Football: Gilman flattens Mt. St. Joe

Gilman moved closer to securing the No. 1 seed in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference playoffs by walloping Mount St. Joseph, 56-28, on Friday afternoon in Roland Park.

The Greyhounds (7-1, 5-0 conference) can take the final step by beating archrival McDonogh on Nov. 4 at 2:30 p.m. in their annual showdown in Owings Mills.

The playoffs begin the following weekend.

As usual, running back/wideout Cyrus Jones (4 touchdowns) and his senior classmate Kenneth Goins (3 TDs) led the way for coach Biff Poggi's club, torching St. Joe (3-5, 2-3) for six scores in the first half alone. Junior Micah Kiser, who picked off two enemy passes, recorded the other touchdown for Gilman while senior kicker Trevor Wey accounted for all eight extra points.

It was the third time this season the Greyhounds had topped the 50-point plateau.

Meanwhile, the Gaels inflicted some damage of their own, scoring more points against Gilman than any of its other rivals this fall.

All of Jones' touchdowns — runs of 6, 30 and 36 yards and a 48-yard reception — came before the intermission when the Greyhounds built a 42-14 advantage.

"We played really well offensively, scoring 56 points," Poggi said. "But it wasn't our best day defensively."

St. Joe had something do with that, gouging the Greyhounds for big plays.

The first of those was a nifty little screen pass from sophomore quarterback Bryan Jangro to junior wideout Marcus Alston that covered 85 yards and tied the score, 7-7, after Mike Grasso's conversion kick, with 4:22 left in the first quarter.

Trailing, 28-7, the Gaels received a lift off the bench from quarterback Luke Casey, who connected with Alston for a 5-yard score. The junior later found senior Samuel Benjamin for a 15-yard touchdown and bowled over several would-be tacklers on a 55-yard bolt up the middle for another score.

"That was just a great run," Poggi said. "It was nothing but heart."