Arundel, Fort Hill, and Stephen Decatur Crowned Maryland State Football Champions in Historic Weekend

Arundel ends 48-year title drought, Stephen Decatur repeats, and Fort Hill dominates again at Maryland state football championships in Annapolis

Arundel quarterback Amir Lowery (7) is chased by Linganore’s Ben Butler during Saturday’s Maryland Class 3A state championship game. Arundel won its first title since 1975 with a 35-7 rout of the previously undefeated Lancers at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. / Derek Toney

Two championship reigns continued while a near-half century wait ended for another. 

The Maryland high school football officially ended Saturday with state public championships at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in the state capital of Annapolis.

Arundel, Fort Hill and Stephen Decatur celebrated on Jack Stephens Field with the stadium lights flashing their main color at game’s end and championship recognition on the scoreboard. 

Here’s some takeaways from Saturday’s action.

Arundel had the most impressive effort of Championship Weekend

After every game, Arundel players and coaches hold hands and form a huge unity circle. 

Their final one Saturday featured something different: a championship trophy in the middle. The Wildcats demolished previously undefeated Linganore, 35-7, to claim their first state title since 1975. 

“There’s no game this season that compares to today,” said Arundel coach Jack Walsh. “This is a real special one.”

The Anne Arundel County (Md.) school has been to three finals (1979, 2007, 2022) since 1975 when Arundel defeated Parkdale for the Class AA title. 

The wait - 17,913 days in the making - ended Saturday with an exclamation point. Arundel needed just 35 seconds to score its first touchdown on its opening possession.

The Wildcats led 20-0 at halftime, and extended it to 35-0 to start a running clock with 3 minutes, 40 seconds left in the third quarter.

The turning paint of Arundel’s season came in an early season meeting with league rival Broadneck. The Wildcats lost 35-31 in a game they mishandled the final seconds on offense.

Arundel responded with psychotic offensive tear, scoring at least 60 points in five of its next six games.

The Wildcats “tapered” a bit in the postseason, but closed impressively Saturday to earn Anne Arundel County’s first state championship since Old Mill won the 4A title in 2011.

“Other people might start coming out to watch us and see football is pretty good in Anne Arundel County,” said Arundel senior running back TJ Mordecai.

Defense is the reason Arundel became a championship caliber team

For many years, offense was the Wildcats’ calling card. The last couple of seasons, their defense became a complimentary partner, and provided the exclamation point to their state title breakthrough Saturday.

Arundel suffocated Linganore’s offense, allowing just 94 yards. Lancer junior running Bradly Matthews, the state’s top rusher, had 14 carries for 21 yards.

The Wildcats sacked Shawn Pelovitz, who set Linganore’s single-season record for touchdown throws this season, seven times. University of Delaware-bound linemen Brandon Gorham tipped a pass and returned it for a touchdown.

Arundel allowed 43 points in its four postseason games.

Walsh credited defensive coordinator Nick Good-Malloy, one of five former head coaches on his staff.

Walsh, who held up the championship trophy to the Arundel crowd that included many former players Saturday evening, was a longtime assistant to Chuck Markiewicz at Arundel.

Markiewicz, Anne Arundel County’s all-time winningest coach, was Walsh’s coach at North County. 

“His thumb is still very heavy on this program,” said Walsh.

Stephen Decatur proves 2023 - and 2024 - is no fluke

After becoming the first Bayside Conference team in three decades to win a state title last season, Stephen Decatur completed an encore Saturday with its come-from-behind victory. 

Junior quarterback Johnny Hobgood connected with senior Zachari Baker with 1 minute, 58 seconds left in regulation, pushing the Seahawks to a second straight Class 2A championship and repeat 14-0 campaign.

“To pull out a victory and comeback against a team like that is unbelievable,” said Decatur coach Jake Coleman. “I’m proud of our kids. The way that we rallied together showed the heart of a champion.”

The Seahawks’ 28th straight win moves It two away from breaking the Bayside’s record for consecutive victories. Stephen Decatur is the first Eastern Shore team to go back-to-back since Cambridge-South Dorchester ruled the 1A in 1995 and 1996. 

Their run was on life support a week ago, trailing Westlake, 20-0, late in the third quarter in the semifinals. Decatur won 27-20 in overtime.

The Seahawks were battered Saturday by Huntingtown’s running attack (284 yards) including a 57-yard score by Dominic Hickman, putting the Hurricanes up with 3:02 left. 

After failing to score in its previous six possessions, Stephen Decatur answered in a little over a minute, capping its run.

Coleman, whose son Bryson (Vanderbilt) quarterbacked the Seahawks to the 2023 title, said repeating was the only option this fall.

Stephen Decatur is 34-3 over the last three seasons.

“We had a very young group last year…We’ve been after it the entire time because we had a chip on our shoulder,” said Coleman. “I told them you’re the superstars now and they played like it.”

Linganore and Huntingtown again left Annapolis empty-handed

It was another long bus trip from Navy Stadium back home for Huntington and Linganore Saturday.

Huntingtown was three minutes away completing a third championship effort on the weekend (North Point and Patuxent) by a Southern Maryland Athletic Conference squad, but Stephen Decatur scored with two minutes left and denied the Hurricanes on fourth down.

Huntingtown out-gained the Seahawks, 239-99, in the second half. 

Last year, Huntingtown had an opportunity to tie late in regulation, but was turned away in a 21-13 loss to Stephen Decatur.

“The loss was tough…it was just the little things we needed to fix,” said Landon Cawley, who rushed for 127 yards. “I can’t really ask for much more from my guys….everybody put their all into that game.”

Looking to complete a perfect season, everything went haywire for Linganore. The Lancers managed just net 10 yards rushing, eight first downs and had nearly the same amount of penalty (79) and total (94) yards.

Linganore coach Rick Conner knew Arundel would be a challenge after scrimmaging them in the preseason.

“We were anticipating that we would play better,” said Conner. “We were banking that we had gotten a lot better since August. And obviously, so have they.”

Last year, Linganore lost to Frederick County (Md.) rival Oakdale in the 3A final. The Lancers, who won the 3A title in 2017, have been runner-up five times since.

Jabril Daniels goes off again for Fort Hill 

It’s kind of unfortunate Jabril Daniels won’t be playing for the Naval Academy after high school. The senior had another impressive showing on Jack Stephens Field as Fort Hill won its fourth straight Class 1A championship.

Daniels rushed for 247 yards and three touchdowns Saturday. Last year, he went for 303 yards and five touchdowns in Fort Hill’s win over Mountain Ridge.

As a sophomore reserve in 2022, Daniel had five carries for 27 yards in Fort Hill’s title win over Mountain Ridge. Daniel was called up to varsity from the Sentinels’ JV late in the 2021 regular season. 

Earlier that season, Daniels’ brother, Saiquan Jenkins, was fatally stabbed near Fort Hill. Six months later, Daniels’ father died.

Daniels found solace on the gridiron where he shattered every Fort Hill rushing mark, scoring his 80th and final touchdown on a 27-yard run in the fourth quarter Saturday.

Daniels is being recruited by several Division II schools as well as Division I Southern Utah and Morgan State.

“This is my second home,” said Daniels with a laugh about his success at Navy Stadium. “Playing on a college field gives me an extra motor.”

The biggest takeaway of the weekend: Derek Toney is bad at predictions

Congratulations to Arundel, North Point, Patuxent and Stephen Decatur, who I picked against earlier in the week.

I’m glad I provided extra motivation.