2023 MIAA A and MIAA B Football Report – Nov. 8th Update

MIAA A 

Spalding wrapped up their third straight MIAA A regular season crown in resounding fashion, pounding Mt St Joe, 42-3, in the regular season finale. Junior Malik Washington completed 19 of his 22 passes for 205 yards and three touchdowns, without a turnover. Washington became the fifth quarterback in MIAA A history to surpass 5,000 passing yards, joining Mt St Joe’s Billy Atkins and Lucas Phillips, McDonogh’s Bobby Sabelhaus, and current Mt St Joe play caller,  senior Winston Watkins.  

With two more possible games this season, and another full season in ‘24, Washington has a legitimate shot at the all-time MIAA A career passing yardage record, held by Atkins, who saw his senior season wiped out due to Covid. Watkins, meanwhile, could possibly become just the third MIAA A passer to amass 6,000 passing yards somewhere in the playoffs, either the semifinal, or final, should the Gaels advance. A look at the top five career passing yardage marks in MIAA A history. 

7,111 Billy Atkins (MSJ ‘18-20) 

6,286 Lucas Phillips (MSJ ‘93-96) 

5,826 Bobby Sabelhaus (McD ‘92-94) 

*5,560 Winston Watkins (MSJ ‘21-23) 

5,123 Malik Washington (SPA ‘21-24) 

*not including the Gaels 42-3 loss to Spalding 

The Cavaliers encore performance in their regular season finale mirrors their overall league dominance not only through this season, but the last three full seasons since the pandemic. The Cavaliers have gone 17-0 in league play over the last three seasons, winning 16 of 17 games by double-digits, with each season ranking among the best of the best in the MIAA A over the last twenty years.  

The ‘23 Cavaliers posted the fifth best point differential in league play over the last twenty years, with the ‘21 team posting the second best mark in two decades, and the ‘22 edition sharing the sixth best mark. 

Here’s a look at nine undefeated MIAA A league champions over the last twenty years, and the point differential by the nine respective teams in league play that particular season.  

35.7 ‘17 St Frances (13-0, 6-0) 

33.4 ‘21 Spalding (10-1, 5-0) 

33.2 ‘15 Gilman (10-1, 6-0) 

32.6 ‘12 Gilman (9-2, 5-0) 

31.7 ‘23 Spalding (8-2, 6-0) 

27.7 ‘22 Spalding (11-1, 6-0) 

27.7 ‘13 McDonogh (11-0, 6-0) 

25.6 ‘08 Loyola (11-0, 5-0) 

23.8 ‘05 Gilman (9-0, 5-0) 

The only league game the Cavaliers saw an opponent come within single-digits of them over the last three regular seasons came a week-and-a half ago, in a 30-24 overtime win over the Loyola Dons. Now, the Cavaliers (8-2) host the Dons (6-3) on Friday in the MIAA semifinals. The Dons closed their season with a 56-32 win over Mt Zion Prep, with junior Kendrick Worthington rushing for 139 yards and four touchdowns on 16 carries. 

McDonogh closed their regular season with a 21-7 victory over Gilman, as senior Chase Green rushed for 170 yards and a touchdown, and sophomore Braeden Palazzo threw for 179 yards and two scores. The Eagles (6-2) host Mt St Joe (7-4) in the other MIAA A semifinal this week. The Eagles, Gaels, and Dons, all finished with a 4-2 record in league play, two games behind the Cavaliers. The Gaels pulled out the first meeting with the Eagles, 26-20.  

Calvert Hall put their most impressive win of the season together on Friday, with a 42-7 win over Pallotti, ending a two game skid. The Cardinals (4-6) will look forward to their ‘Turkey Bowl’ game with Loyola, while Pallotti closes the season at 1-8. Gilman finished their season with a 3-6 mark, following their loss to McDonogh.  

MIAA B 

Concordia Prep won the first outright MIAA B regular season crown in their program’s history with their 41-16 victory over Mt Carmel, finishing with an unblemished 6-0 league record. Now, the Saints set out to win their first MIAA B championship, after falling in the title game to Loyola in 2021, 14-5, and to St Mary’s in the B final last year, 21-13. The Saints (9-1) defense, who has spurred on the Saints this season, continued to do so on Saturday, forcing Mt Carmel into four turnovers, including a ‘pick 6’ and a blocked punt.  

Coach Joe Battaglia’s Saints have had only one league opponent come within 20 points of his team this season, in a 12-7 win over Archbishop Curley in week five, and kept five of six league foes to two touchdowns or less. The Saints will pursue their third straight league championship game berth and first league title when they take on the defending champion St Mary’s Saints in their semifinal game on Saturday. Prep and St Mary’s have met in each of the last two post-seasons, with Prep topping St Mary’s, 8-0, in the 2021 semifinal, and St Mary’s winning in last season’s title game, 21-13.  

St Mary’s went unbeaten last season, but with a large class lost to graduation, the Saints struggled a bit this season, going 5-4 overall and 3-3 in league play this season. Friday, the Saints closed their regular season with a 36-6 win over Severn, the top team in the C division this season. Freshman Blaise Plaster picked off two passes and forced a fumble for the Saints. Concordia Prep shut out St Mary’s 21-0 in their week seven meeting, the first in five games between the two not decided by eight points or less. 

Archbishop Curley (6-4) nabbed the two seed in the semifinals with their 23–17 win over John Carroll (6-4), who takes the three seed and will visit the Friars this weekend in the other semifinal. Friday, senior Caron Madison rushed for 148 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries in the win. The Friars gave Concordia Prep their only competitive game in league play, before falling short, 12-7. The Saints produced 311 yards of offense in the first meeting, but a Friars red zone defense and three turnovers limited them to a season-low 12 points. Still, the Saints defense was stout, limiting Madison, the league’s leading rusher, to only 18 rushing yards. Senior Liam White rushed for 136 yards and threw three touchdowns in Boys Latin (3-6) 21-20 season-ending win over St Paul’s (4-6).