Arundel Beats South River, 31-30

After watching his team commit a series of costly mistakes on Friday night, Arundel High football coach Chuck Markiewicz needed to know if the Wildcats were ready for prime time.

It was halftime against rival South River, and Arundel trailed by ten points. Silly penalties and untimely interceptions were the culprit.

“I said ‘if we lose to a team that’s better than us, that dominates us and really takes us to us, I’m OK with that,’” he said. “But we shot ourselves the foot so many times.”

The Wildcats tightened up and rallied, however, and stopped a potential game-winning two-point conversion try in the waning seconds, holding on for a rousing 31-30 win.

“We always find out what we need to do,” said junior quarterback Cooper Hibbs, who overcame three first-half interceptions to bring his team back with two touchdowns, one on the ground and one through the air.

The Wildcats committed 10 penalties for 95 yards, but moved to 4-0. South River dropped to 2-2 on the season.

Arundel took a quick 7-0 lead in the first quarter when Gary Cropper returned the opening kick 91 yards for the score, his third kick return for a touchdown this year. But South River responded with a sustained drive, capped by a 14-yard run by Lavon Chaney. The Seahawks added a field go to go up 10-7 after one period.

South River then went up 17-7 after quarterback Connor Cox hit senior wideout Mike Strange on a majestic 66-yard pass.

Arundel finally scored off a sustained drive in the second quarter, when Cropper made an end run in from two yards for a touchdown. The score was set up by several long runs by speedy running back Matt Davis, who finished with 69 yards on 14 carries.

But South River took a 24-14 lead just before halftime when Cox connected with Chaney on a five-yard pass.

That’s when Markiewicz and several members of the team’s defense gave what team members said were inspired speeches.

“We had crazy, crazy life coming into the second half,” said senior defensive back Michael Partilla, who batted down the two-point conversion attempt that would have won the game for South River. “Our team played really well. It’s our relationship, it’s getting stronger and stronger everyday.”

While South River tried to control the clock in the third quarter, Arundel took advantage when it did have the ball, driving to the South River 1-yard line on a long pass from Hibbs to junior wide receiver Tyler Young. Hibbs then punched it in to cut the Wildcats’ deficit to three with about five minutes left in the third quarter.

After a bad punt by South River, Arundel took over on the 22-yard line. Two plays later, Hibbs hit junior wide receiver Dillon Tighe over the middle for an 11-yard score to put Arundel ahead.

Meanwhile, the defense stopped several South River drives, forcing the Seahawks to turn the ball over on downs three times.

Kicker Hunter Cetrone added a 38-yard field goal–his first of the year–to give Arundel a 31-24 lead with about six minutes remaining.

South River had one last chance, and moved to the Arundel 29-yard line after a pass interference call on the Wildcats. Junior running back Corey Neal then took a handoff and ran to the 15-yard line, converting a play on third and nine.

Neal then outleaped Partilla for a pass in the end zone with 35 seconds to go, moving South River within a point.

Not content for the tie, the Seahawks attempted a two-point conversion, and Partilla redeemed himself.

“I dropped back and looked over and [Cox] started scrambling right, so I shadowed him,” Partilla said. “I saw a man get open coming across, and I just jumped in front of it and batted it down.”

Notes: Hibbs finished 13 for 25 with two interceptions, one passing touchdown and one rushing touchdown ... Cox went 13 for 31 for 143 yards, three touchdowns and an interception ... Neal played on both sides of the ball and had two interceptions and 59 yards of total offense ... South River controlled the ball for more than 31 minutes ... South River outgained Arundel 410 to 270, and had 267 rushing yards ... Arundel travels to North County next week, while South River hosts Annapolis.

Team

1

2

3

4

T

South River High School

10

14

0

6

30

Arundel High School Wildcats

7

7

14

3

31

Team

Qtr

Scoring play

South River High School

Arundel High School Wildcats

Arundel High School Wildcats

1

Cropper 91 yd Kickoff Return (Cetrone kick)

0

7

South River High School

1

Chaney 14 yd run (Cobb kick)

7

7

South River High School

1

Cobb 29 yd FG

10

7

South River High School

2

Cox 66 yd pass to Strange (Cobb kick)

17

7

Arundel High School Wildcats

2

Cropper 2 yd run (Cetrone kick)

17

14

South River High School

2

Cox 5 yd pass to Chaney (Cobb kick)

24

14

Arundel High School Wildcats

3

Hibbs 1 yd run (Cetrone kick)

24

21

Arundel High School Wildcats

3

Hibbs 11 yd pass to Tighe (Cetrone kick)

24

28

Arundel High School Wildcats

4

Cetrone 38 yd FG

24

31

South River High School

4

Cox 6 yd pass to Neal (Cox pass failed)

30

31

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Other scores from around Anne Arundel County:

Glen Burnie 22, Broadneck 0 (that's not a misprint)
North County 18, Annapolis 7
Old Mill 49, Northeast 0
Severna Park 52, Southern 20
Meade 15, Chesapeake 3