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Unlike a lot of teams, most of Tuscarora's top players come in various shapes and mainly one size, big. They aren't worried about 40-yard dash times, how many times their names show up on the stat sheet or even touching the ball. And, on Saturday afternoon, they made life completely miserable for Frederick High's football team. From the very first snap, Tuscarora's defensive line showed it wasn't going to budge on this day. The linemen swallowed up just about every play that came their way and set the tone for the Titans' 38-14 season-opening victory over their cross-town rivals. "It makes my job easier," said Tuscarora's 6-foot-1, 200-pound senior linebacker Bobby Stup. "I don't have to get hit." This marked the fifth-straight year the Titans and Cadets have kicked off the season against one another. Although, it was the first time they played in daylight. The atmosphere was noticeably different as a result. The game was played in warm, muggy conditions instead of the cooler evening weather. And unlike last year, everyone was able to stick around to the end because the crowd was generally well-behaved. The Cadets, however, did not play their best game. They managed 47 rushing yards on 28 attempts against a defensive front primarily consisting of Bradley McClary (5 feet 11 inches, 218 pounds), Chad Healand (6-3, 285), Hansen Barrick (6-7, 335), T.O. Giles (6-3, 207) and Sean Brennan (6-5, 235). "I'll tell you what's been nice about them all summer long, no matter who we (scrimmaged), they really answered the challenge," said Dean Swink, a victor in his first game as the Titans' head coach. "I don't think many of them are exceedingly big. But they are tough and they play good technique." Frederick coach Vince Ahearn felt his team wore down against Tuscarora's big lines on both sides of the ball. Numerous Frederick players came off the field to get treated for cramping, partly a result of the conditions. "You want to weigh our lines and we are probably giving up at least 50 pounds per kid," Ahearn said. "And we don't have a lot of depth. So it wears on you." The play of the Tuscarora defense paved the way for the Titans offense to do its job. Quarterback Josh Marshall and running backs Matt Scott and Charlie Myers all rushed for touchdowns as part of a 28-point second quarter for Tuscarora. Scott was the Titans' leading rusher with 61 yards on 10 carries. The other points came on a 32-yard field goal from kicker Zach Kirk in the first quarter and another touchdown run from Marshall, this one from 8 yards out with 7:16 to play in the game. Even Stup got into the scoring act, taking a fumble that seemed to bounce perfectly into his hands 42 yards for a touchdown. Of course, the defensive line had a hand in the play. "Our front-line guys just dominated inside and made it easy for our linebackers and ends to just clean up the mess," Sean Brennan said. Stup intercepted a pass in the second half and even carried the ball once on offense for 10 yards. "We have been doing that in practice a lot and usually I score," Stup said of his running play. "We had some great blocking today and I was trying hard not to let them bring me down. It was just a lot of fun." Frederick picked up its play in the closing minutes of the first half. Sophomore Josh Tomlinson scored on a 2-yard run with 2:05 left in the second quarter, a touchdown set up by throws of 25 and 21 yards from senior quarterback Deon Walker to junior receiver Jalen Gee. Walker completed 16 of 33 passes for 171 yards. Gee caught nine passes for 131 yards. Then, in the fourth quarter, senior Andrew Hartman, unable to get going on in the running game, returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown.
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