MORE PLAYOFF COVERAGE
River Hill back in final four, wins 2A South
Playoff results, schedule

Running back Jarrel Epps rushed for 132 yards on nine carries and scored three times and quarterback Danny March ran for two more scores as Wilde Lake won the Class 3A East Region championship Friday night with a convincing 39-15 win over Fallston on a cold, snowy field at Wilde Lake High School.

"We were more aggressive. The speed helped us out a lot. It was a multitude of things," said March, whose Wildecats had 415 yards on the ground -- 122 of them by March on nine carries.

Wilde Lake (11-1) advances to the state semifinals where it will host Hereford (10-2), a 41-14 winner over Milford Mill in the 3A North Region championship. The date and time of that game are still to be determined. The other 3A state semifinal will pit Seneca Valley (12-0) against Westlake (10-2). The state championship game is Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. at M&T Bank Stadium, in Baltimore.

Bitter cold temperatures and a steady snowfall in the first half greeted both teams, but Wilde Lake coach Doug DuVall walked the sidelines in shorts and bare hands.

"In '85, we played Glenelg and we lost to them. I told the kids it was my fault ... because they played hard and we just didn't play well. I said, 'You guys win next week and get us in into the state playoffs, I'll never wear (pants) again.' It was sort of a joke and we went and won it in '85, so after that I could never wear long pants again to a game," DuVall said, clutching his team's regional championship plaque to his chest. "I'm cold. I'm real cold. ... My teeth are chattering. (But) once you get out there and you get the blood pumping and you get playing, it's not bad." 

All that Wilde Lake touched turned to gold. The first two offensive plays the Wildecats called resulted in touchdowns -- a 60-yard, open-field dash by Epps and a 26-yard scamper by Christian Hough (71 rushing yards total), which was set up by an interception by March. Epps scored again five minutes later to give the Wildecats a 20-3 lead. Eight Wildecat runs went for 20 yards or more.

"Their skill kids, they've got a little more team speed than we do," Fallston coach Dave Cesky said.

Cesky noted that they had seen only one team this season that outran them like Wilde Lake did.

"Joppatowne, maybe, but not this much speed," he said.

March scored the first of his two touchdowns in the second quarter on a 3-yard run to give Wilde Lake a 26-3 halftime lead. He then put the game out of reach with a 50-yard TD run 20 seconds into the second half. Epps made it 39-3 with his third TD, a 1-yard run with 2:36 left in the third quarter.

Fallston (8-4) led, 3-0, after its first possession, but could have come away with more points. Cougars' quarterback Garrett Weinhold got loose on a 25-yard run down to the Wilde Lake 9 before Chaz Cousins-Lee made a touchdown-saving tackle. The Wildecats defense stiffened and Fallston had to settle for a 19-yard field goal by Troy Cover. It would be Fallston's only scoring drive of the game until the final 90 seconds of the game against Wilde Lake's backups.

For more on the playoffs, read Thursday's editions of the Howard County Times and the Columbia Flier.

WILDE LAKE 39, FALLSTON 15
Fallston (8-4)           3   0   0  12 --  15
Wilde Lake (11-1)   20  6  13   0  --  39
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
F - Cover 14 FG, 8:19
WL - Epps 60 run (Spicer kick), 8:07.
WL - Hough 26 run (Spicer kick), 6:19.
WL - Epps 11 run (kick failed), :45.
Second Quarter
WL - March 3 run (kick blocked), 6:12.
Third Quarter
WL - March 50 run (Spicer kick), 11:40.
WL - Epps 1 run (kick failed), 2:36.
Fourth Quarter
F - Johnson 12 pass from Vermillion (pass failed), 1:31.
F - Montgomery 48 fumble recovery (run failed), 1:18.

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user comments (1)

user sabrina says...

I just like football star:)

Posted 10:48 PM, 11.23.08

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