The gap between No. 1 Archbishop Spalding football and its Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference foes grows wider with every week.

More evidence came Friday night at packed Calvert Hall, where the Cavaliers scored on their first three possessions and never looked back to claim a resounding 35-0 win over the No. 8 Cardinals.

Senior quarterback and University of Maryland commit Malik Washington ran for two scores, threw for one and caught a touchdown pass to close out the scoring on the opening possession of the third quarter. With the 35-0 advantage, the rest of the second half was played with a running clock.

It’s the 18th straight MIAA A win for the two-time defending champion Cavaliers, who moved up to the No. 1 spot in this past week’s statewide poll for the first time in program history. They are 5-0 overall and 2-0 in league play this season, with their last conference loss coming in the 2021 semifinals.

“It’s a focus all week — coming out ready to play right off the bat — and we’ve done that recently and we probably have a little bit of a presence now where when we get people down, there’s some doubt on the other side. So continuing to do that is going to be the key to the rest of the season,” Spalding coach Kyle Schmitt said.

After defensive tackle Delmar White stuffed Calvert Hall running back John Asuquo to force a punt on the game’s opening drive, the Cavaliers went to work on offense.

They went 75 yards in just over one minute — running back Antonio Ledbetter’s catch-and-run for 49 yards the key play on a third-and-10 — before Washington scampered the final 25 yards for the opening touchdown.

After a three-and-out stop on defense gave the offense the ball back on the Cavaliers’ 44, Ledbetter ran for 21 yards before closing the drive with a 35-yard touchdown catch that made it 14-0 with 3:58 to play in the first quarter.

Leading 21-0 after running back Chase Gorman’s jaunt from 11 yards, the Cavaliers got the ball back one last time in the first half at their own 10 with 59 seconds left. Washington’s 40-yard strike to wide receiver Aaron Igwebe put the ball on the Cardinals’ 1 with 10 seconds left, and Washington ran it in for a 28-0 halftime lead.

With the Cavaliers receiving the second half kick, freshman returner Kam Miller ran it back 34 yards to the Spalding 43 before the visitors methodically grinded out yards. At the Cardinals’ 9, the Cavaliers ran a reverse to Miller, who threw to a wide-open Washington on the left side for an easy score.

“We spent all week preparing, watching film, getting scout team looks and it prepares us for those first couple of drives and we’re able to roll because we’re getting all the looks we’re seeing. And then when teams make adjustments, we make our adjustments,” Washington said.

Ledbetter was happy to do his part in a hurry. On the key third-down play of the opening drive, he took a short pass from Washington and then bounced off tacklers down the right side for the explosive 50-yard gain. He then accounted for all 56 yards on the second drive — 21 on the ground before the 35-yard touchdown catch.

It was the third straight game that the Cavaliers forced a running clock, including last week’s 45-0 win over No. 3 McDonogh in their league opener. Schmitt applauded the defensive outputs from White and linebackers Joey Scheffers and Ben Liguori.

The game was the conference opener for the Cardinals, who are now 3-2 overall. Coach Josh Ward was disappointed at some costly penalties and his defense being unable to get off the field when it had the Cavaliers in third-and-long situations. But there were some encouraging signs with no turnovers and a strong running game led by Asuquo producing nearly 150 yards.

“I think talent-wise, we’re getting there,” Ward said. “The biggest thing is [Spalding] is very well coached, very disciplined and you can’t make mistakes against them. We made too many mistakes in key situations.”

Football

Perry Hall 27, Franklin 24:Down by 17 with under two minutes left in the third quarter, Perry Hall rallied with 20 straight points and secured a victory over host Franklin on Friday night.

The go-ahead score came on a 17-yard quick screen from quarterback Terrell Hearn to wideout Vernon Allen with 1:06 remaining in the game.

Franklin (2-1) made big plays all night, and when Elijah Mathis returned an interception 92 yards for a touchdown to give the Indians a 24-7 lead with 7:13 left in the third quarter, it looked like it would be enough to put the game away.

On the third play of the ensuing drive, quarterback Jack Sabol hit Corey Costner on a quick screen and he scampered 43 yards for a touchdown with 1:16 left in the third quarter. Mario Gonzalex kicked the extra point to make it 24-14.

Franklin’s next possession ended with a punt after six plays and the Gators took over at their own 14. A completion from Sabol to Allen got 9 yards, but after three straight incompletions it was fourth-and-10 from the Gators’ 26. Sabol was relieved by Hearn and he fired a deep slant to Costner, who juked a couple of tacklers and raced 74 yards for a score with 6:02 left in the game. A blocked extra point attempt left the Gators needing a touchdown to win.

A sack by Artavien Tubman on second down led to a three-and-out, and the Gators took over at their own 29 with 4:11 remaining. Hearn threw passes to Jalil Frazier for 10 yards and to CJ Crump for 30, setting up the game-winning heroics.

— Craig J. Clary

Old Mill 46, South River 7: Old Mill sophomore Ny’jae Colbert ran down South River’s field with one intention: tackle.

In his path, South River kick returner Jamar Robinson padded tentatively around the red zone before cutting outside. A horde of Patriots fell upon him in seconds, Colbert included.

That particular, doomed kick return came in response to Old Mill’s second touchdown — a good sign for the Patriots, but being down a score in the final three minutes of the first half was not exactly the death knell for South River. Then Colbert changed the game.

Old Mill quarterback Braylon Tucker ultimately capped off the drive with a touchdown. The Patriots (2-1) rode their gathering momentum easily into the second half, padding what would’ve been an already dominant margin with four rushing touchdowns. Colbert, who also recorded an interception in the second quarter, contributed one of those long-distance runs — a 43-yard streak undeterred up the sideline in the third quarter. Connor Adams (151 yards) and Demetrious Jones also scored touchdowns.

— Katherine Fominykh

River Hill 15, Reservoir 7: River Hill beat itself in each of its first two games, totaling nine turnovers. Entering Friday night’s contest against Reservoir, coach Brian Van Deusen preached the importance of protecting the ball.

Not only did the Hawks follow their coach’s plea, they completely flipped the script, finishing with a plus-four turnover margin. River Hill cashed in on Reservoir’s mistakes, scoring both of their touchdowns after turnovers.

Despite repeated mistakes, Reservoir had an opportunity to tie the game inside of two minutes remaining. Gators quarterback Elijiah Green launched a ball toward Cruz Tsabang in the end zone. However, River Hill senior defensive back Yusuf Shabazz was there for the pass breakup. Two plays later, Green scrambled inside of the red zone, but a Hawks defender knocked the ball loose — the fourth and final turnover — sealing the win.

— Jacob Steinberg

Francis Scott Key 19, Winters Mill 6: After two hard-fought, satisfying out-of-county wins, the Eagles were firing on all cylinders Friday night, defeating Winters Mill to move to 3-0 on the season.

Sophomore quarterback Jacob Etzler shook off a rough first half in which he was sacked three times and lost a fumble. He stood strong and responded with the poise of an athlete well beyond his years, getting the Eagles on the board after and leading a 13-play, 95-yard touchdown drive for the game’s first points in the second half.

Facing a Falcons rush eager to get to him a fourth time, the sophomore stepped up in the pocket and threw a strike across the middle, finding Jermaine Dawson Jr. for the first of his three passing touchdowns.

With the lead in hand and his offense settled down, Etzler was able to take control, connecting with Chase Replogle and Mitchell Smith for touchdowns as the FSK lead ballooned.

— Timothy Dashiell

Liberty 31, Manchester Valley 26: A happy smile creased Liberty quarterback Chase Miller’s face after the Lions defeated Manchester Valley for their first win of the season. You’ll have to ask him if it was a smile of joy or a smile of relief.

The Lions (1-2, 1-0) held a 28-7 lead just after halftime, but had to hang on and survive a furious last-second run by the host Mavericks (1-2, 0-1) in the Carroll County opener for both teams.

Miller finished with 220 yards in the air on nine completions with three touchdowns and one interception to lead the Lions. Receiver Tristan West was on the receiving end of two of Miller’s touchdowns. Kevin Poole had 104 yards on 18 carries to lead Liberty’s rushing attack.

The Lions saw their 28-7 lead whittled down to just two points, and only a missed 2-point conversion attempt kept it from being tied. But Liberty answered with a drive on the back of Poole’s running. They bullied the ball to the Mavericks’ 5 before settling for a Ryder Hecox 21-yard field goal with 2:37 left to make in 31-26.

Manchester Valley mounted a frantic last drive, but could only get the ball to the Liberty 35 before turning the ball over on downs with 13 seconds left.

— Mike Frainie, For Baltimore Sun Media

Sparrows Point 7, Loch Raven 0: Facing a Loch Raven offense that had scored 70 points in two games, Sparrows Point came into Friday night with a clear game plan: Play to their personnel and rope the speedy Raiders into a slow, physical game.

That much, they accomplished, as nobody would have accused Sparrows Point of being the flashier team on the field. But, when the clock struck zeroes, it was coach Nicholas Burkhardt’s Pointers that had grinded out a win.

Safe to say Burkhardt’s squad received the message. The hosts held the ball for 32:28 of game time, wearing down a Loch Raven defense that either couldn’t get key stops or committed undisciplined penalties.

On offense, the visiting Raiders turned the ball over four times, twice in the red zone, failing to notch a scoring drive.

Junior running back Mike Maynor led the way on the ground for the Pointers, compiling 80 tough yards on 20 carries, while his classmate and fellow running back Cameron Watkins put in some hard work in the second half, churning out 25 yards on six carries. Sophomore Logan Alderson, who started the game at quarterback and finished at wide receiver, scored the only points of the game with an 8-yard touchdown run.

— Aidan Thomas, For Baltimore Sun Media

Harford Tech 31, Bel Air 14: A scoreless first quarter Friday between Harford Tech and Bel Air suggested the even matchup anticipated in this pairing of crosstown rivals.

The visiting Cobras, however, delivered the decisive blows in what was a tie game at halftime, scoring 17 unanswered second-half points.

Harford Tech’s loudest statement came on special teams, where senior Karon Evans and junior Shamari Whitmore each had a punt return touchdown. Evans’ dash for six came midway through in the second quarter and answered Bel Air’s 7-0 lead that had come on a KJ Wood catch-and-run touchdown from midfield.

The Bobcats responded with one of their best drives of the night late in the first half. Bel Air senior Patrick Sullivan connected with classmate Hayden Myers to jump-start things on a pass to the Bobcats’ 35-yard line. Bel Air finished the march with Sullivan’s touchdown pass up the left hash to junior Dominic Gray. The Bobcats’ 14-7 edge would be their last.

Harford Tech evened the game at 14 just 25 seconds before halftime. Whitmore’s 12-yard touchdown reception from junior Stephen Kelley set up senior Caleb Hamilton’s successful PAT.

The 14-14 halftime deadlock was broken up when a Bel Air punt was muffed, recovered and returned for a touchdown by Tech’s Whitmore. The Cobras did not look back as their defense was opportunistic in the form of junior Maurice Butler’s two interceptions.

— Daniel Steenkamer, For Baltimore Sun Media

Oakland Mills 45, Long Reach 0

Arundel 62, Crofton 26

Chesapeake 14, C.M. Wright 10

Annapolis 49, Severna Park 33

Broadneck 49, Meade 21

Annapolis Area Christian 38, FCA Bucks (Del.) 0

Glen Burnie 42, Southern 14

Westminster 20, South Carroll 6

Severn 30, John Carroll 7

Boys soccer

Gerstell 2, Friends 0

Liberty 6, Boonsboro 1

C. Milton Wright 4, Century 0

Severn 2, Archbishop Spalding 2

Loyola Blakefield 3, Mount Saint Joseph 0

McDonogh 4, Concordia Prep 2

Archbishop Curley 2, Gilman 1

Volleyball

Hereford 3, Carver A&T 0

Eastern Tech 3, Catonsville 0

Baltimore Sun Media staff contributed to this article.