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SEVERN — When a team rises to victory and cements their head coach’s milestone in number of wins, usually the next game is a let down.
That was not the case on Friday night as Good Counsel (2-0) used Muhamed Ibrahim’s 125 yards and two touchdowns on the ground to run past Archbishop Spalding (1-1), 20-14.
Last week, the Falcons beat Mount St. Joseph, which was coach Bob Milloy’s 400th career win, the most in Maryland high school football history. Milloy told his team this past week to put that game behind them and focus on the upcoming game against the Cavaliers.
“This was a big game because we have been preparing ourselves the whole week,” Ibrahim said, the senior tailback. “We conditioned ourselves knowing that we were going to run the ball the whole game. So it was huge doing what Coach Milloy preached to us all week.”
After Cavaliers running back Jamari Jones’ touchdown and a converted two-point conversion, Spalding went into the half with a 14-12 lead over Good Counsel.
Archbishop Spalding opened the second half with the ball, but couldn’t muster a successful drive. So, Good Counsel quarterback Travis Nannen and the Falcons offense went to work, and a few plays later, running back Kamren Taylor bursted through an opening and ran 25 yards for the touchdown. On the ensuing 2-point conversion, Jonathan Donnelly snagged a pass from Nannen, which preserved Good Counsel’s second win of the season.
Nannen praised his running backs and the offensive line for the way they played.
“We knew coming in across the (offensive) line that our guys were bigger,” Nannen said. “And to be completely honest, we feel like we have the toughest (offensive) line in the country. When we line up we play power football. And man on man we won that tonight.”
The power style was effective for the Falcons, especially in the second half as it was noticeable that the Spalding defense was gassed and cramping up.
Milloy stated after the game that his team was embarrassed with the way they played last week, and if the Falcons want to compete in the WCAC with powerhouses like DeMatha and St. John’s, they have to get better.
“We are old fashion, it is what we do,” Milloy said. “I guess it’s too late to change. I’m proud of my kids. We were down at halftime and came back, but we have to compete a lot harder.”
Spalding, meanwhile, came to play. The offense was able to put points on the board in the first half.
Jones ran for a 50-yard touchdown with 7:45 left in the first quarter. And then after surrendering the lead back to Good Counsel in the second half, the Cavs defense blocked a punt and also forced the Falcons to punt after failing to get points deep in the Spalding end of the field. But the Cavs couldn’t capitalize.
Good Counsel will now move on and prepare to play another Baltimore private school power next Saturday at Gilman. As for Archbishop Spalding, the Cavaliers will look to bounce back against St. Mary’s Ryken.
Box score
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| GC (2-0) | 12 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 20 |
| AS (1-1) | 6 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
Scoring summary
First quarter
GC — Muhamed Ibrahim 2-yard run (Kick failed)
AS — Jamari Jones 50-yard run (Kick failed)
GC — Muhamed Ibrahim 9-yard run (Kick failed)
Second quarter
AS — Jamari Jones 7-yard pass from Evan Fochtman (2-point conversion good)
Third quarter
GC — Kamren Taylor 25-yard run (2-point conversion good)
Fourth quarter
None
