Arundel too much for Annapolis in 43-6 rout
November 1, 2024
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Arundel Wildcats (8-1) kept their strong season rolling along heading into the playoffs, as they picked up a dominant win over the Annapolis Panthers (7-2) on Friday night in Annapolis.
Flexing their collective muscle on both offense and defense, Arundel used its high-powered offense coupled with its stifling defense to knock off a solid Panthers team.
The Wildcats got the ball to start the game, scored on their first possession, and did not look back or trail for the remainder of the evening. It took less then three minutes for Arundel to drive down the field and score on a 15-yard run by quarterback Ahmir Lowery to take a 7-0 lead.
It looked as though the game was headed for shootout territory as, after a 5-yard encroachment penalty gave the Panthers 1st & 5, quarterback Darrian Carter connected with receiver Cyrus Chambers deep downfield for a 71-yard touchdown pass a mere 14 seconds after the Arundel score. But, the extra point was missed, and Annapolis was never able to get the score close again.
Annapolis was able to hold Arundel down for the remainder of the quarter, but on the first play of the second quarter, on 4th down, Lowery found an open Darius Burton streaking down the middle of the field for a 30-yard score to push the Wildcats lead out to 14-6. After forcing a Panthers three-and-out, kicker Brandon Feinblatt added a 30-yard field goal to make the score 17-6.
On their next drive, Arundel found the end zone again, this time on a 15-yard rush by running back TJ Mordecai. Annapolis threatened at the end of the half, but Carter’s pass was intercepted by Andre Younger, and the Wildcats took a 24-6 lead into halftime.
The second half was more of the same for Arundel on both sides of the ball. Annapolis star running back Tyler Womack was never able to get anything going on the ground against the stout Wildcats front. And on offense, Arundel showed their big play ability again, as Lowery connected with Jacob Dy on a 66-yard touchdown to extend their lead to 30-6, after a missed extra point.
Arundel seemed to wear down Annapolis in the fourth quarter, as tough runs by Mordecai and Lowery seemed to happen every play. The Arundel runners simply would not go down, and Mordecai would add two more fourth quarter scores, one from three yards and one from one yard, to give the Wildcats their victorious 43-6 score.
With their win, Arundel locks up the top seed in the 3A South division heading into the playoffs and earns a first round bye. Annapolis appears to have secured the 2-seed in the 4A East region, which would mean a first round playoff matchup against North County.
More Posts
