Severna Park, which came into the game having won three straight after an 0-2 start, refused to quit, though. The Falcons eventually caught and passed the Mustangs, coming away with a thrilling 27-26 win.

Senior Kevin Ferris capped the comeback with a 3-yard touchdown run and Ryan Norton kicked what proved to be the deciding extra point in the opening minute of the fourth quarter to help the Falcons win their fourth straight and keep their postseason hopes alive.

"If you look at it on paper, they should have beat us. But, hey, that's why you play the whole game," Severna Park coach J.P. Hines said. "I feel really good for the kids. They worked hard, and they deserve it."

Early on, it appeared as though Meade was going to have its way.

Seniors Raymond Cotton and Trevor Turner hooked up for a 62-yard touchdown on the game's first play to give the Mustangs a 6-0 lead.

Meade recovered a fumble on the Falcons' next offensive play, then put together a 14-play, 69-yard drive that ended with senior Demetrius Brown scoring from a yard out to make it 12-0 with five minutes left in the first quarter.

Cotton scored from three yards out three minutes into the second period, and the rout - seemingly - was on.

Severna Park finally answered with a 59-yard touchdown pass from Sam Jones to Austin Lewis to make it 20-7, and then the Falcon defense made the first of several key defensive plays that turned the game around.

With the Mustangs deep in Severna Park territory, senior Eric Cofer stepped in front of a Cotton pass, picked it off and raced nearly the length of the field before being caught by Cotton at the Meade 6-yard-line.

Andrew Zido scored from three yards out moments later to make it 20-14 at the half.

Cotton, who said he has no intentions of changing his commitment to Auburn in the wake of offensive coordinator Tony Franklin's firing earlier this week, went 16-for-32 for 193 yards and threw a pair of touchdown passes. He did throw four interceptions though, including a pair deep in Severna Park territory.

"He was going to get his, we knew that. But we wanted to try to contain him as much as we could," Hines said. Cotton and the Meade offense stalled on its first two drives of the second half, setting up another big play by the Falcons.

This time it was the special teams that came up big. Sean Price busted through to block a punt by Cotton to set up a 3-yard run by Jones, tying the score at 20 midway through the third quarter.

Jones threw for 111 yards, but also led the Falcons on the ground with 91 yards on 16 carries.

Meade came right back when Cotton and Turner hooked up again - this time on a 24-yard scoring play to put Meade back ahead, 26-20, late in the third period.

The Falcons took over with just over three minutes left in the quarter and drove 66 yards on nine plays, scoring on Ferris' 3-yard run. The Falcons ran the ball eight times on the drive and converted a third-and-eight with a well-executed screen pass from Jones to Ferris that picked up 17 yards.

"I think Sam runs our offense tremendously and I think we have a pretty well-balanced offense," Hines said.

Meade had plenty of time to answer the Falcons, going to the ground for yardage.

Cotton ran for gains of five, eight and 15 yards to put the Mustangs in business at the Severna Park 10-yard-line.

On the next play, though, his slant for senior Darrius Brown deflected off the wide receiver and into the waiting hands of Severna Park's Chris Bonomi, spoiling that chance.

The Falcons went to the ground to run the clock and eventually forced the Mustangs to use all their timeouts.

When Jones picked up a first down with just over a minute to go, it appeared as though all the Falcons needed to do was run a few plays to run the clock out.

However, a fumbled exchange on the next play was recovered by Meade's Tyreese Lyons to give the Mustangs new life. Cotton hit Darrius Brown for a modest 9-yard gain, but his next pass was picked off by Anthony Jackson to seal the win for the Falcons.

"These kids, they never gave up. They didn't get uptight or upset, and fortunately (Meade) made a few miscues and we capitalized on them," Hines said.

Meade has now lost four straight games after starting the season 2-0. Last night's loss was the third straight game in which the Mustangs held the lead at the half, only to lose.

S. Park (4-2) 0 14 6 7 - 27

Meade (2-4) 12 8 6 0 - 26

ME - Turner 62 pass from Cotton (Kick blocked)

ME - De. Brown 1 run (Pass failed)

ME - Cotton 3 run (De. Brown run)

SP - Lewis 59 pass from Jones (Norton kick)

SP - Zido 3 run (Norton kick)

SP - Jones 3 run (Kick blocked)

ME - Turner 24 pass from Cotton (Run failed)

SP - Ferris 3 run (Norton kick)

RUSHING: SP - Jones 16 carries, 91 yards. ME - De. Brown 15 carries, 99 yards. PASSING: SP - Jones 6-10-1-111 yards. ME - Cotton 16-32-4-193 yards.