NEWPORT-This was a football game, right up to the final play when the horn sounded, and the Edgemont Rams had come away with an 16-8 victory over their county rival Cosby in a middle school match-up at Edgemont Field Thursday night.

For the Rams, coming off a big 42-20 victory at Rutledge last Thursday night, their season remains perfect at 2-0. For the Eagles, it was their season opener as they begin at 0-1.

"It was a fun game to watch," said Edgemont head coach Richard Caldwell. "It had a little bit of everything and it certainly was exciting."

Both teams battled toe-to-toe throughout, and that little bit of everything included fumbles, interceptions, a couple of long runs and some stingy defensive play.

The Eagles drew first blood at the 4:58 mark of the first quarter when quarterback Jordan Carpenter broke the line of scrimmage and was loose in the secondary on a keeper. Some 42 yards later, Carpenter was in the end zone with the Eagles first tally of 2010. Derek Weeks followed by pounding it into the end zone for the two-point conversion, the Eagles led 8-0.

Defensive play for both teams kept the score the same way until late in the second quarter when the Rams started moving the ball. And, off the option, quarterback Nicholas Shelton kept it himself and ran it in for six. Cole Sams picked up the two-point conversion on a two-yard carry, and as the clock expired, everything was all even at 8-8 for the break.

The Rams carried their momentum into the third quarter to take the lead. At the 3:26 mark, Donovan Treece got loose on a handoff from Shelton, and rambled 49 yards for the score. The two-point conversion attempt failed, but the Rams had come from behind to take the lead 14-8.

"We couldn't have done that last season," said coach Caldwell. "Once we got behind last season, we didn't have what it took to come back. Tonight, our guys kept their cool, got us back in the game and into the lead. That was good to see."

The Rams kept the pressure on Cosby's quarterback, Carpenter, and refused to give him and his backs any running lanes. As the third quarter came to an end, Rams' corner J.J. Benjamin, who had an interception in the first half, pounced on a Cosby fumble to give it back to the Rams. But, the Rams returned the favor on the first play of the fourth quarter, fumbling it back to Cosby's Dylan Barker.

Brody Williams kept Cosby in the hunt, however. Williams had interceptions on the Rams' next two possessions, the second coming with 1:51 remaining in the game inside the Cosby five yard-line. But, on Cosby's first play, the Rams' defense trapped and sacked Carpenter in the end zone for the safety, upping their lead to 16-8 with 1:46 remaining.

The Rams knew that an on-side kick was coming, and needed only to fall on the ball for a chance to run out the clock. But, the kick was deeper than planned, and the Rams' Treece picked the ball up and headed for the right sideline. A big hit jarred the ball loose and Cosby had the recovery and new life with just over a minute remaining.

With seconds ticking away, the Cosby offense went on emergency attack, as Carpenter ran the ball three straight times to the left of the Rams' defense. After moving the ball inside the Rams' 20, and just six second remaining, Carpenter hurried his offense to the line of scrimmage, and took the snap as the final horn sounded. Still in play, though, Carpenter fired a pass into the end zone, but the Rams' Lance Holt snatched it out of the air for the interception, and a Rams' 16-8 victory.

"We made a lot of practice mistakes out there tonight," said coach Caldwell. "We just weren't smart on some plays, but, we're getting better. I was really glad that Cosby threw some passes on us tonight. We've been told that our next two opponents (Pigeon Forge and Northview) both like to pass the ball, so we needed some work in that area. It's still early in the season and we have some work to do. But, hey, we're 2-0."

The Eagles are now off for nine days before seeing action again against an opponent still to be determined. For the Rams, it's Pigeon Forge next on Thursday, August 26, at Edgemont Field. Kick off is slated for 6 p.m.