Leading host River Hill 14-0 after one half of football, Glenelg head coach Butch Schaffer reminded his players of the recent one-sided history of the Howard County rivalry.
"We've had many opportunities and we've played them extremely tight six of seven times and have come up on the short side," Schaffer said. "We brought up the history. So we said we didn't want it to come down to that. Our kids took that to heart."
In fact, the Hawks entered Friday night having won 14 of the last 15 meetings, and five of the last six were decided by one score or less. But Schaffer and the Gladiators weren't about to let this one slip away, and a 28-point third quarter turned a close game into a lopsided 49-7 Glenelg victory.
The 42-point differential between the two teams is the largest since current Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Michael Campanaro and River Hill beat the Gladiators 45-0 in 2007. The Hawks went undefeated and won the state championship that season.
"We've had a lot of chances to win a couple games up here, and somehow they slipped by us," Schaffer said. "For us to finally come through and make it happen, it feels good for these kids. I've been on this side of a lot of heart-breaking losses to River Hill and I'm really proud for our kids. I've seen the upset looks on their faces many, many times."
Glenelg (2-0) needed just two offensive snaps in the third to extend its lead from 14 to 35. Sophomore running back Wande Owens broke free for a 52-yard touchdown run and senior Noah Williamson found the end zone on a 9-yard scamper after a blocked punt. But it was junior Garrett Mills' 82-yard touchdown return on the opening kickoff of the second half that jump started the scoring spree and extended the lead to 20-0.