After a slow start, Edgewood High’s offense exploded in the second quarter and rolled to a 36-0 victory over C. Milton Wright in a match-up of undefeated UCBAC Chesapeake teams Friday evening in Harford County.

It was a statement win for Edgewood, which improved to 3-0 (2-0 in Chesapeake) for the first time since 2016. Third-year head coach Keith Rawlings lauded the improvements his team has made from week-to-week, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.

“We are getting better each week,” Rawlings said. “I mean, we have a lot of work to do. We have been really working hard at trying to establish ourselves offensively and defensively. We had been a little sloppy on tackling, so we have really been focusing on tackling better. Really proud of the effort.”

Junior quarterback Caesar Travers got the Rams going by finding junior wide receiver Jacob Martin on the first play of the second quarter. Travers delivered a deep ball that Martin hauled in for a 45-yard touchdown strike that gave Edgewood a 7-0 lead it would not relinquish.

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“[Martin] had a good release and I saw the corner didn’t have a chance,” Travers said of the big play. “I threw a dime.”

After a three-and-out from the Mustangs, Travers methodically moved the Rams into scoring position again. On a third down from inside the 10, Travers took off and scrambled to the 2-yard line.

The Rams were turned away on fourth down but that gave their defense an opportunity to make a big play of its own. On the ensuing snap by the Mustangs, the Rams defense swarmed the C. Milton Wright ball carrier in the end zone for a safety and a 9-0 lead.

The Rams’ defense swarmed all game long, pressuring the Mustang’s quarterback numerous times and coming away with three sacks.

“We really try to pride ourselves on holding teams to no scores,” Rawlings said. “We put big emphasis on [defense]. We are getting better each week and that is the goal – use the regular season to get as good as we can and see how far we can go in the playoffs.”

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On the next drive, the Rams put an exclamation point on a big second quarter. Travers hit Michael Lee for 22 yards to set up the Rams inside the 10-yard line. The Rams cashed in on this red zone trip as Travers found senior Isaiah Martin for a 2-yard TD pass on fourth down to make the score 16-0 at the half.

Another big play to open the second half put the game away for Edgewood. Senior running back Isaiah Megginson took the first snap of the third quarter, found a hole in the Mustangs’ defense and scampered 70 yards to pay-dirt, giving Edgewood a 22-0 lead.

“That was much needed at that time,” Rawlings said. “We always emphasize that it is 0-0 to start the half. We came out the very first play and [Megginson] scores. That is the kind of mindset you gotta have entering the third quarter.”

The Rams added two more scores in the late going as Meggison plunged in from 1-yard out and senior John Billy had a 58-yard run for a score to make it 36-0.

It was a dominant effort for a Rams team that has lofty aspirations this season.

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“We had to come out and make a big statement. We try to get those [big plays] every time.” Meggison said. “We are off to a good start but it’s not where we want to be yet. We’ve got the potential to take this team to Annapolis [for a state championship]. We fully believe that.”

C. Milton Wright coach Larry Ashman told his team to “flush” Friday’s setback out their minds.

“Our front line did not show up tonight,” said Ashman, whose team was looking for its first 3-0 start since 2015. “We had trouble executing [on] the front. On pass plays, the defense was coming through clean.”

The Mustangs (0-1 Chesapeake) hope to rebound next Friday evening at home against rival and undefeated Bel Air (3-0).

“These kids are going to be ready [for Bel-Air],” Ashman said. “I told them you have three hours and this game is over, think about what you need to do better, think about the mistakes and learn from them. We’ve got Bel Air starting tomorrow morning.”

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EDGEWOOD 36, C MILTON WRIGHT 0

CMW 0 0 0 0 -- 0

EDGE 0 16 13 7 -- 36

Second quarter

EDGEWOOD – Caesar Travers 45 pass to Jacob Martin (Carson Crouse kick)

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EDGEWOOD – Safety (Jaski tackled in endzone)

EDGEWOOD – Isaiah Martin 2 pass from Travers (Crouse kick)

Third quarter

EDGEWOOD – Isaiah Megginson 70 run (kick failed)

EDGEWOOD – Megginson 1 run (Crouse kick)

Fourth quarter

EDGEWOOD – John Billy 52 run (Crouse kick)

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