Falcons Fly Away In Opener
Most high school students choose to spend their last few weeks of summer freedom soaking up rays on a beach at Nagshead, or staying out late with their friends, holding desperately to those precious moments before the school bells ring and the textbooks open.
But on Friday evening, Cox's football team had a special reason to get into the school spirit ahead of time.
The Falcons need all the practice they can get to get ready to take on perennial Beach District powerhouse Ocean Lakes. Opening night, however, gave them another incentive; the squad got a shot at Kellam, which knocked Cox out of the first round of the playoffs last season - and just when it seemed like the Knights might get back in time for a repeat, the visiting Falcons took flight to a 25-10 victory.
"After last year's disappointing end, this was the perfect team to have a rematch again," said Cox senior D.J. DiNardo, who alternated quarterbacking duties with Trey Ruediger (as well as rushing and punting) for the night. "This was a battle to the end."
DiNardo's teammate Chris Waddell started things by running back the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown, and the Falcon defense pinned Kellam deep in its own territory. DiNardo caught a pass at the Knight eight, but he was stopped on a fourth-down plunge, giving Kellam back the ball.
Cox held again, and DiNardo returned the punt 17 yards to the Kellam 35, then carried to the 24. Steven Rucker rushed to the 15, but the Falcons caught a break when a lost fumble was returned to them after a Kellam face-mask penalty. Ruediger rushed up the middle for a four-yard score, then caught the two-point conversion pass from DiNardo to go ahead 15-0 with two minutes left in the first quarter.
The Kellam offense finally got moving on the ensuing drive, as Evan Lowe rushed seven times for 31 yards as his team got to the Cox 15. K.J. Florence charged to the six, then blasted over a pair of defenders for the touchdown. Cox missed a chance to blow the game open on the next drive, as Ruediger fumbled near the goal line, and Anthony Andrades recovered for a touchback as the half ended.
Neither team threatened for much of the third, but Lowe raced to the Cox 35 early in the fourth, and Dean Marrock got to the 25. Florence rushed down to the five, but Ruediger knocked him back for a three-yard loss, and Lowe could only reach the six, forcing the Knights to settle for a Trent Martin field goal and 15-10 deficit with just under eight minutes left.
That's when Ruediger and Robert Thrasher made the play of the game. Fading back near midfield, Ruediger saw his teammate drifting toward the right sideline. Ruediger lofted a high pass into his open teammate's hands, and Thrasher made it to the two before Andrades brought him down.
The Falcons got a controversial score on the next play. Charging around the right end, Steve Rucker lunged toward the goal line. As he fell toward pay dirt, the ball flew from his hands and out of bounds. Though the Kellam sideline claimed he'd fumbled before scoring, the officials ruled that the score would stand, and Seth Pekoe booted the extra point for a 22-10 lead.
"It was kind of iffy," Rucker said of the play, "but when I saw a block, my vision got straight, and I got it in."
Max Owens ended Kellam's last offensive threat with an interception on first down, and Pekoe finished the Knights off with a field goal.
"They were creeping up on us, and we knew we had to score," Ruediger said. "They're still a good team, and they fought hard, but our team was just better tonight."
In other Beach District action, Ocean Lakes whaled Princess Anne 42-0, while Bayside squeaked by with a 21-17 upset of Green Run. An overtime field goal gave First Colonial a 6-3 win over Landstown, while Kempsville roared past Salem 20-7.
In a game televised nationally on ESPNU, Oscar Smith took its first step toward another state title with a 27-13 defeat of visiting Venice (Fla.).
