ESPN RISE

It was a tough week to pick just one player, but with a four-touchdown game against a Top 25 team, Arundel's Joseph Blackwell earns this week's nod as MDVarsity.com Player of the Week.

In his first game for the Wildcats, Blackwell rushed for 174 yards and a touchdown and added five catches for 83 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-27 win over No. 20 Old Mill.

"It was scintillating. It was very exciting to run the ball like that," Arundel head coach Chuck Markiewicz said. "When we have one guy rush for that many yards it's pretty special. That gives us an opportunity to be better offensively. Are you going to play the run or play the pass?"

According to Markiewicz, Blackwell's performance was not expected. In fact, the 5-foot-11, 185-pound junior was not anticipated to be the starter until a week before the game.

"We figured he was going to be OK. We had another guy starting over him, but the other guy got hurt so Joe got the ball by default," Markiewicz said.

The transfer from Archbishop Spalding wasted no time taking advantage of the starting spot and making an impact for his new team.

The junior running back scored on his first two catches of the game, a 26-yard touchdown from quarterback Billy Cosh followed by a 7-yard TD reception to give Arundel a 13-0 lead.

"That first week of practice he was learning the ropes, he just got better and better with the scrimmages," Cosh said. "When the first game came around he was ready to go."

Blackwell came up big when Markiewicz needed him the most.

With Old Mill climbing back to tie the game at 13-13 midway through the third quarter, Blackwell scored on a 13-yard touchdown run to put Arundel up 20-13.

Four minutes later, Blackwell made his third touchdown catch of the game to give Arundel a 27-13 lead.

Adding Blackwell and a solid running game could make the No. 5 Wildcats the favorite to win Class 4A this season, but in meantime will help keep opponents honest.

"It's good for both defense and offense," Cosh said. "It takes some pressure off me and the passing game and it gives the defense time to rest. Joe can just run down their [opponents'] throat."

To be considered for Player of the Week honors, make sure to submit an athlete's performance for Top Performances each week. To submit a Top Performance e-mail Mike Loveday at at Mike.Loveday.ESPN@gmail.com

Submissions must come from a coach, team statistician or newspaper. Please include your name in submissions so all performances can be verified.

To see a complete list of MDVarsity.com State Players of the Week, Cick HERE.

ESPNRise encourages comments from its users. Leave a comment below. Mike Loveday covers high school sports for ESPNRISE.com. Mike can be reached at Michael.Loveday@espn.com