The Dunbar Poets. There’s a great mystique attached to the name. From the famed early 80s Poets’ basketball teams under Bob Wade, to their third national championship in the hardwoods under Pete Pompey in ‘92, to a MPSSAA-best 16 state championships, the basketball program is in a class among few in the country in high school basketball lore. While starting in the shadows of the basketball program, the Poets football program began its dominance shortly after joining the MPSSAA, and in 2022, the Poets gridiron greats put themselves atop the mantle along with Seneca Valley and Damascus after winning their 12th state championship on the gridiron.
The Poets capped off back-to-back, undefeated state champions for the first time in their program’s illustrious history. This season, the Poets and their coach Lawrence Smith will look to put themselves in a class of their own. Seneca Valley won their last state title, their twelfth, in 2002, while Damascus joined Dunbar in matching the Screamin’ Eagles with their twelfth in 2022. With the Poets 22-13 win over Patuxent in the 2/1A state championship game, Coach Smith joined Maryland high school coaching legends Bob Milloy and Al Thomas in winning the most state titles in MPSSAA history, with his eighth state championship with the Poets.
When I asked Coach Smith earlier this week about both of those milestones, he said, “Winning the 12th was a major accomplishment for the program, and being apart of ten of those, really means a lot. I remember as a assistant, walking into Maryland Coaches Association meeting with Coach Eaton, and he introduced me to Coach Milloy and Coach Thomas, and him telling me they were Maryland football legends, and royalty. Now that my name is mentioned in a championship category with them is something special. And, for the program as a whole. When I look at the eight championships, and our playoff and overall record, I still can’t believe how much that we’ve accomplished in the years that I’ve been the head coach at Dunbar.”
Smith has produced a 169-24 record in his fourteen seasons at Dunbar, including a 48-7 mark in the post-season. His .876 career winning percentage ranks third in MPSSAA history, and his 48 playoff victories rank first in MPSSAA history, as does his .873 post-season winning percentage. Smith’s last two editions, the ‘21 and ‘22 teams, powered by 2023 graduates Devon Roche and Tristan Kenan, posted the two of the six highest scoring averages in MPSSAA history, with the ‘21 Poets scoring the second most in MPSSAA history, at 48.2 points per game (578 pts – 12 gms, 1 forfeit W), and the ‘22 Poets averaging 46.5 points per game, the sixth best mark in MPSSAA history.
Roche and Kenan are now gone, and they took their 7,077 rushing yards and 87 touchdowns with them at graduation, in addition to more than 2,400 passing yards and 26 passing touchdowns by Roche. Those two playmakers will be sorely missed, after their career numbers put them among the Poets top five rushers in school history, along with the Piets GOAT’, Tavon Austin, Ali Culpepper, and Nathaniel Irby. Tony Hart, who was a two-way star for the ‘21 and ‘22 state champions at receiver and in the secondary, is now at Elon, and Joshua Fedd, who was a catalyst on defense, is now at Harvard. While Smith’s Poets will be the favorites to ‘three-peat’ this season, the loss of those three dynamic playmakers and the leader of the defense can’t be overlooked.
One emerging star returning on offense is junior quarterback Savion Witherspoon, who stepped in behind center when Roche was injured in the Poets week five game with Mervo, and played regularly thereafter. In his 73 attempts, Witherspoon threw for 1,498 yards, and completed 68.5% of his passes. Senior Deshawn Parks, who was the third running option in ‘22, behind Roche and Kenan, and rushed for 1,183 yards and scored ten touchdowns over the last two seasons, moves to receiver, and will likely be Witherspoon’s top target. Senior Antonio Lyde, who also spent time in the backfield last season, also moves to receiver. Kenwood transfer Malakai Washington, who served as the Bluebirds quarterback, will join the Poets receiver corps, and at 6’4 215, gives Witherspoon a big target.
The Poets offensive line should be stout, returning senior left tackle Maurice Coclough (6’0 250), juniors Trey West (6’3 280) and Joshua Blackston (6’3 250), and adding Poly transfer Pejah Turner (6’0 270). Replacing Roche and Kenan in the backfield will be junior Cole Floyd (5’10 185) and senior Kiyan Roane-Fields (5’11 180). Coclough and Turner will contribute on the defensive line as well, with the latter having plugged the middle for Poly last year, adding four tackles for loss and three sacks for the Engineers.
The Poets defensive unit will be led by senior inside linebacker Anthony Campbell (6’1 230), who turned last season’s title game on its head with his 87 yard ‘pick 6’ with 3:11 remaining, and the Poets holding just a one point lead. With Campbell’s score, and the two point conversion that followed, the Panthers went from a potential game-winning drive to looking at a two possession deficit. Sophomore Jospeh Benjamin (6’0 205) joins Campbell at linebacker, with fellow sophomore Jabari Torbit (6’0 200) at one end, and junior Brian Collins (6’2 195) at the other. Junior Tyler Hart (6’3 185), brother of Tony, will lead the defensive backfield along with senior Kaden Owens (6’1 165).
While the Poets return a relative good amount of talent, they assuredly lost a vast amount of leadership in the 2023 class of graduates – more than a handful that were instrumental in delivering the Poets their eleventh and twelfth state championships in ‘21 and ‘22. Smith, who knows his team best, and knows how high the bar is set high at Dunbar, said to me of this year’s team, “We look ‘okay’. Kids are learning each other. We still have a lot of talent – all around. But, the kids from the junior varsity and the transfers have to learn our program – and how we win. Folks better catch us early, ‘cause once the ship gets moving, its going to be special.”
The Poets will carry a 26 game win streak into their opener with Loyola, and have their annual battle with Mervo in Week five. Then, the journey to #13.
Mervo, who came in as the defending 4/3A state champions last season, had a turbulent season in ‘22, beginning with a heartbreaking loss of a teammate, Jeremiah Brogden, hours before the season began, then losing their starting quarterback to a season-ending injury in their week four 24-20 loss to Dunbar. Brogden’s death came less than eleven months after the Mustangs’ Elijah Gorham died, after injuries sustained in that season’s game versus Dunbar. The ‘Stangs would dedicate their ‘21 season to Gorham, and went on to win the program’s first state championship on the gridiron. In ‘22, Mustangs coach Patrick Nixon and his staff had to balance rallying the team together again, while his players had to mourn a loss of a teammate for a second time in less than a year.
The Mustangs rolled through their first three matchups in ‘22, including a 37-0 win over City College in the season opener, followed by a 44-0 shutout of 1A quarterfinalist Forest Park, and a 53-8 rout of Patterson. Then, in a week four showdown with the Poets at Morgan State, the Mustangs threatened to end the Poets 16 game win streak, before falling short, and losing junior quarterback Raymond Moore III in the process. The Mustangs lost their next two games, including a 14-6 loss to Poly, and a 42-20 loss to eventual Delaware state champion Smyrna, and never recovered, ending in a 7-6 loss to Perry Hall in the second round of the playoffs.
Moore III (6’4 190) is back, and has a number of weapons at his disposal. Two targets, seniors Tye’shawn Cox (5’9 150) and Kamren Vines (6’2 170), were both selected to the BTC 22 team by the Baltimore Touchdown Club. To add to the riches on the perimeter is senior speedster De’sean Thornton (5’6 140), who was one of the best return men in the MPSSAA last season, and returned three kickoffs for touchdowns. Senior Tayjon Wilkerson (5’9 240) anchors the interior line on both sides of the ball.
The ‘21 state champion Mustangs offered one of the most aggressive defensive units in the MPSSAA, and allowed just 3.3 points per game outside their matchup with the Poets. That Mustangs defense allowed just three touchdowns in the post-season, collectively, to Perry Hall, North Point, Sherwood, and Dundalk. While the ‘22 Mustangs didn’t reach that elite level, they allowed just 11.2 points per game last season. The Mustangs missed Moore, scoring only six points in their loss to Poly, and six in their season-ending loss to Perry Hall. In twelve seasons at Mervo, Nixon boasts an impressive 92-41 record, including a 40-8 record over the last four seasons.
The Mustangs will have two out-of-conference tests to begin the season before getting into league play. The ‘Stangs host Bowie in the opener, then invite 2022 2A state semifinalist and four-time state champion Middletown to Charm City in week two.
City College saw their season come to an abrupt end last season, when a brawl broke out following their 24-16 victory over arch rival Poly in their regular season finale. Both school administrations dished out punishments immediately, barring both teams from the post-season. The win for the Black Knights was their eleventh straight win over the Engineers.
The Black Knights, who finished 6-3 last season, will feature two of the most highly recruited wide receivers in the MPSSAA in senior Jahmari Powell-Wonson and junior Vernon Allen. Powell-Wonson (6’0 185), who is the second highest rated receiver in the ‘24 class in the MPSSAA, according to 24/7, and who has committed to Maryland, produced 1,155 all-purpose yards and scored 15 touchdowns last season. Allen (6’3 185) is the highest rated receiver in the MPSSAA in the ‘25 class, according to 24/7, and holds offers from Michigan and Penn State, among others. Last season, Allen produced 1,278 all-purpose yards and scored 16 touchdowns at receiver, and 33 tackles, 12 pass break-ups, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery, at safety.
In addition to Powell-Wonson and Allen, the Black Knights feature another ‘home run threat’ in junior Romero Ison (6’0 170), a track star who has posted a personal-best of 10.85 in the 100 meters. Throwing to these playmakers will be 6’5 195 pound junior Nick Cyrus, a transfer from Mt St Joe, who holds an offer from Morgan State. Senior tackle Bam Midgette, at 6’6 290, will be a factor at both offensive tackle and defensive tackle. Allen and Ison will also patrol in the defensive backfield.
Poly finished 7-2 in ‘22, with a highlight victory over Mervo, their first over the Mustangs since 2013. Coupled with a 7-4 finish in ‘21, the Engineers have a 14-6 record since the pandemic, after failing to win seven games in each of the previous eight seasons. Still, the eleven game losing streak to the Black Knights still lingers.
The Engineers return two of their best defensive players in 2022 in senior linebackers Jace Townsend (5’8 185) and Michael Robinson (5’10 180). The two were the Engineers co-leaders in tackles, with Townsend adding four tackles for loss and three sacks. Senior Devin Weems (5’11 195) is a ‘Swiss Army knife-type’ for the Engineers, having spent time at quarterback, running back, receiver, linebacker, and safety. Both the offensive and defensive lines will feel the loss of Pejah Turner to Dunbar, who not only opened holes at guard, but plugged the middle on defense, adding four tackles for loss, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.
Coach Marquise O’Neal’s Engineers will host Dunbar in week two and Mervo in week four, finishing the regular season in the 135th meeting with the Black Knights, and look to put an end losing streak to the Black Knights that began in 2012.
Longtime coach Elwood Townsend returns to his alma mater as head coach, decades after playing for the legendary Roger Wrenn at Patterson. Townsend, most recently at Notrheast in Anne Arundel County, was selected as the Baltimore Ravens Coach of the Year in 2013 after leading the Douglass Ducks to the state title game. Wrenn, who ranks third in Maryland public school history in coaching wins, compiled a 284-114 record over 38 seasons with the Clippers and Poly Engineers. Wrenn won the Ravens Coach of the Year award in 2011, two years before his former player was honored. The Clippers haven’t had a winning record since 2015, when they finished 10-2, losing to Dunbar in the regional final, 20-8.
Forest Park, who finished first in Baltimore Division II league play last season, and 7-4 overall, were likely the fifth best team in the city last year, despite the designation, stomping Division I Edmondson,46-14, in the second round of the 1A playoffs. The Foresters then traveled to Brunswick and fell short of the Railroaders in the state quarterfinals, 17-8. While the Foresters hung tough in the regular season in an 8-2 loss to Poly, they were routed by Mervo, 44-0, and Dunbar, 50-12.
HS Sports Analyst
Willie, a native of Chicago, and now a resident of Columbia for 40 years, is an educator at Homewood Center in Howard County, after spending 12 years as a real estate agent, following 10 years of running a small men’s retail company. Willie has contributed to Max Preps, Digital Sports, and Varsity Sports Network. Willie has produced MPSSAA top 25 rankings for both football and basketball for 15 years, across various platforms. From a large ‘sports family’, Willie’s brother Mike led Reservoir High to the 3A basketball state title game in 2018, while his nephew Anthony serves as the Indianapolis Colts College Scouting Coordinator.