With both of their defenses allowing little breathing room, the season-opening showdown between sixth-ranked Old Mill and No. 15 Broadneck came down to one big play.

That moment arrived early in the third quarter, when Old Mill recovered a fumbled punt on Broadneck's 34-yard line and scored nine plays later. Patriots running back Rob Chesson then wore down the Bruins in the fourth quarter for a 10-0 victory.

With that, Old Mill avenged last season's loss in the Class 4A East regional semifinal and picked up a key win in Anne Arundel league play.

"This sets the tone, because losing in the playoffs to them last year was tough," Old Mill coach Chad McCormick said. "We put in a lot of time and work, and when your season comes to end, that's very tough. But it was a regular season game, and we have to prepare for Severna Park next week."

Old Mill is primed to advance to the playoffs for the 13th consecutive year with linebacker Rafael Kess leading the return of nine defensive starters. Salaman Riddell had two sacks against the Bruins, and Kess had another. Old Mill held Broadneck to three first downs.

Chesson carried the load for the Patriots, finishing with 132 yards and a touchdown on 33 carries. Chesson ran for 962 yards with 11 touchdowns last season despite playing behind Demond Brown (Naval Academy Preparatory School).

After Broadneck fumbled the punt on the second possession of the third quarter, Chesson capitalized, running seven times in the nine-play drive and scoring from the 2-yard line.

"We struggled in the beginning, but as soon as our offensive line picked it up, we took over the momentum," Chesson said. "We started wearing them down. It all comes down to summer workouts — conditioning and conditioning."

Broadneck, meanwhile, lost 36 players, including 18 starters. 

Neither the Patriots nor Bruins could generate much offense, and Old Mill led 3-0 at the half on Matt Lampe's 26-yard field goal two minutes into the second quarter.

Broadneck could not move the ball past midfield in the opening half, as Bruins quarterback Brady George dealt with relentless pressure throughout the game.

"Our mindset coming into the game was to shut them out," Kess said. "That hurt [losing to them] last year. We have a great amount of respect across the county now. We came out to play."

O – 0 3 7 0 - 10

B – 0 0 0 0- 0

O- Lampe 26 kick

O- Chesson 2 run (Lampe kick)