MIAA football to feature two eight team conferences in 2024

Perennial B Conference powers Concordia Prep and St. Mary's move up to the MIAA A Conference; St. Vincent Pallotti returns to the B Conference, while St. John's Catholic Prep and Severn move up from the C

Concordia Prep has won two of the last three MIAA B Conference championships, including the 2023 title. The Saints, along with St. Mary's, which has won three B Conference crowns since 2017, are moving to the A Conference for the 2024 season. / John Bowers

The Marylannd Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) will experience a significant realignment to its football conferences in 2024, with several schools shifting levels. The result will be two eight-team conferences.

In Maryland, unlike many states across the country, private schools are more dominate than public schools in most sports, including football, and the MIAA A Conference stands with the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) as two of the best in the state.

In 2024, the ranks of the A Conference will swell to eight teams for the first time since the inception of the MIAA is 1995, as B Conference powers Concordia Prep and St. Mary's have moved up to the A level, while St. Vincent Pallotti, after several seasons in the A Conference, returns to the B Conference for the first time since 2019.

Concordia Prep has won two of the last three B Conference championships, including 2023 when it blitzed John Carroll, 35-0, in the championship game at Towson University's Johnny Unitas Stadium. The Saints also nearly knocked off two-time defending A Conference champion Archbishop Spalding. Spalding turned back a fourth-quarter surge by Concordia when the Cavaliers got a 30-yard field goal by Cooper Walsh, in the game's final minute, to pull out a 32-31 victory. Spalding rebounded to finish the year at 10-2 after defeating McDonogh, 40-7, in the MIAA A Conference championship game.

Returning to the A Conference in 2024 are long-time members Calvert Hall, Gilman, Loyola Blakefield McDonogh and Mount St. Joseph. McDonogh has played in the two of the last three league title games. Calvert Hall won the 2021 crown and Mount St. Joe won the championship in 2019. Gilman, which has more A Conference football championships (13) than any other school, last won the league title in 2015. Loyola has seven MIAA A Confernce championships, but none since 2008. The Dons did spend several seasons as an independent and one season in the B Conference before returning to the A Conference in 2022.

In addition to Pallotti, the B Conference is getting two additional new members, as St. John's Catholic Prep and Severn have moved up from the now defunct C Conference to give the B Conference eight members as well. Severn had won the last two C Conference championships.

John Carroll, which reached the B Conference title game last fall, and Archbishop Curley, which has won five B Conference crowns, along with Pallotti, figure to be the preseason favorites to reach the 2024 league final. Arch-rivals Boys' Latin and St. Paul's are also long-time members of the B Conference and figure to be in the mix. Our Lady of Mount Carmel, which moved up from the C Conference prior to the 2022 season, is the league's other member.

Annapolis Area Christian School, which was part of the C Conference, has elected to play an independent schedule in 2024. St. Frances Academy, which is also a MIAA member school, has been playing as a national independent since 2019.

The top four teams in each conference will advance to league semifinal playoff games and the winners of those games will meet for their respective league championship.

The complete lineup for the MIAA's two football conferences 2024 shape as follows:

2024 MIAA A Conference Football	2024 MIAA B Conference Football
Archbishop Spalding Cavaliers	Archbishop Curley Friars
Calvert Hall Cardinals	Boys' Latin Lakers
Concordia Prep Saints	John Carroll Patriots
Gilman Greyhounds	Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cougars
Loyola Blakefield Dons	St. John's Catholic Prep Vikings
McDonogh Eagles	St. Paul's Crusaders
Mount St. Joseph Gaels	St. Vincent Pallotti Panthers
St. Mary's Saints	Severn Admirals

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