FOOTBALL: Cougars Cruise Past Speedy Rams, Move to 2-0

Edgewood —— Fallston scored another convincing victory Friday night at Edgewood, and served notice to the rest of the county it is a football team to be reckoned with this season.

Coming off a 35-0 rout against North East in its opener, Fallston (2-0) nearly notched its second shutout in as many games, falling less than two minutes shy of pulling off the feat once again in beating Edgewood (1-1) by a score of 27-7.

Fallston's first scoring drive of the night came in the opening quarter as senior quarterback Grant Kelly found junior wide receiver Ryan Umpleby in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. An extra point by junior John Eichelberger gave Fallston a 7-0 lead.

In the second quarter, Kelly again connected with a wide receiver for six points, this time hooking up with senior Chris Cooper on a 29-yard pass with 2:16 remaining in the half. A missed extra point left the score 13-0.

It looked as though the Rams might quickly answer Fallston's second score and get on the board before halftime after a big kickoff return and a couple decent gains moved them well into Fallston territory, but an interception by Cougars senior linebacker Rob Randle ended the drive.

The visting team picked up where it left off in the second half, scoring on a 10-yard run by senior Andrew Thrasher halfway through the third quarter. After a two-point conversion the Cougars were up 21-0.

Fallston's final scoring drive was sparked a huge gain in the air, with Kelly again hooking up with Umpleby. Back-to-back runs by sophomore Marc Badger, one for 15 yards and the second for an 11-yard score, capped the drive.

Fallston nearly scored again in the fourth quarter, but the Rams gamely forced and recovered a fumble on their own goal line.

With less than two minutes remaining, Fallston's season-opening shutout streak of nearly eight quarters came to an end. Edgewood quarterback Seth Higgin strung together several impressive runs, the last an eight-yard touchdown scamper, making it 27-7.

Fallston head coach Dave Cesky liked what he saw from his team on both sides of the ball.

"I think offensively our team is really on all cylinders right now, and defensively tonight we really did a lot of hustling. Our kids made some big plays," he said.

Cesky says he believes his team can have a very good year if they are able to stay healthy. He believes he has one of the top quarterbacks in the state in Kelly, and a lot of attractive options for Kelly to throw to.

And after the way Fallston performed against the quicker Rams on Friday, it is a safe bet that others around the county are taking notice.

"Edgewood's not a bad football team," Cesky said. "We came into the game a little worried about [their] speed and how we'd handle that, and we did real well against it tonight."