Archbishop Spalding senior running back Evan Hockel said his team knew it would "take hard-nosed football to win" against No. 13 Archbishop Curley last night.
Employing an aggressive style, the Cavaliers knocked off the visiting Friars, 17-7, last night in Severn.
It was an important game between the two-time defending Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference champion Cavaliers (2-1) and the Friars (2-2). Curley returned to the B Conference this season after a two-year absence. The Cavaliers are 2-0 in the league; Curley fell to 1-1.
"This was a really big win," said Hockel, who scored on runs of 8 and 6 yards in the first half. "This might have been a preview of the championship game."
Both coaches, Mike Whittles of Spalding and Sean Murphy of Curley, knew the opposition would try to run the football.
"We knew coming into this game that Curley was going to be tough," said the Friars' Nick Kuhl, who kicked a 35-yard field goal in the third quarter for the only score of the second half.
Curley, the B Conference champion four of five years before going winless in the A Conference in 2005 and 9-2 last season as an independent, was beaten at its own game last night - a bruising running game that ate up the clock.
The Friars scored first on an 18-yard run by Terrance Dandridge on the fifth play of the second quarter before the Cavaliers' defense stiffened the rest of the game.
There is one nine-team division in the B Conference this year, with each team playing an eight-game schedule. The top two teams at the end of the season will play on Nov. 16 at Towson University in the championship game.
`There are a lot of tough teams in this league," Whittles said. "
PAT O'MALLEY
No. 3 River Hill 35, Glenelg 0 -- Michael Campanaro had one receiving, one passing and two rushing touchdowns to lead the visiting Hawks (3-0) over the Gladiators (0-3). The junior running back finished with 90 yards on 11 carries. Kicker Carlos Griffin-Benitez finished five-for-five on extra-point attempts. River Hill's defense has not allowed a point all season..
No. 4 Dunbar 47, Douglass 0 -- Tavon Austin had three touchdowns, including a 101-yard interception return, to lead the host Poets (3-0) over the Ducks (0-3). Austin finished with 227 yards rushing on seven carries. Davon Muse added a rushing touchdown to go along with his four extra-point kicks. Dunbar returns to action next Friday against City at Johns Hopkins University.
