High School Sports |

Elijah Lee helps Randallstown football end losing streak to Owings Mills with 34-14 win

Randallstown’s Elijah Lee knows what it’s like to lose to Owings Mills. On Friday night, the senior made sure he didn’t have to feel that way again.

Lee rushed for touchdowns of 72 and 43 yards and a 2-point conversion, totaling 165 yards on 10 carries, to lift the visiting Rams over Owings Mills, 34-14, in the opener for both Baltimore County schools.

Before the win, the Eagles had beaten the Rams six straight times.

“It feels good to finally beat them,” said Lee. “We played with more heart. I just trusted my coaches and my line and the holes were there. Our game plan was to stop their run, and we did that. It was a team effort.”

Lee made sure it didn’t take long for Randallstown to jump out on top. On the first play from scrimmage from his own 28-yard line, he took a handoff from quarterback William Pinkett and found a lane on the right side of the field. He juked a few defenders and found himself running untouched in the end zone for a 72-yard score. After the extra point, the Rams led 7-0 just eight seconds into the contest.

Owings Mills used a 20-yard pass to Malachi Bryant from Anthony Bland to cut the lead to 7-6 in the closing seconds of the first quarter. A failed conversion run left the Eagles behind by a point.

With Randallstown holding a 14-6 lead early in the third quarter, Owings Mills put together its best drive of the day. The Eagles went 54 yards in nine plays before quarterback Neveah Elliott scored from 3 yards out. After a successful conversion run by Elliott, the game was tied at 14 with 3:51 left in the third quarter.

The Rams responded on their next possession, putting together a nine-play drive to retake the lead. On a fourth-and-goal at the Eagles 5, Pinkett found senior Joel Herron alone in the back of the end zone with a lobbed pass. After a Lee run, the Rams had a 22-14 lead with 11:00 left in the game.

The Rams held Owings Mills to only three yards on the Eagles’ next possession, getting the ball back quickly. They wasted little time as Lee took off for his second touchdown, a 43-yard scamper on the first play to make the lead 28-14 with 7:36 left in the game.

Randallstown put the game away on the next play. After receiving the ensuing kickoff at his own 22-yard line, Owings Mills’ Allen Robinson broke to the left. He was met by Randallstown’s Davon Sawyer, who stripped him of the ball at the Owings Mills 30. Sawyer picked up the ball and ran it in from there for a 34-14 lead with 7:21 left.

“He tried to run past me,” Sawyer said. “I couldn’t really wrap him up, so I just punched at the ball and it came out. I saw it bounce and I picked it up and took off with it.”

The Rams hope the win is something they can build on this season after going 8-3 last year.

“Our goal is to go 1-0 every week, but it feels good to start off the year with a win,” Randallstown coach Jamari McCollough said. “They came to our field last year and beat us there, so it was our goal to return the favor this year. Now we have to face [defending state champion] Stephen Decatur next week. Hopefully this is the start of something for us.”