About 40 yards away, Silver Oak Academy coach Kevin McLeod was preaching about the spirit, fight and determination he just witnessed out of the 13 players that suited up for his team.

While MSD had built a sizable lead at halftime, Silver Oak Academy never backed down from the challenge in falling to the Orioles, 56-18.

"I thought we played good tonight. I'm always happy to win Senior Night and I thought our seniors played great," Orioles coach Andy Bonheyo said. "(Silver Oak) played hard. Their heart was in it and they're a fast and tough team."

With six consecutive National Deaf Prep championships, MSD (9-1) is one win away from potentially wrapping up number seven, which would also be the eighth this decade.

Next Thursday, Bonyeho and the Orioles travel across the country to face California School for the Deaf at Riverside next Friday night.

"We have one more game next week and its a big game. If we win, we should be the leading contender for the national championship," Bonheyo said.

The Orioles offense started out strong with a balanced mix of the run and pass. Todd Bonyeho threw touchdown strikes of 16 yards to Ethan Kramer and 33 yards to his favorite target, 6-foot-6 Shaun Harrington as he finished 8-of-12 for 79 yards.

The Orioles favored the ground game after early success with the pass, grinding out 327 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. Todd Rewolinski ran strong all night as the shifty back piled up 167 yards on 13 carries with a 2-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter. Ethan Kramer carried seven times for 75 yards as the junior scored three touchdowns.

Located in Carroll County, the first-year Rams program showed flashes of success following a pair of recent wins.

Silver Oak quarterback Shaun Graves ripped off a 59-yard touchdown run up the middle after he was pressured back to his own 35-yard line, cutting the score to 34-6 with 5:41 left in the half. Graves also found Khiry Jowers on a 25-yard touchdown pass 5.9 seconds before halftime.

With a running clock for most of the second half, the Rams scored one final time as Tracy Betters returned a fumble 60 yards for a touchdown.

Defensively, the Orioles were led by Gregg McConville with eight tackles. Ty Heisey, Jack Green and Nerville Nde each intercepted passes.

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