Perry Hall football did a couple things better than visiting Dundalk that proved the difference in Friday night’s Baltimore County showdown.

The No. 13 Gators made more big plays and fewer mistakes to claim a 32-27 win over the No. 15 Owls in a steady light rain.

Scoring touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams, the defending county champions improved to 4-0 on the season and 2-0 in league play, handing Dundalk (3-1, 1-1) its first loss.

“Every week we come in, put in our work at practice and go out and fight hard. We keep each other up and push each other to be better every day and every game,” said Perry Hall senior quarterback Terrell Hearn, who threw two first-half touchdown passes.

In a back-and-forth game through three quarters, the Owls took a 27-26 lead on Jocquan Jenkins’ second touchdown run, this one from 23 yards with 5:53 left in the third quarter.

The Gators were quick to respond, with Vernon Allen returning the ensuing kickoff 71 yards to give the home team a 32-27 lead. The Gators made the score stand.

With 8:35 left in the game, the Owls started a drive on their own 46 and moved the ball to Perry Hall’s 14. AJ Smith scored the go-ahead touchdown, but the play was called back on a holding penalty and the Gators’ defense was able to hold.

The last big play from Perry Hall came on third-and-18 at its own 5 with 1:44 to play. Hearn found CJ Crump, who made the catch down the left side despite good coverage and picked up 20 yards for the first down. The Gators went into victory formation to close out the win.

“Crump had the big catch at the end to seal it. In traffic, get hit like that — it’s just an unbelievable play,” Perry Hall coach Ryan Pittillo said. “That’s just a huge win, playing a good team like Dundalk.”

With the game tied at 13 and four seconds left in the first half, the Owls had a first down at the Perry Hall 29 looking to take the lead. But quarterback Micah Williams’ throw to the end zone was intercepted by safety Corey Costner, who raced down the right sideline 100 yards to give the home team an improbable 19-13 lead at the break.

Credit the Owls, who responded quickly. On their opening drive on the second half, they went 57 yards on six plays, culminating with Jenkins running for a 20-yard touchdown for a 20-19 lead.

“I think our guys are fighters — that’s who they are and who they’ll always be. We just came up a few plays short today,” Dundalk coach Tom Abel said. “The biggest thing for us is to eliminate the mental mistakes. I keep telling the kids we can’t cheat the process. You can’t get from A to Z without taking B and C and the rest of the alphabet.”

Atholton 27, Wilde Lake 6: The Raiders showed off their multi-faceted attack Friday night, running rampant over visiting Wilde Lake. The win moves them to 3-1, including 3-0 against in-state opponents. Their lone loss came to Middletown High in Delaware.

Offensively, Atholton had it all going Friday, from running back Lawrence Mungo running 13 times for 122 yards to quarterback Tyler Bell rushing for 132 yards on eight carries while passing for 92 yards. The Raiders have scored 27 points in all three Howard County games so far, beating opponents with both their pass and run game.

Atholton scored on four of its first five drives, the only blemish coming on a missed field goal attempt at the end of the first half. Mungo stole the show early with 58 rushing yards and a touchdown on the first drive, and he started the second drive with 46 yards on three more carries. Wilde Lake started keying in on the run, bringing extra defenders into the box, and Bell punished that decision. The junior dual-threat showcased his legs, breaking off a pair of runs for 43 yards and a touchdown.

— Aidan Thomas, For Baltimore Sun Media

Catonsvillle 34, Woodlawn 6: Tyler Boyd rushed for 118 yards and three touchdowns and the Comets’ defense held Woodlawn to under 200 total yards in a victory Friday evening. The Comets are 4-0 for the first time since 2019.

Quarterback Gunnar Gemmell connected with Neil Lewis for an 8-yard touchdown pass on the Comets’ first drive to open the scoring and Logan Bates made the first of his four extra points for a 7-0 lead. Lewis, a junior, also had two sacks for a defense that held the Warriors to just 43 yards in the second half.

Woodlawn did most of its damage on the its first play from scrimmage. Tywuan Matthews raced 64 yards to the 1-yard line and quarterback Dallis Brown scored on the next play, but Lucca Bateman stuffed Matthews on the 2-point try and the Comets never relinquished the lead.

Boyd came into the game as Baltimore County’s leading rusher (363 yards) and he increased his touchdown total to 11 with a 6-yard run late in the game. Trae Sears (11 carries, 65 yards) also scored a second-half touchdown.

— Craig J. Clary

Chesapeake-AA 28, Severna Park 21: The Cougars cruised to a big halftime lead, just for Severna Park to punch back in the second half. Last September, Chesapeake found itself stressing over the same kind of comeback, only this time, the Cougars held on.

On fourth-and-10 with 1:30 to go, Severna Park quarterback Vince Nguyen launched the touchdown that shattered Chesapeake’s control of the game — a 31-yard bomb to Cole Cavanaugh that narrowed the Cougars’ lead to a single score.

The Falcons defense shuffled Chesapeake off quickly and Nguyen took over at the 41-yard line with 57 seconds to work with.

Two flags that forced the Falcons back to their own 21 didn’t kill the drive. Nguyen salved the wound with 19- and 24-yard completions to Dash Havens and Joey Tramontana, respectively. Just past the 30 with eight seconds left, Nguyen paced back, surveying his options before him. He didn’t see Chesapeake’s Connor Wright or Colin Gilmore in time.

Even when his initial tackle didn’t stick, Wright pursued Nguyen to drag him down, forcing a fumble Gilmore jumped on.

Nguyen, who entered ranked third in county passing yards, had his first drive end with an interception Chesapeake’s Levi Page took 52 yards the opposite direction for a touchdown.

The Falcons’ next luckless campaign ended with Sears blocking a punt. The Cougars took over at the Falcons’ 2-yard line and Peyton Jacobs took it across the goal line to make it 14-0. Cougars quarterback Keller Herzberger and running back Sean Carroll came back and churned up most of the half’s remaining clock to cap a 49-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown to cement a 21-0 halftime lead.

— Katherine Fominykh

Marriotts Ridge 30, Guilford Park 14: Marriotts Ridge sophomore quarterback Blake Willingham was called up from junior varsity last week to be the Mustangs’ starter for their homecoming game against Guilford Park. Willingham had plenty of nerves entering Friday. However, his teammates encouraged him, telling him, “You’re here for a reason.”

The sophomore proved his teammates and coaches right. He was efficient and showed off his athleticism, and combined with senior Ashton Clark’s dominance on the ground, the Mustangs produced a win.

Willingham’s self-assurance is a byproduct of those around him. Holzman and the coaching staff trimmed the playbook to maximize his effectiveness. They ran similar concepts and plays to what he was running on junior varsity, also utilizing his athleticism on designed quarterback runs and rollouts. The Mustangs also took advantage of a luxury for any new quarterback, a veteran running back.

In a tight battle, Marriotts Ridge (3-1) led by two at halftime. The Mustangs’ coaches preached several points of emphasis, including improved tackling. In turn, the Mustangs’ relentless pursuit pinned the Panthers deep on their opening drive of the second half.

Marriotts Ridge’s special teams followed, blocking its third punt of the season to set up the Mustangs on the Panthers’ 12-yard line. One play later, Willingham connected with fellow sophomore Emmanuel Williams for a touchdown.

— Jacob Steinberg

Liberty 21, Francis Scott Key 0: With half the field threatening to be submerged underwater at any minute thanks to the downpour brought on by Hurricane Helene, Liberty and Francis Scott Key had more than just each other to contend with as the top spot in the county standings was on the line.

After two receiving touchdowns and two sacks on defense, it turned out “Hurricane Tristan” was the most powerful force on the field Friday night. Liberty’s Tristan West terrorized the Eagles from the game’s opening moments, leading Liberty to a win.

Looking to strike first, quarterback Chase Miller and the Liberty offense finally got a drive going and capped it off in style. Miller dropped back and took advantage of one of the few times he had solid footing, planting his feet and throwing it up to West, who high-pointed the ball over Tobi Adelaja for a 26-yard touchdown, putting the Lions (2-2) ahead.

Playing with the lead, the Lions defense stepped up, holding FSK running back Jermaine Dawson, the county’s leading rusher, in check. A big reason for that: the constant rotation of defensive linemen coach Larry Luthe and Liberty cycled in the game.

With only one player that starts both ways, Liberty not only threw fresh bodies at the Eagles (3-1), but productive ones as it pitched a shutout. Luthe’s defense was on the attack, recovering three fumbles as FSK struggled to hold onto the ball with the tough weather conditions.

— Timothy Dashiell

South Carroll 13, Manchester Valley 0

Edgewood 14, Bel Air 7

Patterson Mill 24, Bohemia Manor 10

North Harford 35, Kenwood 12

Arundel 70, Northeast 0

Annapolis 42, South River 14

Archbishop Spalding 51, Gilman 0

Broadneck 42, Glen Burnie 27

Field hockey

Marriotts Ridge 8, Oakland Mills 0

Bryn Mawr 8, South Carroll 0

North County 10, Meade 0

C. Milton Wright 2, North East 1

Fallston 4, Sparrows Point 3

Bel Air 6, Rising Sun 0

St. Mary’s 3, Severn 0

Centennial 1, River Hill 0, OT

Girls soccer

St. Mary’s 1, National Cathedral (D.C.) 0

Severn 3, Friends 1

Volleyball

Dulaney 3, Carver A&T 0

Baltimore Sun Media staff contributed to this article.