Week 12 Recap
November 26, 2024
A new champion was crowned in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, and the MPSSAA playoffs head to the semifinal round with exciting, and some surprising, games all across the state. Five out of six state champions from 2023 are still alive into the semifinals this season. But, how many will make the championship game?
WCAC Championships
The DeMatha Stags defeated Good Counsel, 16-7, in the WCAC Championship Game on Sunday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. DeMatha kicker Alex Amaya connected on three field goals in the game, including a 49-yarder that sealed the Stags victory. DeMatha defeated Good Counsel for the second time this season, following a 35-7 win on October 18, and secured its first WCAC title since 2016. The win ends the Stags’ longest WCAC title drought since the inception of the league in 1993.
In the WCAC Metro division championship games, St. Mary’s Ryken fell short in a close game, falling 27-17 to Paul VI from Virginia.
4A Quarterfinals
Top-seeded Quince Orchard kept rolling on to the semifinals round with a 38-3 win over Bethesda-Chevy Chase. The Cougars were never in danger of dropping this one, and have reached at least the semifinal round of the playoffs for the seventh time in the last eight playoffs, with last year’s regional round loss as the only exception.
Awaiting the Cougars in the next round will be Broadneck, who defeated Northwest, 24-14. The Bruins overcame a 7-3 deficit in the second quarter, and scored a touchdown just before halftime to take a 10-7 lead that they would never relinquish. Broadneck led 17-14 heading to the fourth quarter, and then added a late touchdown to give themselves the 10-point cushion. It marks the second straight year that Broadneck has eliminated Northwest in the state quarterfinals round. The Bruins have advanced to the semifinals for the third straight year.
On the other side of the bracket, we’ve got an all-PG County matchup, as cross-county rivals Wise and Flowers both won their quarterfinal games. Wise had no trouble beating Dundalk, 39-14, to advance to the semis for the ninth straight year. Flowers, however, saw its three touchdown lead dwindle late in the game and had to hold on for a 21-14 victory over Paint Branch. The Jaguars held a 21-0 lead with just under six minutes to play in the game, but allowed two late touchdowns and an onside kick recovery to the Panthers all in the fourth quarter. The Jaguars defense was able to hold though, setting up another highly-anticipated rivalry showdown on Friday afternoon.
4A/3A Quarterfinals
Perhaps one of the biggest upsets in the quarterfinals round across the entire state came Friday night in the 4A/3A quarters, as 7-seed Leonardtown went on the road and knocked of 2-seed Blake, 35-25. The Raiders have seemingly made road upsets their M.O. over the past few seasons, and have slayed several giants in their class this year, including overall top-seed Howard in the regional round. Leonardtown advances to the semifinals for the first time in school history.
The Raiders will remain on the road this weekend to take on Mervo. The reigning 4A/3A champion Mustangs earned a 46-26 win over Frederick. The Cadets were within a touchdown heading into the fourth quarter, but Mervo finished strong and closed out the three-score win. The Mustangs have reached the semifinals for the fifth time in the last six seasons.
On the other side of the 4A/3A bracket, Perry Hall and North Point both tallied 39 points and won with relative ease in their games. The former winning 39-2 over Wootton, and the latter winning 39-0 over Old Mill. The Gators are into the semifinals for the second year in a row, and only the second time since 1993. North Point, meanwhile, is no stranger to deep playoff runs. The Eagles have played in each of the last two state championship games.
3A Quarterfinals
No. 1-seed Linganore had its smallest margin of victory yet in the playoffs, but still was able to earn a 34-14 win over Bel Air. The Lancers were led by running back Bradly Matthews who tallied 223 yards on 27 carries and two touchdowns. When Linganore makes it to this point of the playoffs, they typically do not miss the state championship game. The Lancers have not had their season end in the semifinals round since 1980, and this will be their 16th trip to the semis since then.
Advancing to take on the Lancers is Oakland Mills, who defeated Howard County rival Atholton, 31-0. It was a much different game than the Scorpions and Raiders played back on October 10, which saw Atholton pickup a 27-20 victory. But this game was all Oakland Mills. The Scorpions are headed to the semifinals for only the second time since 2001.
In a surprisingly lower scoring affair between two high-paced offenses, Arundel picked up a 21-14 win over Northern. This was the lowest scoring game all season for both teams by far, but the Wildcats were able to get just enough stops to secure the win. Arundel is back to the semis for the third time in the last four years, where they will host Sherwood, after the Warriors defeated Franklin, 31-7. Sherwood returns to the semifinals for the first time since 2021, and only the second time since 2009.
2A Quarterfinals
All four of the game games in the 2A Quarterfinals saw fairly large margins of victory with the higher-seeded team winning. Top-seeded Stephen Decatur scored early and often en route to a 37-0 win over Walkersville. The reigning 2A champs from last season have now won 26 consecutive games and are making their third straight trip to the semifinals.
In the semifinals, Decatur will host Westlake in our Game of the Week on Friday night. The fast-paced Westlake offense was too much to handle for Damascus, as the Wolverines beat the Hornets, 34-0. Devin Cox had 10 carries for 181 yard and three touchdowns, while David Nnabuko also had 124 rushing yards on 16 carries. Westlake is into the state semifinals for the first time since 2008, and only the third time since 1999.
Milford Mill picked up its second consecutive 42-7 win in the playoffs, defeating Hereford by that score the previous week, and Easton this week. The Millers remain undefeated against MPSSAA competition this year, and are headed back to the semifinals for the fourth straight year.
Awaiting the Millers in the next round is Huntingtown, who beat New Town, 35-0, on Friday night. Like Milford, the Hurricanes have also won both of their playoff games 35-0. Huntingtown has reached the state semifinals for the fifth time in the last six playoffs.
2A/1A Quarterfinals
Like the 2A quarterfinals, the 2A/1A quarter similarly saw a majority of one-sided scores, with the higher seeds winning those games. The only close game came with 5-seed Middletown notching a 7-3 road victory over 4-seed Randallstown. The Knights held the Rams to their lowest scoring output of the season by far, with 17 points being their previous low. With their rich history of postseason football, Middletown has reached the semifinals rounds for the 16th time in school history, and third time in the last five seasons.
Middletown will now hit the road to face-off against top-seeded Patuxent, after the Panthers knocked off Elkton, 55-8. Panthers QB Evan Blouir accounted for five total touchdowns, two through the air and three on the ground, and a combined 299 total yards in the victory over the Elks. Patuxent and Middletown square off in the playoffs for a second straight year, with the Panthers earning a 42-7 win last season in the quarterfinals.
Douglass-PG and Dunbar both won their games significantly easily on Saturday, and they setup the only semifinals matchup between two undefeated teams. Douglass beat Liberty, 36-13, and heads back to the semifinals for the first time since its state title in 2021. Dunbar defeated Fallston, 36-0, to remain unscored-upon in the postseason, and reach the state semifinals for an astounding 25th time.
1A Quarterfinals
Seeding-wise the 1A playoffs have provided the most upheaval, with the top two seeds losing in the quarterfinals. After being forced to forfeit multiple games during the regular season, perennial 1A powerhouse Fort Hill was the 8-seed in this round of the playoffs, and defeated 1-seed Cambridge-South Dorchester, 30-12. The Vikings held a 12-6 lead at halftime in this game, but senior running back Jabril Daniels rushed for 165 yards and three scores in the Sentinels come from behind win.
Fort Hill will stay on the road and take on Perryville this weekend. The Panthers beat Patterson Mill, 27-2, to earn their second straight semifinals appearance. Fort Hill defeated Perryville, 49-7, in the 2022 playoffs.
Maybe the most surprising result of the entire weekend, however, came when 7-seed Northern Garrett went on the road and soundly beat 2-seed Boonsboro, 49-0. Huskies running back Luke Ross carried the ball 12 times for 242 yards and five touchdowns, and Northern is headed to the semifinals for the first time since 2000, and only the fourth time in school history.
The Huskies will face off against SEED School on Saturday this weekend, as the Sabers took down Green Street, 13-12. SEED remains undefeated against MPSSAA competition this season, and is heading to the semifinals for the first time ever.
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