Defense Rules; Dunbar and Mervo Win State Crowns

2/1A State Championship 

The Dunbar Poets captured their MPSSAA-best 13th state crown on the gridiron, pulling out an 8-0 win over Calvert in the 2/1A championship game on Friday night. A week after coming back, then holding off a SMAC juggernaut on the road in a 36-29 win over Patuxent, the Poets held the Calvert County champions scoreless in the title game, one in which they allowed the Cavaliers just one offensive play gaining more than 20 yards.  

With the win, the Poets put a bow on the program’s third ‘three-peat’ in their 30th season in the MPSSAA, becoming the winningest post-season program in the association’s history, breaking a tie with Damascus and Seneca Valley, who both hold an even dozen of state crowns on the gridiron.  

After a scoreless first half, senior Anthony Lyde’s 36 yard run around the right end on a 4th-and-1 midway through the third quarter ended up being the only score of the game. The Poets defense did the rest, limiting the Cavaliers to only 91 yards of offense on 41 offensive plays, yielding just 2.2 yards per play. Neither team gained a first down in the second quarter, and the two finalists totaled just 26 yards of offense between them in the quarter. Poets senior Anthony Campbell, who starred in the 2022 title game, led a Poets defensive unit that allowed only five first downs in the game.  

Coming out of halftime, the Poets put together the only drive of the game that went for more than 30 yards, one that spanned ten plays and 71 yards, punctuated by Lyde’s difference maker. Calvert’s Keith Baker boomed the second half kickoff to the Poets five yard line, before Lyde carried it back 24 yards and out of harm’s way. The Poets converted on a 3rd-and-5 on their side of the field with an 11 yard run by Deshawn Parks, the followed that by Cole Floyd just making the yard to gain on a 3rd-and-6. 

After coming up a yard short on a 3rd-and-3, the Poets faced a 4th-and-1 at the Cavaliers 36 yard line. After a Cavaliers timeout, Lyde broke off tackle and went down the sideline for a 36 yard score. Then, Lyde took the snap and ran in for the two-point conversion. The Cavaliers turned it over on the ensuing possession with an interception, but the Poets gave it right back when Lyde fumbled after gaining 11 yards. On the next possession, the Cavaliers were forced to punt yet again, their fifth punt in three quarters. 

The Poets kept the ball on the ground and gained two first downs on the following possession, but took more than six minutes off of the clock. Campbell, who also serves as the Poets occasional punter, pinned the Cavaliers on their own three yard line with a 42 yard punt. The Cavaliers produced their fourth and fifth first downs of the game, but were forced to punt from their own 25 yard line, after facing a 4th-and-10 scenario.  

But Lyde did damage again, returning the punt 22 yards, which placed the two-time defending champions at the Cavaliers 40 yard line, with 3:01 remaining. Parks would produce another third down conversion with a 13 yard run, and the Poets would run out the clock and celebrate their 13th state championship. Lyde finished with 187 all-purpose yards, including 60 rushing yards, 103 punt return yards on four punts, and a kickoff return for 24 yards. Campbell totaled four solo tackles, including two for loss, and added three assisted tackles.  

With the win, the Poets will carry a 37 game win streak into next season, the longest current streak in the MPSSAA. Michael Carter Sr won his first state title as head coach of the Poets, and his seventh overall on the staff, after serving as an assistant to Lawrence Smith since 2010. Calvert finished 12-2, but coach Rick Sneade’s Cavs can hold their heads high after a 12-win season that saw victories over Huntingtown and Patuxent, and coming within a score of the 13-time state champions.  

 

4/3A State Championship 

Like Dunbar, Mervo had to survive a dogfight to capture their second state championship, outlasting defending champion North Point, 14-7, to win the 4/3A title. And like the Poets, where one big play proved to be the game-winner, it was the Mustang’s defensive unit that delivered the program’s second state crown.  

The two titans, who feature arguably two of the best five defensive units in the MPSSAA, held each other scoreless through a first quarter draped in fog and mist. The Mustangs entered the championship game having shut out eight of their last 11 opponents, including then-undefeated Perry Hall in their state semifinal clash, while North Point entered having shut out nine opponents.  

North Point did produce a scoring drive just inside the second quarter, on a four yard run by Damien Brown to take a 7-0 lead. On the ensuing drive, senior quarterback Ray Moore III produced the biggest gain of the game at the time after scrambling away from pressure and going 26 yards around the left side to give the Stangs a first down at the Eagles 38 yard line. But, after an incompletion on a dropped pass, followed by a one yard gain and three yard loss, the Mustangs were forced to punt, and went into halftime down by a score.  

Midway through the third quarter, the Mustangs put together a drive that placed them at the Eagles 28 yard line, but penalties pushed them back to the 38, and they were forced to punt. But, on first down on their own 22 yard line, Eagles sophomore quarterback Kyler Ferreira was chased and sacked by Mustangs senior Jekai Smart, and fumbled at the nine yard line. Finally, on fourth down, senior Bobby Johnson punched it in from two yards out. However, the Mustangs failed to convert the extra point to tie the score, and trailed 7-6, with 2:40 remaining in the third quarter.  

After an exchange of three punts, the Mustangs took possession at their own 31 yard line, with 8:13 remaining. On second down, Moore III connected with senior Tye’Shawn Cox on a 39 yard pass play that set them at the Eagles 30 yard line. After getting pushed by a sack, Moore III found De’Sean Thorton for a 23 yard gain at the 13 yard line. But, it wasn’t to be, as the Eagles defense stood strong, and gained possession on downs with 5:09 to play.  

But, not to be outdone, the Mustangs defense produced again, forcing the Eagles to punt from deep in their own territory, and giving Moore III and Co. one last chance to take the victory, with 2:33 remaining in the game. On first down, Moore III found junior Marquise McDougal on a quick-hitter for five yards. And then, Moore III delivered the game-winner when he dropped back and hit Justin De’Vaughn on the left sideline and the senior took it into the end zone to give the Mustangs their first lead of the game, 14-7, with 2:17 left on the clock. The Mustangs defense delivered one last time, stopping the Eagles on 3rd-and-1 and 4th-and-1, and clinching the 2023 4/3A crown.  

Coach Patrick Nixon has led the Mustangs to four state semifinals in the last five seasons, which included an 11-2 finish in ‘18, a 12-1 record in ‘19, a 12-1 record in their championship season in ‘21, and a 13-1 mark this season. North Point has established themselves as perennial, bonafide contenders, with four state semifinal appearances in six post-season, and three state final berths in the last five post-seasons, including their first in 2018 in the 4A classification, losing to Quince Orchard, 40-33. Eagles coach Billy Condo is 24-4 in his two seasons at the helm. 

The Mustangs victory on Saturday evening gave Baltimore City a 4/3A-2/1A sweep for the second time in three seasons, with the Poets notching their third ‘three-peat’ on Friday. Forest Park and City College also made state semifinal appearances, with the Foresters making their first in their program’s history, and the Black Knights making their first since 2005. The Foresters finished 11-2, and booked the best season in their program’s history, while the Black Knights featured the most prolific passing attack in any season in MPSSAA history.  

 

4A 

Broadneck’s magical season came to an end with a 21-0 loss to Wise in the 4A title game, but it doesn’t diminish an outstanding season by the Bruins. Coach Rob Harris’ Bruins advanced to the state championship game for just the second time in their program’s history, and became the first Anne Arundel County team to advance to the 4A state championship game since Old Mill’s bid in 2014.  

Harris had his Bruins battle McDonogh in their season opener to prepare the Bruins for November, and possible road games versus any one of a handful of quality teams in Prince Georges and Montgomery counties. The Bruins lost to the eventual MIAA finalists, 21-14, but the experience did help them take victories in back-to-back weeks at Northwest and Churchill. The Bruins pulled out a thrilling 29-26 win at Northwest, then posted a commanding 31-7 victory over the then 1 loss Bulldogs.  

Coach DaLawn Parrish and the Pumas won their sixth 4A crown in 11 post-seasons, and fifth in eight. Parrish, a former Howard Lion and Howard County Player of the Year, tallied his 42nd post-season victory in the win, where he places second in MPSSAA history in that category. The Pumas rushed for 345 yards, with junior DeCarlos Young rushing for 146 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries, and fellow junior Peyton Nelson rushing for 138 yards and a score on 21 carries. Young added a team-high five solo tackles, and two assisted tackles. Young, Nelson, and sophomore quarterback Eric Wedge III return next season.