After graduating a generational player at quarterback, No. 2 Spalding football knew that it would have to find different ways to win this season.
Friday at No. 3 McDonogh, it was a pounding running game.
In a rematch of last year’s Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference championship game, the three-time defending champion Cavaliers banked on a grinding rushing attack to produce a sturdy 35-13 win over the Eagles. Spalding improved to 2-2 overall and 1-0 in conference play, while McDonogh fell to 2-1 and 0-1.
Running back Antonio Ledbetter ran for 188 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries to lead the way.
In the past three years with current Terps starter Malik Washington under center, Spalding didn’t lose a conference game. In this season’s conference opener against their closest rival, the Cavaliers, now starting freshman quarterback Brian Snowden, kept the impressive string going with another strong team performance.
The Cavaliers’ experienced offensive line, led by center Grant Little and guards Gavin Laupp and Quinn Purnell, paved the way for Ledbetter, who had touchdown runs of 1 and 32 yards.
“It all starts with the O-line. Without them, I wouldn’t be doing nothing I’m doing out here,” he said. “When we come together, it may be me scoring the touchdown, but it really starts with all of us. The defense getting stops, the O-line going out there doing what they do and then I can go out and do what I do.”
Standout defensive back Sean Williams also played a big role. McDonogh had a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter when he blocked Aidan Zoeller’s 36-yard field goal try. Then the Cavaliers had a 21-7 lead in the third quarter when he stopped McDonogh running back Mason Graham on a fourth-and-3, tackling him behind the line of scrimmage for a 4-yard loss.
“I challenged a couple guys asking for some big plays and Sean getting the blocked field goal and the fourth-down play was big,” Spalding coach Kyle Schmitt said. “I thought he was the best player on the field for a lot of the night and, man, he stepped up.”
With the score tied at 7 after Spalding wide receiver Kam Miller took a lateral from Snowden and threw to fellow wide receiver David Ledbetter for a 25-yard touchdown, the Cavs used their ground game to pull ahead.
With 3:33 left in the first half and the game tied, they marched 80 yards on 12 plays. Antonio Ledbetter and fellow running back Cam Pinson accounted for most of the rushing yards before Snowden completed the drive with a 1-yard plunge with 14 seconds to play.
Receiving the second half kick, the Cavaliers needed just four plays and a little over one minute to take a 21-7 lead. Antonio Ledbetter’s 48-yard run was the big play before he pounded it home from 1 yard out.
Snowden won the quarterback battle over senior Blake Howell, who has since transferred to Severna Park. For the game’s important minutes, he stayed poised and efficient while the Cavaliers mostly leaned on their running game.
Snowden completed 9 of 15 passes for 71 yards, throwing a 20-yard touchdown pass to Miller that made it 28-7 in addition to the rushing touchdown. In the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, with the Cavaliers leading 35-7, he was intercepted by McDonogh standout linebacker Nick Abrams, who returned it 14 yards for the Eagles’ second touchdown.
Asked to lead the a perennial powerhouse under the difficult circumstances, Snowden shows promise.
“He’s got incredible poise,” Schmitt said. “He got a little down after the pick, but I said, ‘Hey, we’re up 22 points, go finish this.’ He understands the clock and no moment is too big for him. He’s special. We had to make some hard decisions and that kid has backed us up the whole way and has played really really well. He’s only going to get better.”
For the Eagles, who got 151 passing yards from senior quarterback Braeden Palazzo and an eight-catch, 80-yard, one-touchdown effort from wide receiver Carlos Ferguson, the frustration against the Cavaliers continued.
“They ran the ball really well. And if you don’t stop them from running the ball, you don’t have a chance against Spalding,” McDonogh coach Hakeem Sule said. “That was the challenge going into the week — can we tackle? — and we just couldn’t get it done today. Those guys were firing off and they looked strong at the point of attack and … usually in football, the team that blocks the best and tackles the best is going to win, and that was them today.”
Both teams will stay in conference play with home games next Friday. McDonogh takes on Loyola Blakefield at 6 p.m. and Spalding hosts Calvert Hall at 7 p.m.
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