A familiar (state championship) finish for Dunbar and Wise

A look back at Friday's MPSSAA state championship games; photo galleries

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND - After inauspicious starts, the Dunbar and Wise football team’s seasons ended in familiar fashion Friday evening with Maryland state public championships at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

The Poets won their third consecutive Class 2A/1A title with a 8-0 victory over Calvert while the Pumas claimed the 4A crown with a 21-0 decision over Broadneck.

Here are highlights from both championship matches.

Antonio Lyde gave Dunbar a major lift

After being handed the championship trophy by Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, Antonio Lyde was hoisted by his several teammates. It was more than well deserved.

In a rain-soaked affair, Lyde was the dominant performer Friday, accounting for the game’s only points with a 36-yard touchdown run followed by a successful 2-point conversion run in the third quarter. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound senior finished with 187 all-purpose yards.

Dunbar's Antonio Lyde (8) runs past Calvert's Cameron Wilson on his way to the game's only touchdown. He rushed for 60 yards and had 127 return yards / Photo by John Bowers

Lyde said he talked to his teammates at halftime.

“I told my linemen we need you, put a hat on somebody, even if you got no one to block, still put a hat on someone so we can get up the field and score,” said Lyde, who had 60 yards rushing and 127 return yards.

On 4th-and-1, Lyde broke out to the sidelines and sprinted to the end zone, capping a 10-play, 71-yard drive to open the second half. Lyde also handled kickoffs.

Lyde was in tears before Scott presented him the championship trophy.

“This is my last high school game right here,” said Lyde, who scored a touchdown in each of the Poets’ three 2A/1A state title wins.. “It’s big for me.”

Poet Perseverance

Back in September, Dunbar’s season opening game with Loyola Blakefield was stopped at halftime after gunshots rang out a few yards outside Sugar Cain Field, the Poets’ home site in East Baltimore.

Days later, Lawrence Smith, Dunbar’s longtime coach, was arrested and charged with overtime fraud. Longtime defensive coordinator Michael Carter became interim coach.

The Poets’ next game, at Dunbar (D.C.), was stopped in the first half for thunderstorms and lightning. Dunbar played its first official game in week three.

Dunbar overcome a mountain adversity at the start of the season but righted the ship under interim head coach Michael Carter and went on to win their 13th state championship / Photo by John Bowers

The Poets (11-0 overall) rolled through their Baltimore City slate, posting their third straight undefeated regular season. After holding off Patuxent on the road in a rematch of last year’s 2A/1A state final in last weekend’s state semifinals, Dunbar grinded past Calvert Friday for another state crown.

“Today we had to persevere and face adversity,” said Poets senior linebacker Anthony Campbell. “We weren’t strong in the first half, but in the second half, we played Dunbar football.”

“They’ve been through a lot of adversity this year…they showed a lot of resilience, making sure they stayed on point and finished the goal we set back in January,” said Carter. “This is a special group.”

Cavalier effort

Calvert last played in a state football final in 2000. Dunbar has been in 14 state championship games since 2000.

The Cavaliers, who lost to Dunbar, 46-7, in last year’s state semifinals, were up for the task Friday. The Southern Maryland school had a chance to score before halftime, but Keith Baker’s 42-yard field goal attempt was blocked.

Calvert’s first drive of the second half ended with an interception inside its 40-yard line, but there was no damage as Brunsie Carrington fell on a fumble by Lyde. The Cavaliers (12-2) didn’t get much traction in its running game in the second half and completed just one pass in the game.

Despite coming up short gave an inspired effort, especially on the defensive side of the ball. It was banner season for the emerging Southern Maryland power / Photo by John Bowers

Calvert, at its 25, decided to punt the ball to Dunbar with 3:01 left in regulation. The Cavaliers didn’t get the ball back.

Calvert had 91 total yards Friday.

“As a coach, you go back and look at things to see what you could’ve done differently,” said Cavaliers coach Rick Sneade. “And in my case there are some things I wish I could take back and do differently to give these guys a chance to win. But whatever we called, whatever we did — our players put forth 110 percent effort, and that’s all we can ask.”

Once upon a time at Dunbar…

The Poets became the most prolific program in state public history Friday with their 13th championship. Dunbar has won 37 straight games, with its last loss coming in the 2019 Class 1A state final versus Catoctin.

There wasn’t a 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dunbar is regarded for its basketball program which won three mythical national championships during a legendary run starting from the early 1980s through the early 1990s. The Poets have a state-best 16 titles in basketball (last title 2018).

“A lot of the older alumni come through and say “hey, it’s a basketball school,” but they’re starting to realize that we can play some good football,” said Carter, a former Morgan State University assistant who joined the Dunbar staff in 2010. “Hopefully, basketball will pick it back up, but we’re going to try to keep this train rolling.”

(Dunbar/Calvert 2A/1A state title game, All photos by John Bowers)

Photo by John Bowers

Photo by John Bowers

Photo by John Bowers

Photo by John Bowers

Photo by John Bowers

Photo by John Bowers

Wise is back

After losing last year’s state 4A semifinals and, the year before, the 4A final, Wise’s championship aura appeared to be fading.

Well, to steal a line from longtime ESPN College Gameday analyst Lee Corso, “Not so fast my friend.” The Pumas (12-1) reclaimed the crown with an efficient performance in all three facets Friday against Broadneck.

“We showed composure all year and to finish was outstanding,” said Wise coach DaLawn Parrish. “We lost our first game of the season against another great team and I think people were writing us off, but we knew who we were. We talked about being better than who you face.”

DeLawn Parish's Wise Pumas huddle around the MPSSAA 4A state championship trophy, celebrating their fifth state title in the last eight years / Photo by John Bowers

The Prince George’s County school dropped its opener to Virginia’s Maury, currently undefeated (13-0) and playing Saturday in the Virginia Class 5 semifinals. Wise didn’t lose another game, winning its sixth state championship.

Junior running back DeCarlos Young rushed for 109 yards and two scores in the first half, pacing Wise to a 15-0 cushion. The Pumas’ defense kept Broadneck without a rushing yard in the first half.

DeCarlos Young sparked the Pumas' offense with 109 yards rushing and two touchdowns / Photo by John Bowers

Jayden Brayden averaged nearly 40 yards a punt, including one that was downed inside Broadneck’s 1-yard line, leading to a safety.

It was the first shutout victory in a 4A final since 2010 when Urbana defeated Wise, 6-0, at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

“It means a lot for me and my brothers…we knew people were doubting us, saying we’re not the old Wise,” said Young. “All season, we had the state championship on our minds and becoming the old Wise.”

Eric Wedge firmly finds its place

Eric Wedge clutched the 4A state championship trophy during Friday’s postgame conference. It was unlikely three months ago, but Wedge became “QB1” for Wise’s latest championship conquest.

Heading into the season, Khalil Wilkins, a West Virginia University quarterback commit who transferred from Theodore Roosevelt (D.C.) last spring. The 6-foot-4 senior was ruled ineligible by the Prince George’s County Office of Athletics.

The situation garnered local attention as well as scrutiny, positive and negative, on social media.

Wise quarterback Eric Wedge wasn't expect to be the Pumas starting quarterback this fall, but the job became his and he threw for 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns this season / Photo by John Bowers

The players, especially Wedge, stayed focused and grew each week. The sophomore threw for 1,000 yards with 11 touchdowns and no interceptions.

“It was time for me to step up,” said Wedge, a sophomore. “My guys believed in me and I’ve been leading the team all year. The coaches believed in me since day one.”

“In today’s world people don’t want to compete, everybody wants something handed to them. EJ wasn’t afraid to compete. If he lost, he lost,” said Parrish. “We had some other people who didn’t want to compete and left…EJ didn’t. We talked about next man up and everybody rallied around E.”

Not a fairy tale ending for Broadneck

With a huge crowd that traveled just 10 minutes to Navy Stadium from its Anne Arundel County campus, Broadneck had the synergy to win its first state title. But the proverbial clock struck midnight on the Bruins’ postseason.

“We made this run, and sadly, we all feel we could’ve done better,” said Broadneck coach Rob Harris, who was defensive coordinator when the Bruins made their previous state final appearance in 2003 (Class 3A). “But it’s a testament to these guys we made it to this point.”

The Bruins (11-3) were in a hole in the first half, thanks to poor field position and penalties. Broadneck found its footing in the second half, getting inside Wise’s 10-yard line, but Chris Coleman’s 24-yard field goal attempt sailed right.

While the Wise Pumas celebrated their success in the 4A state title game, Broadneck came up short in its bid to climb to the top of the 4A mountain

The last time Broadneck was shutout was in 2012 against Meade.

Despite the disappointing conclusion, Harris lauded his senior class, including son Eli, who’s committed to Navy.

“We won a lot of big games together,” said Harris, whose team lost to eventual state champ Quince Orchard in last year’s state semifinals and to Flowers in the 2021 state quarterfinals. “This senior class had a freaking nice run.”

(Wise/Broadneck 4A state title game, All photos by John Bowers)

Photo by John Bowers

Photo by John Bowers

Photo by John Bowers

Photo by John Bowers