Bel Air bends early but avenges last year's loss to Randallstown, 23-15

At 11-1, Bobcats make first state semi since '82

Class 3A North football

High Schools

It was payback time for Bel Air last night.

The 10th-ranked Bobcats had waited nearly a year to gain revenge against Randallstown since a painful loss to the Rams in last year's region final.

This time, however, it was Bel Air's turn as the Bobcats outlasted visiting Randallstown, 23-15, to win the Class 3A North region title.

Bel Air (11-1) advanced to the state semifinals for the first time since 1982. Randallstown saw a six-game winning streak end and finished the season with a 7-5 record.

"Our kids had marked this day on their calendar since we lost last year," Bel Air coach Bruce Riley said. "We've been waiting 12 months for this."

The Bobcats had to rally from an early 9-0 deficit in a strange game that saw two safeties, several fumbles, a number of mistakes and one player taken off the field in an ambulance.

Randallstown senior linebacker Efren Edwards Jr. suffered a neck injury with 10:12 left, and the game was delayed for 26 minutes as medical personnel worked on him. Edwards examined at Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air and then released.

The Rams took charge early, getting a safety on Bel Air's second drive, thanks to a bad snap that was batted around before eventually bouncing out of the end zone. Randallstown then had a short drive after the free kick and took a 9-0 lead when Bryan Parker scored on a 4-yard run.

But Bel Air turned the game around in the next two possessions. The Bobcats drove 11 plays before John Jackson kicked a 28-yard field goal - and he followed it with a pooch on-side kick that Bel Air recovered at Randallstown's 30-yard line.

Mike Gable (100 yards) gave the Bobcats the lead for good on a 3-yard touchdown run six plays later. Jackson's extra point made it 10-9 with 8:51 left in the half.

"We just hung in there," said Jackson, who has been playing with a broken thumb for three weeks. "Revenge, payback, that's what we wanted."

The Bobcats then used another 28-yard field goal by Jackson, plus a 4-yard touchdown run from quarterback Tom Mumey, for a 21-9 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Mumey has played well since replacing injured quarterback Andrew Berry. The senior threw for 117 yards and ran the offense smoothly.

A bad Randallstown snap gave Bel Air a safety and stretched the lead to 23-9 with 10:23 left. But Melvin Aleaze single-handedly helped the Rams rally.

The 6-foot-2, 280-pound senior played six positions, as well as kicking and punting, and his interception of a pass by Mumey and 29-yard return set up his 1-yard touchdown run with 3:18 left.

But Aleaze then misfired when trying for an on-side kick - just nipping the ball as it went about 1 yard. The Bobcats stopped a later Randallstown drive to seal the victory.

"We made too many mistakes," Randallstown coach Albert Howard said. "It was those mistakes that got us tonight."