The rain and the ankle-deep mud forced West Potomac and Annandale to subtract whole chapters from their offensive playbooks on Saturday afternoon.

Not surprisingly, in a Patriot District football game that featured nine fumbles and six turnovers, it was one of those turnovers that made the difference.

Atoms' safety Pat McMurry picked off a West Potomac pass and went 61 yards for a touchdown just before halftime, and Annandale (5-5) ended the 6-4 Wolverines' playoff hopes by a 14-7 score.

"The weather helped to slow them down," said Annandale coach Dick Adams. "And we couldn't throw the ball. We only completed two passes."

Both Annandale quarterback Travis Johnson and West Potomac signal-caller Darren Baker were reduced to tossing the ball occasionally in shot-put fashion due to the weather conditions.

Annandale relies on the pass much more than the Wolverines, but the weather also took away most of West Potomac's option-running game, forcing both teams to run simple line-plunging running plays most of the game - and pray that they were able to hold on to the ball.

Annandale fumbled five times, but remarkably recovered four of them. Travis Johnson also threw one interception but that pickoff by the Wolverines' Deonta Johnson did not figure in the scoring. The Atoms' ability not to make costly turnovers despite the conditions may have been the difference.

"Our whole game is the option-sprint, and the elements took us out of what we do best," said West Potomac coach John Howerton, whose team still had hopes of making the Division 6 playoffs following a loss by West Springfield on Friday night.

Annandale took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter following a 43-yard scoring drive. If either team was able to reach the other team's 25-yard line, they had the luxury of playing on some grass, making it somewhat easier to run plays.

Travis Johnson connected with Kelly Beam for a key 14-yard gain during the drive, which was capped by Ben Clark's five-yard run.

West Potomac tried desperately to get their main offensive threat Baker, in the open field where he could make a play. The Wolverines tried lining up Baker at tailback on one play in the second quarter but he was buried for a three-yard loss.

Three plays later, Baker lined up as a slot receiver.

Deonta Johnson, playing quarterback, lobbed a pass in Baker's direction, but McMurry alertly picked off the pass and somehow kept his feet running through the mud all the way to the end zone for a 61-yard return.

The play came with 53 seconds before halftime and gave Annandale a 14-0 lead.

West Potomac had one more chance in the first half.

Following a short kickoff, Baker rolled out to his right and ran 48 yards to the Annandale 7 with just a half-second left on the clock. But on the last play of the first half, Annandale's Corey Daise intercepted a pass in the end zone.

With a 14-point lead, Annandale's offense became very conservative in the second half. The Atoms' offense had just two first downs. But more importantly, the Atoms were able to maintain possession of the ball as well as decent field position as West Potomac tried desperately to get back into the game.

The Wolverines had a chance to score on the first play of the second half as 245-pound fullback Micah Johnson found an opening up the middle. But just when it appeared Johnson might score, McMurry clipped one of his ankles from behind and made the tackle after a 24-yard gain. West Potomac wound up turning the ball over on downs.

Baker got loose on another long run early in the fourth quarter, this time racing 41 yards for a touchdown with 9:30 left.

The Wolverines reached the Annandale 28 in the final minute but their playoff hopes ended on a fourth-down pass broken up, fittingly, by McMurry on the last play of the game.

Despite an interception and two lost fumbles, Baker ended up running for 141 yards.

"We were trying any way we could to get it down the field," said Howerton. "We tried passing it in the first half, and that didn't work.

"It's a disappointing way for us to end. We were 4-1 and had some momentum when the [spiper] shooting stuff happened, and we never really got back to where we were after the three to four week layoff."