Catching Up

By: Keith Mills

Ray Cotton Jr. lived up to the hype. Cotton, a transfer from Faith Academy in Mobile, Ala., played his first game at Meade High School and led the Mustangs to a 42-7 win over Franklin. The senior quarterback completed 16 of 22 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns and also rushed for 80 yards. Cotton hit Trevor Turner on a 40-yard touchdown to start the game, and his 2-yard touchdown run gave the Mustangs a 12-0 lead in the first quarter.

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About 20 miles from Meade High School in Odenton, Arundel High opened defense of its region championship with an impressive 28-13 win over Broadneck in the Bruins home opener in Cape St. Claire.

Billy Cosh, who replaced All-State quarterback Nick Elko in Arundel's high-powered attack, threw three first-half touchdowns as the Wildcats opened up a 21-7 lead and never looked back. Cosh, the son of Maryland defensive coordinator Chris Cosh, threw for 169 yards with touchdown passes to Alec Lemon, Sean Fitzgerald and R.J. Harris.

RUDY COMING TO BALTIMORE

In 1975 Daniel Eugene "Rudy" Ruettiger was just another student at Notre Dame and certainly just another member of the Fighting Irish football practice squad. But all that changed Nov. 8 of that year. Irish coach Dan Devine inserted the 5-foot-7, 165-pound senior into the game against Georgia Tech and "Rudy" became a South Bend icon.

In 1993, director David Anspaugh and producer Rob Fried teamed to make a movie about the former St. Joliet Catholic High graduate, who played defensive back for the school's football team.

One of 14 children, Ruettiger was played by Sean Astin in the movie and was carried off the field that November afternoon in South Bend by his Notre Dame teammates. Ruettiger has parlayed his brief, one-game career and the successful movie into a career of motivational speaking. He will be in Baltimore Saturday night, speaking at Cardinal Gibbons High School on Caton Avenue in West Baltimore and sharing his Hollywood story.

For more information contact Joe Loverde at 410-288-2425 or Jim Malone at 410-207-2531.

Issue 3.37: September 11, 2008