Wildcats top Broadneck, 10-6

ANNAPOLIS - The Arundel High Wildcats found a different way to win on Thursday night.

Eschewing their practice of obliterating opponents with their high-octane offense, Arundel (3-0) topped Broadneck 10-6 in a tense defensive battle secured with a late goal-line interception by cornerback Jonathan Haskett.

Gary Cropper took the opening kickoff 80 yards down the left sideline for the game's only touchdown and only points of the first half.

It was a game characterized by grinding, almost frustrating football, as each team struggled to move the ball through the air and had numerous stalled drives. Arundel quarterback Nick Rosati, who had been stellar in his first two outings, completed just 10 of 24 passes for 74 yards as he battled wet conditions.

"At first I was like 'I can't get the ball, I can't get the ball,'" he said. "But later on I said 'I just have to deal with this.' I tried to overcome it. I had a gut feeling coming in it wasn't going to be an easy game."

Joseph Blackwell had his third straight 100-yard rushing game, sprinting to 164 yards on 17 carries, including a 67-yard scamper with under two minutes to go. All but 12 of his rushing yards came in the second half.

Broadneck (2-1) kept Arundel at bay with its defense, but also held a big advantage in time of possession, controlling the ball for almost the entire third quarter. Trailing 7-0 entering the fourth, the Bruins appeared on the verge of tying the game when senior Ron Van Meter rushed in from the one-yard line. But the extra point sailed wide right.

The Bruins staged another fourth quarter drive that ended on an interception by Michael Partilla. After Arundel kicker Wade Korvin made it 10-6 with a field goal, Broadneck got the ball back once more in the waning minutes. Bruins quarterback James Mullis connected with wideout Darnell Solomon on a 42-yard completion past the shorter Haskett, putting the ball inside the Arundel 30.

Four plays later, however, Haskett would redeem himself by intercepting a pass in his own end zone with less than a minute to go.

"I had to bounce back," he said. "I knew they were going to go to the big man in the end zone so I just read it and jumped and made the play."

For Arundel head coach Chuck Markiewicz, Thursday's game was a valuable lesson in toughness.

"I told them at halftime 'we talk about adversity, and this is one of those times. So how are we going to react?'" he said. "People have expectations of us scoring 50 points every time we go out. And that's just not realistic. Sometimes we need some of these. We told our kids that it's not always going to be peaches and cream. Sometimes you have to gut it out."