk thanks their dad Steve’s love for the game, have been holding down Quince Orchard’s Nos. 3 and 4 slots interchangeably and played in both of the team’s first two matches. The Cougars, who won state championships in 1989 and 1993, qualified for states as a team six of the previous eight seasons. The team just missed out on qualifying for the sea-son-ending competition last fall, finishing only two strokes over the 288-stroke cutoff. Sophia, who leads the team in birdies, and Grace said they hope to help take the team one step farther this season.

Teams are allowed only five entries into the district competition, which is scheduled for Oct. 7. There, Quince Orchard’s top four finishers’ scores will count toward the team total and if that number is 288 or less, the foursome advances to states. Ten strokes are taken away from a team’s total for every girl who finishes in the top four. Individuals can earn a trip to the state competition by achieving a predetermined qualifying stan-dard.

Returning to the top of Quince Or-chard’s lineup this season is senior Kyle Ba-low, who qualified for the state champion-ship last year as an individual and finished

Photo | Courtesy of Kathleen Oristian

Sisters Sophia and Grace Oristian have been holding down Quince Orchard’s Nos. 3 and 4 slots interchangeably and played in both of the team’s first two matches.

FIRSTPERSONSpice Girl

I’m just a girl, stand-ing in the grocery store Labor Day weekend, wondering why all my normal foods now have pumpkin spice.

And it’s not just the grocery store; it’s ev-erywhere. Coffee, can-dles, creamer, cookies, cream cheese and all manner of craziness. Here is a news flash: For decades we all survived autumn just fine without a proliferation of pump-kin.

This gourd is driving me out of my gourd. Because if you don’t like pump-kin spice, you are out of luck from August until at least Christmas when gingerbread is headed down the same slippery slope.

Can’t we just declare chocolate as the flavor for the entire year and call it a day? Or BACON, I mean if we are favoring flavors, bacon simply cannot be ignored. …

Pumpkin definitely has its place—which is on my porch with a toothy grin and hollowed out insides. And that’s because pumpkin does not taste good. What consumers are enjoying is actually a mixture of all the spices that punch up pumpkin to make it palatable.

It’s a bait and switch. People think they love pumpkin, but what they are getting may not have pumpkin in it at all.

I have been content to blame the pump-

kin craze on Starbucks. However, in my research I found that small coffee shops had been serving pumpkin spice latte for years before the coffee giant caught on. A Colorado coffee genius discovered that pumpkin was appetizing if you complete-ly disguised it with spices like cinnamon, sugar and allspice, frothed it up and added whipped cream.

Starbucks introduced their Pumpkin Spice Latte in 2004, and according to Nation’s Restaurant News, sales increased by 11 percent. That kind of money will make you want to slap a little pumpkin on everything.

And that, folks, is how a craze was born.

But what if I’m not so crazy about say-ing goodbye to summer in mid-August when pumpkin spice steamrolled Labor Day?

Each year, the pumpkin spice calendar slides a little closer to my beach time. It’s just like the Halloween candy that pops up in July. Although, admittedly, I don’t mind the candy as much because, well, chocolate.

So, I have concluded that pumpkin spice is a metaphor for modern life.

And as is the case these days, we are in a hurry. We want our pumpkin spice and we want it now. But all the reasons we love it are fundamentally old-fashioned.

Pumpkin spice is family around the ta-ble at Thanksgiving and the hues of fall-en leaves in the afternoon sun. It doesn’t make me like pumpkin spice any better, but I see the appeal. We as a society crave the old-fashioned, warm, homey feelings that pumpkin spice evokes—even if we are drinking it from bio-degradable cups ordered on our mobile app.

But how about we slow the pumpkin roll and let each season have its rightful due. (I know there is a song about this, but I will refrain.)

I’m just a girl standing in the store on Labor Day wondering why we can’t be content enjoying the moment without wishing for the next thing to spice it up.

By Maureen Stiles

n QO GOLF continues on page 11

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September 20, 2019 THE TOWN COURIER Page 11

three of the top recruits in the country were on the field in Damascus lineman Brian Bresee (6-foot-5, 290 pounds), a Clemson commit and rated the nation’s top college recruit; his teammate, Ryan Linthicum (6-foot-4, 275 pounds), rated the number one center in the country; and QO’s Demeioun Robinson (6-foot-4, 220 pounds), rated the fourth-best prospect and top lineback-er among college juniors with offers from some 20 Division-I programs.

Bresee lived up to his reputation, dis-rupting the QO offense as he penetrated the backfield all night.

Indeed, he and Cooper seemed to have their own game within the game. At times the shifty back would sidestep or run away from Bresee’s incursions. At other times Bresee would get to Cooper almost as quickly as he got the ball, either stuffing the play or steering him into the arms of other Damascus defenders.

Cooper and the Cougars got the best of it early.

After Damascus took the opening kickoff and went three and out, Cooper ran four times for 61 yards and carried QO to the 10. But an unsportsmanlike conduct pen-alty stifled the drive, a delay penalty added five more, and QO missed a 42-yard field goal.

Penalties plagued both teams all night, as the contest began chippy and officials seemed to call the game tight to keep it un-der control.

QO again stopped Damascus on its sec-ond drive, again moved the ball, and again penalties haunted them. A personal foul nullified a good punt return by Charles Bell and set QO back to their 18, and a QO penalty nullified a roughing call on the Hornets. Still, Cooper churned out gains of six, 10 and 15 yards, and aided by a face-mask penalty the Cougars were again in the red zone early in the second quarter. But Bresee and company stopped QO on fourth and three at the Damascus 14.

“First half I thought we should have 14 points on the board,” said Kelley, frustrated by QO’s inability to finish their opening drives.

Enter Baltimore and his timely intercep-tion, which quashed any momentum Da-mascus gained from their defensive stops and gave it back to the Cougars.

“Big time players make big time plays,”

said Baltimore. When the pass went behind the receiver, “ball in the air, I got to go get it.”

Two five-yard runs from Cooper and QO had a 7-0 lead, which it took into the halftime as a late 42-yard Damascus field goal attempt fell short.

QO gained little on their first two drives of the second half as Bresee and the Hor-nets repeatedly stuffed the run and harassed Plummer on pass plays.

And, when Damascus broke a 51-yard TD run with 6:07 in the third quarter on their only big play of the night, suddenly the game was tied.

The Damascus crowd got noticeably louder and the Red Army quieter as the momentum appeared to be shifting. Hor-nets’ fans got louder still as a series of QO penalties thwarted one big play after anoth-er.

First, after a key third and nine comple-tion to Ryan Swigart, three straight QO penalties took them back from midfield to the 20. Then, an ineligible receiver call

nullified a 38-yard pass to the Damascus 17 from Plummer to tight end Justin Moran. Then, a roughing penalty cost them field position after senior lineman Steven Wil-liams deflected a Damascus pass and junior linebacker Frank Yagaka intercepted it deep in Hornet territory. Finally and most deflating, the Cougars brought the explo-sive Bell into the game for a trick play in the fourth quarter, and his scintillating 41-yard reverse to the end zone was called back for an illegal block.

“The penalties were pretty dishearten-ing,” Kelley said, “but it is what it is.”

As they had almost all night, however, the Cougar defense again stopped Damas-cus, and QO took over near midfield with 7:17 left, the game tied, and the place rock-ing.

This time QO got it right, driving down-field behind Cooper and a key first-down pass from Plummer to Ryan Luke. On third down, Cooper spun in from the three and QO regained the lead, 13-7, with 3:01.

But they kept it interesting. The Cougars

failed to convert the extra point when the holder picked up the snap and misfired a pass into the end zone. Then QO was pe-nalized on the kickoff for delay of game, and Damascus looked like it would get good field position.

But QO got a break when kicker Car-son Burke pooched the kick into an open spot in the Damascus return alignment, and linebacker Steven Senga pounced on it to give the ball back to QO. Two plays lat-er Cooper circled out of the backfield on a wheel route and Plummer hit him perfectly for the 22-yard touchdown to seal the win.

“I just felt like our side of the ball man, we just wanted it more,” said Steven Wil-liams. “We wanted to win.”

“Six minutes to go in the fourth quarter, and the game’s tied,” said Kelley. “That’s when you’ve got to really dig down and find who wants it more … so I was proud of our kids.”

QO’s next game is Friday night at home against Gaithersburg.

n QO FOOTBALL from page 1

10th. Junior Reuben Ellinport, who as a freshman was on the brink of making the starting lineup before playing every match in 2018, has moved up into the No. 2 spot and has “really improved his stroke aver-age,” Doane said.

“For us (to do well this postseason), the main thing is they have to stop concen-trating on if they have a terrible round,” Doane said. “Too many times golfers get discouraged, start thinking, ’Oh, I’m let-ting my team down,’ and start giving up.

But you don’t know what everyone else is doing so you just need to stop trying to hit a miracle shot and just play smart golf. The skill set is there for us; golf is a game of the mind.”

The mental strength required to com-pete at the highest level in golf, and the versatility of a sport that is often mistak-enly underestimated when compared to other more seemingly physical sports, is what interests Sophia and Grace the most, they said. Every outing is different, from weather conditions to fairway length, greens speed and more, constantly keeping them thinking and on their toes. But they appreciate having the support—and com-

petition—of one another on the course, they said. Not only can they offer each other valuable advice, but they can drive each other to be better—a dynamic Doane said he had been looking forward to this season.

“We’re competing against each other all the time,” Sophia said.

Grace and Sophia are out on the golf course at least five days a week for no less than three hours, the elder Oristian said. Several days a week they’ll follow up 18 holes with a session at the driving range or on the putting green.

In addition to coed matches, the sis-ters, who both aspire to play golf in col-

lege, compete in girls-only competitions on Wednesdays. And there are girls-only district and state championships. But So-phia and Grace are intent—and on course, Doane said—to compete with Quince Orchard in the team competition. In do-ing so, he and the sisters said they hope to draw more interest among females within the Quince Orchard community to give the sport a try.

“I always wonder why more girls don’t come out (for the team),” Doane said. “I know at Churchill he’s got nine girls, and I’m like, ‘Why can’t we have that?’ I’m hoping (Sophia and Grace) can help get more girls interested.”

n QO GOLF from page 10

Photo | Mac Kennedy

The Cougars take the field for last Friday night’s showdown with the Swarmin’ Hornets.

Page 12 THE TOWN COURIER September 20, 2019

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