Baltimore Metro Mid-Season High School Football Report

Baltimore Metro Top 25

1 St Frances (3-1)

2 Spalding (6-0)

3 Calvert Hall (4-1)

4 Mt St Joe (4-2)

5 McDonogh (1-4)

6 Franklin (4-1)

7 Milford Mill (4-1)

8 Broadneck (4-1)

9 Dunbar (5-0)

10 Mervo (4-1)

11 St Mary’s (4-1)

12 Loyola (4-1)

13 Concordia Prep (4-1)

14 Long Reach (5-0)

15 Gilman (3-1)

16 River Hill (4-1)

17 Old Mill (4-1)

18 Pallotti (3-3)

19 New Town (5-0)

20 Glenelg (4-1)

21 Dundalk (4-0)

22 Atholton (4-1)

23 Oakland Mills (4-1)

24 South Carroll (5-0)

25 Harford Tech (5-0)

Next;

— South River (3-2)

— Havre de Grace (5-0)

— Annapolis (3-1)

— Severna Park (4-1)

— Boys Latin (3-3)

— Mt Hebron (3-2)

— Owings Mills (4-1)

— Francis Scott Key (5-0)

— St Paul’s (2-2)

— Chesapeake AA (3-2)

— City College (3-1)

It’s year 5 of the St Frances national tour, and the Panthers continue to take names, and cement their name among the best football programs in the country. Friday night, before a national television (ESPN2) audience, the Panthers notched one of their biggest victories in the program’s history, with a 42-28 road win over the legendary De La Salle football program, from the Golden State. 

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

The Panthers, who dropped their season opener to national power St Thomas Aquinas FL, 38-23, before a national audience, rebounded nicely with impressive wins over Franklin (46-7) and Good Counsel (50-7), before putting together a third consecutive win on Friday night. The Panthers dominated the Spartans, scoring touchdowns on six straight possessions to take a commanding 42-14 lead minutes into the second half and all but wrap up a win versus the Spartans.

The Panthers strength – among all their strengths – is their defense, a defense that features seven seniors committed to ‘Power 5’ schools, including a trio of the best defensive lineman in the country. While the Panthers ‘D’ did their job Friday night, it was their sophomore quarterback making his starting debut that stole the show in Concord, California. Michael Van Buren, stepping in for senior John Griffith, threw for four touchdowns and 213 yards in the first half alone. The Panthers out-gained the Spartans 319-75 before intermission. The Panthers opened the second half scoring a touchdown on their sixth straight possession, opening up a 42-14 lead. Fumbles prevented a 50-point night and 30-point win, but nonetheless the Panthers posted an impressive victory nearly three-thousand miles from home against one of the most proven programs in the country. Van Buren connected on 16 of 19 passes for 241 yards and four touchdowns on the night, tying Matt Leinert (USC, NFL) and DJ Uiagalelei (Clemson) for the most touchdowns thrown in a game by a Spartans opponent. 

Biff Poggi picked up his bags of resources and sent them along with his staff to East Chase Street shortly into the new year of 2016, while he took an associate head coach and special advisor position with Jim Harbaugh and the University of Michigan, where his son Henry played. Meanwhile, in East Baltimore, the Panthers began to gain national recognition early on in that first season, taking on a model that featured a slate of national and regional powers, while finishing the season with their competitive league members in the MIAA. Hank Russell and 13 other Gilman assistants made the move over to St Frances, including former DeMatha head coach Bill McGregor, quarterback guru Chris Baucia, and former Colts star linebacker Stan White. Since, the Panthers have gone 47-4 over the last four-plus seasons, with the losses coming to national juggernauts Paramus Catholic NJ, IMG FL, Mater Dei CA, and St Thomas Aquinas FL. 

The Panthers went 10-2 in ‘16 and finished among the top 50 in the country, while taking the MIAA A championship for the first time, then followed that with a national top 10 ranking in ‘17, going 11-0, punctuated by a 41-3 thrashing of Bingham UT before a national television audience to close the season. Bingham had been ranked as high as #8 in the national rankings coming into the game. After being banished from the MIAA in 2018 on account of too much talent, the Panthers had to settle for a sub-par schedule, after being held out to dry by their former league opponents. The Panthers went 10-0, and finished as high as #4 in the USA Today, #5 in the Max Preps Computer Rankings, and #9 in Max Preps Composite Rankings. After putting together a solid schedule in 2019, the Panthers took a loss to #1 Mater Dei in Cali’, but otherwise went unscathed, finishing 11-1, and ranked as high as #2 in the country in the High School Football America Top 100, and #5 by Max Preps. 

Heading into the battle with De La Salle, the Panthers were ranked #19 in the Max Preps poll, and will likely move up a spot with #10 St Xavier OH suffering a loss this past weekend. Despite a loss in the season opener, the Panthers would likely garner a top 10 ranking in the final poll for a fourth straight year with a win over IMG on November 19th. The Panthers have a 1-1 record versus the Ascenders, currently ranked #2 in the country. The Panthers suffered a 38-0 drubbing from their Florida counterparts in 2016, before pounding the Ascenders 35-7 in 2019, solidifying their national top 5 ranking. A look at a baker dozen’s sample of games the Panthers have played versus national and regional powers since 2016. 

‘16 Paramus Catholic NJ – L 38-20

‘16 South Pointe SC – W 28-23

‘16 Catholic VA – W 28-21  

‘16 IMG FL – L 38-0

‘17 Don Bosco NJ – W 27-0

‘17 Bingham UT – W 41-3

‘18 Lee County VA – W 43-14

‘19 Miami Central FL – W 49-13

‘19 St Joseph Reg. NJ – 28-0

‘19 Mater Dei CA – L 34-18

‘19 IMG FL – W 35-7

‘21 St Thomas Aquinas FL – L 38-23

‘21 De La Salle CA – W 42-28

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Back in 2016, while Poggi & Co. were shaking the foundation of high school football in the Baltimore area, heading over to the oldest Black Catholic educational facility in the United States, Kyle Schmitt was directing what would arguably be Spalding’s best season in their program’s history, finishing 9-2 and second in the MIAA A behind the mighty Panthers. The Cavaliers gave the Panthers their biggest scare among all of their victories, falling short in a comeback bid, 32-29. The Cavaliers finished #2 in the area that year, the highest ranking in the program’s history. Five years later, the Cavaliers are #2 again.

The Cavaliers are 6-0 for just the third time in their program’s history, with the first 6-0 mark coming in 2006, and the second coming in 2009. Both years, the Cavs took the MIAA B league championship, finishing with an undefeated 11-0 record in ‘06, and 10-1 record in ‘09, topping Boys Latin in the league championship game, after suffering a defeat to the Lakers in their regular season matchup. Friday night versus #3 Calvert Hall, the Cavaliers dominated the line of scrimmage, building a 23-0 halftime lead, and holding the Cardinals to only 65 yards before intermission, cruising to a 37-14 victory over their top league contender.  The Cavs led 37-0 before the Cards scored a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Jordan Harris carried the workload for Anne Arundel’s finest, rushing for 129 yards and two touchdowns.

Through six games, Cavaliers quarterback Nick Gutierrez has thrown for 612 yards and nine touchdowns, and ran for 480 yards and another nine touchdowns. Harris is the Cavs leading rusher with 611 yards and seven touchdowns. On defense, the Cavaliers boast three senior ‘Power 5’ commits – cornerback Mansoor Delane (Virginia Tech), linebacker Kellan Wyatt (Maryland), and defensive back/athlete Lavain Scruggs (Maryland), but it’s been 6’4 210 senior Jason Robertson that’s put up the big defensive numbers, with a team leading 42 tackles (33 solo), six sacks, eight tackles for loss, one safety, one interception, and one fumble recovery. Robertson holds an offer from Morgan State. Delane has three interceptions, Wyatt has three sacks and five tackles for loss, and Scruggs has returned an interception for a score. The Cavs take on regional power Malvern Prep PA on Friday night. 

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River Hill’s Brian Van Deusen won his 200th game Friday night, when his Hawks shutout Reservoir, 28-0. Van Deusen, in his 22nd season at the Clarksville school, is just one of three active MPSSAA coaches to reach the 200 victory list, joining Lake Clifton’s James Monroe, who sits with 206 wins, and Linganore’s Rick Conner, who joined the club two weeks ago, and now has notched 202 victories. Van Duesen is just one of two active MPSSAA coaches to currently hold a .800 win percentage or better, at .803 (200-49), second only to Dunbar’s Lawrence Smith, whose .860 win mark ranks third all-time in Maryland public school football history. Van Deusen is 42 victories shy of the legendary Al Thomas, who ranks 10th all-time among coaches in Maryland public school history. 

Van Deusen’s Hawks averaged 9.8 wins per year in the 00s, 9.3 wins per year in the 10s, and is now 9-1 in the 20s, so if the yet-to-be 50 year old coach were to coach another dozen years, who knows, there could be a third member of the 300 win club, joining former Gaithersburg coach John Havrill, and former Wilde Lake coach Doug Duvall. You do the math. Never mind, I will. Say, the Hawks add another six victories this year, and say the Hawks drop a half a win per year over the next twelve seasons as they did from the 00s to the 10s, that gives you 206 + 105.6 (8.8 x 12 seasons) = 311.6, .4 short of Havrill’s Maryland all-time public school career wins record of 312. Just sayin’. 

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Dunbar, who has scored 222 points in five games, including 48 in a two point win over Mervo, moves to the newly minted 2A/1A classification this season, eliminating any possibility of another post-season classic with Fort Hill. The titans have met six times in the playoffs, including in five state title games. Both are 5-0 this season. The Poets hold a 5-1 series edge over the Sentinels in the post-season, including 4-1 in state title games. Here are the Poets results in the cross state post-season rivalry.

‘94 2A State Title Game W 30-15

‘97 2A State Title Game L 22-6

‘06 1A State Title Game W 38-23

‘08 1A State Title Game W 20-19

‘10 1A State Semifinal W 20-14

‘17 1A State Title Game W 30-26

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Mervo has won 62 games over the last six-plus seasons, with just four league losses during that time. The Mustangs advanced to their first state semifinal in 2018, in 4A, and then repeated the feat the following year, in 3A. Mervo fell just short of a state title game appearance in the latter of their two semifinal games, losing on the road at Linganore, 27-25, before the Lancers went on to win the 3A state championship. Mervo will be one of the top two favorites, along with Sherwood, to win the newly created 4A/3A state championship, in the new six classification model. The Mustangs and Warriors are the only two teams in the new classification currently ranked among the MPSSAA’s top 25 ranked teams.

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After a week 2 loss at Fort Hill, Old Mill has rebounded with three dominating wins over three winning teams. The Patriots 28-13 loss to the Sentinels doesn’t glare as much following the Sentinels 42-7 dismantling of Oakdale on Saturday. Since the loss at Greenway Stadium, the Patriots annihilated Arundel (3-2) 48-3, thrashed Annapolis (3-1) 48-7, then shut out South River (3-2), 32-0.

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Long Reach is 5-0 for just the third time in their program’s history, joining their editions in 2004 and 2016. The Lightning rose to 7-0 in both of those seasons, before losing in the first round of the post-season in both years, finishing 9-2 in ‘04, and 8-3 in ‘16.

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South Carroll started their rise to the top of the Carroll County standings in the Spring, when they finished 4-1, which included a 27-20 victory of Liberty. The Cavaliers are 5-0 this season, and have won 10 of their last 11 games. The Cavs last league title came in 2015, when they took the MVAL Monocacy Division, finishing 10-2, and 7-0 in league play. Mike Kraus’, a longtime assistant for the Cavs, took over the head position in 2018, and suffered through eight straight losses in 2019, before winning their season finale that year, and winning nine of ten since. 

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Broadneck’s Joshua Erlich, the former Maryland Governor’s son, is climbing up the passing charts and will finish among the career top 10 passing lists in touchdown passes, passing yards, and completions, despite missing out on as many as 7-9 games in the pandemic shortened past season. Erlich has thrown for 78 touchdowns at Broadneck, ranking fourth on the all-time public school list, and is three throwing scores away from passing former Friendly star Joe Haden, and former Sherwood star Deontay Twyman, for second on the list, behind Arundel’s Billy Cosh’s extraordinary mark of 112 career touchdown passes. Erlich has now has passed for 5,720 yards, and should become the 13th Maryland public school quarterback to amass at least 6,000 yards through the air over their respective high school careers. Erlich is two completions from cracking the top 10 on that all-time list.

Through two full seasons, a shortened Spring season, and halfway through this regular season, Erlich has connected on 419 of 745 passes (56.2%) for 5,720 yards and 78 touchdowns, against 14 interceptions. Thus far, Erlich has accounted for 6,912 yards and 95 touchdowns for the Bruins over his career, in 30 games. This season, through five games, Erlich has hit on 63 of 105 passes (60.0%) for 850 yards and 11 scores. Erlich has also ran for 315 yards and four touchdowns.

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Glenelg’s quarterback Bisi Owens continues to impress, as the senior accounted for all three touchdowns in the Gladiators 20-8 win over previously unbeaten Oakland Mills on Friday night, running for two scores, and throwing for another. Owens has accounted 18 touchdowns for the Gladiators this season, including 13 rushing touchdowns and five passing touchdowns. Over his last eight games, including the abbreviated Spring season, Owens has accounted for 1,571 yards (763 rushing, 808 passing) and 26 touchdowns. Owens has twice accounted for five touchdowns this season, in wins over Wilde Lake and Centennial. Owens was selected to the Baltimore Touchdown Club’s Super 22 team last week. 

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Harford Tech is 5-0 for the fourth consecutive year, and senior running back Kelvin Mendez is on pace to have another impressive year, matching his sophomore season in 2019. After rushing for 1702 yards and 13 touchdowns in 11 games in his sophomore campaign, Mendez has rushed for 816 yards (204 yards per game) and eight touchdowns this season, while adding a pair of touchdown receptions. In 14 games with the Cobras, Mendez has rushed for 2,336 yards and 20 touchdowns. Coach Tim Palmer is in his fourth season with the Cobras, and sports an overall 34-5 record at Tech, including a 32-2 regular season mark. 

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Milford Mill’s Crisean Butler has been a Swiss Army knife for the Millers this season, leading the team in rushing, with 562 yards, recording a fumble recovery, returning a kick 86 yards for a score, and scoring on five 2-point conversions. Butler is averaging 10.6 yards per carry on 53 attempts. The Miller’s senior quarterback Tahseen Howard has rushed for 446 yards and five touchdowns himself, averaging 9.1 yards per tote. Together, the two have rushed for 1,008 yards and 15 touchdowns on 102 carries (9.9 yards per attempt). Howard has also passed for 481 yards and four scores for the 4-1 Millers. 

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St Frances is averaging scoring 40.5 points per game through four games, while Spalding is averaging scoring 37.5 points per game through six contests. Calvert Hall had allowed just 21 points through their first four games, before Spalding posted 37 points on Friday night. 

Loyola has allowed only 26 points through five games, while Concordia Prep has allowed just 26 points through four contests. 

Gilman is 3-1 for the first time since 2015, in Biff Poggi’s last year at the helm for the Greyhounds. Gilman entered the season going 9-34 since Poggi’s departure.

Dunbar is averaging 44.4 points per game through five games. Milford Mill has outscored their opponents 159-13 since their 19-14 season opening loss to Franklin.  

River Hill has allowed just 13 points over their last four contests, following their 14-7 loss to Long Reach in the season opener, a game in which the Hawks turned the ball over five times. 

Mt Hebron notched their biggest win over Howard in their program’s 50-plus year history Friday night, posting a 39-0 shutout victory over the Lions. The win was the first for the Vikings over the Lions since 2012, snapping a six game losing streak to their league foes, including the last five games where they were outscored 205-0. The Vikings are 3-2, with two close losses to Long Reach and River Hill, after entering the season having gone 7-47 since 2015.