News and notes from the state semifinal luncheon
By Sheldon Shealer
For the first time in the nearly decade-long event, all 16 state semifinal coaches were on hand at the annual luncheon that serves as a chance for media to interview all coaches in one setting before this week's big games.
Here are random news and notes, mostly from the 2A and 1A fields, from the Tuesday event held at Ravens Stadium:
* Roy Devore, the Beall coach, will not be allowed to coach in this week's semifinals following his ejection from last week's quarterfinal win over Elkton. Devore was ejected after Beall was penalized for a equipment infraction (in this case, cleats that were a quarter-inch too long). Beall was approached about having its semifinal contest moved to Greenway Ave. Stadium, but Devore said the school held steadfast in hosting the game with South Hagerstown because it could be the last playoff game -- maybe last game, played by Beall High School. The school has been the focus of consolidation discussions in Allegany County.
* If this week is any like last for Wicomico, it might want to think about two ambulances at the Wicomico-Middletown game Friday. Wicomico, the Bayside champion, has been throttled by misfortune, ranging from players quiting the team to injuries. Three players were injured during Wicomico's quarterfinal win over league rival Decatur. Two key players are out for this week's game and one could have a broken back. Wicomico's had only 22 players at its Monday practice.
* Lucky No. 7? Here's an argument for playoff expansion -- all No. 7 seeds advanced (meaning all No. 2 seeds -- region winners, lost!). Interestingly, the No. 7 teams had a decided central/western Maryland connection. In 1A, South Hagerstown routed Dunbar. In 2A, Middletown held off Glenelg. In 3A, Linganore pounded Dundalk. In 4A, Damascus eased past Broadneck. Although Damascus is in Montgomery County, its in the western part of the county and receives press coverage from the Frederick newspaper, which also covers South Hagerstown as a member of the Monocacy Valley Athletic League.
* The note above brings me to this little tidbit. A message board poster had "bought a ticket for the Howard County trifecta." Obviously, a just-for-fun gambling reference to the fact Howard County had teams in the 1A, 2A and 3A playoffs -- and were all considered title threats. All three lost in the first round, though. Instead, better money would have been placed on the MVAL/CMC trifecta. (1A South Hagerstown, 2A Middletown and 3A Linganore.) After all, the CMC has claimed five titles and one runner-up finish since 1995 (with only six playoff teams!) and the MVAL has delivered three titles and one runner-up finish since 1993. If you want to go back a little deeper, since 1987, the MVAL has five titles and five runner-up finishes and the CMC checks in with two additional state champs and two more runners-up, pushing its total to seven and three.
* Coincidence or not? Caravel Academy (Del.) has fallen on hard times when its comes to football. The one-time storied small school power is 0-9 this year after a 3-7 showing last year. Why should you care about a Delaware school? (Any maybe you still won't!) During Caravel's glory days in the 1990s, the school was quite active in recruiting and often lured players out of Cecil County, especially from North East-Cecil. Now, Caravel is not such an attractive athletic option and even North East coach Ed Smith has noticed. Players are starting to stay at North East, and presto, the team has risen from league also-ran to No. 1 seed in the 1A playoffs. Smith said at the end of each season, he has players fill out an evaluation form. One of the players wrote this year that his only regret wasn't transfering from Caravel back to North East sooner. Since the nearby Delaware private schools aren't plucking away as many Cecil County players as in past years, that could provide a small answer why Cecil County -- with only five schools -- put three in the 1A playoffs this year, and two reached the semifinals.
POWER RATINGS
Here are the Massey rankings for the Week:
MASSEY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL RATINGS
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Travis Jackson, Northwest. T-Jack delivered an all-round performance in Northwest's 19-7 victory over Wilde Lake in a hotly contested 3A quarterfinal game that came down to the final 90 seconds. While a strong case can be made for Brian Porter, who topped 300 yards in Gaithersburg's win, jackson was a one-man wrecking crew that allowed Northwest to win its first playoff game ever. Wilde Lake's game-opening drive started at its 10 and went all the way to inside Northwest's 10 before Jackson came up with two behind-the-line tackles to stall the Wildecats. Then, he became an offensive threat, scoring on runs of 2 and 47 yards as Northwest took a 12-7 lead. Jackson finished with 187 rushing yards. But his game-turning contribution in the final seconds secured the win. Wilde Lake was forced to pass with less than two minutes left, and Jackson was there for an interception that he returned 35 yards for the final score.
IN CASE YOU WHERE WONDERING
Here are two "Ifs." 1. If Damascus defeats Parkdale on Saturday, it will set up an all-Montgomery County Class 4A state final. It would be the third straight year the 4A final had featured two teams from the same county. 2. If Calvert can defeat Seneca Valley, it will mark the fourth straight year a Southern Maryland Athletic Conference team reached the Class 3A state final (Stone in 1999, Calvert in 2000, Patuxent in 2001).
AROUND THE STATE (Playoff Notes)
Gonzaga (D.C.) and DeMatha will clash for the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference
title Monday at 7 p.m. at Blair High School. Gonzaga handed DeMatha one of its two
defeats this year. The Stags barely avoided an upset when Patrick Fisher delivered
a late game-winning field goal in the team's 13-11 semifinal win over Good Counsel.
LOOKING AHEAD
The state semifinal pairings are posted on this Web site.