Arundel's Cosh Passes First Test

Then Cosh, a junior making his first varsity start at the helm of the Wildcats' spread-option offense, settled his nerves and helped his team take over. On each of the three subsequent drives, Cosh led the Wildcats offense on a blistering pace that resulted in three first-half touchdowns en route to a 28-13 victory.

Arundel has won the past three meetings between the county rivals.

Cosh answered any questions as to whether he could step into the hole all-County quarterback Nick Elko's graduation left in the Wildcats' high-flying offense in his first game, going 14 of 25 for 169 yards and three touchdowns. But the Arundel coaching staff never had any doubts that Cosh was prepared.

"He's not scared," Wildcats Coach Chuck Markiewicz said. "He lives for this."

The Wildcats' first touchdown came with some luck as a Broadneck defender tipped Cosh's 13-yard pass directly toward senior wide receiver and Syracuse recruit Alec Lemon, who led Arundel with five receptions for 53 yards.

But Lemon wasn't Cosh's only target. After the Bruins tied the game at 7-7 on the following drive, Cosh led a six-play, 60-yard march sparked by a 27-yard run by Derrick Rhodes and culminating in a 22-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Sean Fitzgerald.

Then it was R.J. Harris's turn to catch an eight-yard touchdown pass on Arundel's next offensive possession, building the Wildcats' lead to 21-7.

"I have a great connection with my receivers," Cosh said. "I probably could have had a few more to Alec, Harris and Sean."

With a 14-point advantage at halftime, the Wildcats were fairly confident, but what allowed them to snatch away most of the game's momentum came in the third quarter as Broadneck prepared to punt from its 4. As the Bruins snapped the ball, Arundel linebacker Joe White charged from the line of scrimmage untouched and blocked the kick with his right arm and sent it tumbling back into the end zone, where Chris Rice recovered it for Arundel's final tally.

"As passing games go, Arundel is second to none in the state of Maryland," Broadneck Coach Jeff Herrick said. "We had problems keeping up with their offense but that's not too surprising."

Arundel 28, Broadneck 13 Crunching Numbers: Broadneck's offense outgained Arundel's 385 to 297, with 143 of those yards coming on the ground by sophomore running back Ronnie VanMeter. Dual Threat: Bruins quarterback Kyle Colleran had both of Broadneck's touchdowns, both on three-yard runs. Colleran finished 6 of 15 for 128 yards passing and had 23 carries for 68 yards.