Record night for Arundel

Billy Cosh and R.J. Harris had record-breaking nights to pace a near-perfect offensive performance as Arundel completed an unbeaten regular season and earned the top seed in the Class 4A East Region playoffs by topping Southern, 69-28.

Cosh went 33-for-44 with six touchdowns and 380 yards, moving his career total to 6,718 to pass North County's Mike Pfisterer's previous county record of 6,522 career yards. Cosh is still shy of Friendly's Joe Haden (7,371) for the state career record.

"We had a good night," said Cosh, who also ran for a touchdown and didn't throw an interception. "All year, the defense has been holding things down for us, so it was great that we were able to play as well as we did tonight and get the win against a great Southern team."

The Wildcats, who finish the regular season averaging 49.2 points per game, scored every time they touched the ball on offense, including a back-breaking drive in the final 47 seconds of the second quarter to widen their lead to 18.

"They do that two-minute offense all the time, so they just executed it perfectly," said Southern's Russ Myers, whose team was eliminated from the Class 2A South Region playoffs.

Down 28-14 midway through the second quarter, the Bulldogs mounted a drive that ate more than eight minutes and culminated in a fourth-down, 22-yard halfback pass from Hunter Riggs to R.J. Angermier that could have been a huge momentum play.

Instead, Cosh and Co. went 67 yards on eight plays, with P.J. Gordon hauling in a 17-yard pass just as the final seconds ticked off the clock before halftime.

That, coupled with a Southern fumble on its first play of the second half followed shortly by Joseph Blackwell (19 carries, 114 yards) scoring the first of his two touchdowns, effectively ended Southern's chances.

"That drive was huge for us," Cosh said. "There wasn't much time, but that's how we always practice, so we knew we could get down on the ball and make it happen."

The Bulldogs made a game of it early. They answered Arundel's first two scores with quick touchdowns. Davonte Burke, who rushed for 128 yards, ripped off a 60-yard touchdown on Southern's second play from scrimmage, and Jerel Williams - who had 90 yards rushing - went up the middle for a 66-yard run four plays into its second drive.

But the Bulldogs couldn't keep up with the Wildcats, who will face Annapolis in the first round of the playoffs on Friday.

"Southern is an extremely tough team, so we're always glad to come away with a win against them," Arundel coach Chuck Markiewicz said. "With their system, they take away a lot of the things you want to do, but we were able to stick with it and play our game."

Southern (6-4) 14 6 8 0 - 28

Arundel (10-0) 21 13 14 21 - 69

First Quarter

AR - Harris 17 pass from Cosh (kick failed)

SO - Burke 60 run (kick failed)

AR - Gordon 22 pass from Cosh (Young kick)

SO - Williams 66 run (Burke pass from Wells)

AR - Harris 3 pass from Cosh (Gordon pass from Cosh)

Second Quarter

AR - Harris 30 pass from Cosh (Young kick)

SO - Angermier 22 pass from Riggs (kick failed)

AR - Gordon 17 pass from Cosh (kick failed)

Third Quarter

AR - Blackwell 4 run (Young kick)

AR - Cosh 4 run (Young kick)

SO - Sullivan 6 run (Williams run)

Fourth Quarter

AR - White 12 pass from Cosh (Young kick)

AR - Blackwell 6 run (Young kick)

AR - Haskett 83 interception return (Young kick)

PASSING: SO - Riggs 1-1-1-0=22 yards, Wells 3-10-0-2=21 yards; AR - Cosh 33-44-6-0=380 yards. RECEIVING: SO - Angermier 1-22-1; AR - Harris 12-144-3. RUSHING: SO - Burke 17-128-1; AR - Blackwell 19-14-2.