1A State Championship
Navy-Marine Corps Stadium, Annapolis, Sat. 3:30
Dunbar (12-1) v Catoctin (12-1)

Like much of this last quarter of a century, the area’s high school state title hopes rest on the broad shoulders of the Dunbar Poets. Following a week where the area saw five of its teams advance to the state semifinals, only the Poets remain, after competing in their 21st state semifinal game in 27 years.

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The Poets look to add to their unprecedented legacy on Saturday, playing in their 13th state title game in their 27th year as a member of the MPSSAA. The Poets will take on Catoctin, in a rematch of their semifinal meeting ten years ago, in 2009, when the Cougars went on to win their only state title in school history.

The Poets won their state record 62nd playoff game last Saturday, routing Cambridge of South Dorchester, 45-3, winning their 12th straight game, while the Cougars shook the state gridiron landscape by throttling 7-time state champion Fort Hill, 41-0. With those results in, there is no doubt that the two best teams will meet for the 1A title.

Since an opening week 20-14 loss to 3A semifinalist Mervo, the Poets have rolled off 12 straight wins, registering seven shutouts, and allowing 8 points or less in 9 of their last 11 games (not including forfeit win), including their semifinal win over the Vikings. Other than a legitimate scare from Lake Clifton in round two of the playoffs, the Poets have dominated in the post-season, with a 44-0 shutout of Douglass to open the post-season, then registering another shutout of Perryville following the Lake Clifton win, before the 42 point win over three-time state champion Cambridge – South Dorchester.

The Cougars have put together their second best record in school history this season, second only to the 2009 state champion Cougars, who went 14-0. The Cougars have won seven straight games since a 34-31 overtime loss to Walkersville. Last Friday, the Cougars posted one of their three biggest wins in school history with the win over Fort Hill, and arguably, it’s most impressive. The Sentinels were shutout for the first time since 2004, while the Cougars scored 41 points for the 11th time in in their 11 non-forfeit wins. All 11 of the Cougars wins on the field have been by 20 points or more.

Poets Head Coach Lawrence Smith won his 40th post-season victory last Friday, and holds the best post-season winning percentage (.870) in MPSSAA history, with a record of 40-6 in his 13th season. Though Coach Smith has won 6 state titles with the Poets, only one has come in the last six seasons (‘17). Coach Smith would become just the fourth coach in MPSSAA history to win seven state championships, joining Bob Milloy, Al Thomas, and Terry Changuris, should the Poets win.

The 2019 Poets are led offensively by a sophomore quarterback, Karon Moore, who has accounted for 15 touchdowns in the post-season, including four in the win over Cambridge, and five in both the wins over Douglass and Perryville. The team leader is three-year starter Dion Crews-Harris, who leads the Poets in both rushing yards and tackles.

Moore has thrown 1,895 yards and 18 touchdowns in his sophomore campaign, with junior Tyreek Sykes starring as his top target, with 52 receptions for 801 yards and six touchdowns. Adding to Moore’s weaponry, are fellow juniors Rashard Clyburn and Khalil Bailey, who have combined for 67 receptions for 1,140 yards and nine touchdown receptions. The 6’0, 240 pound Crews-Harris has rushed for 936 yards and 13 touchdowns, while junior Jeremiah White has rushed for 743 yards and ten touchdowns, including rushing for 118 yards last Saturday.

Crews-Harris, who also led the Poets in tackles as a junior, has registered 113 tackles and 14 sacks this season. Joshua Carr, a 6’5 185 pound senior defensive end, has recorded 77 tackles and 7 sacks for the Poets. Bailey leads the Poets in interceptions, with four.

Cougars Head Coach Doug Williams, who is in his 29th season at Catoctin, and led the Cougs to the state title in ‘09, may have never had a talent like the one he has in 5’10, 175 pound junior Carson Sickeri, who ranks second in the MPSSAA in rushing yards this season, rushing for 2,145 yards and 35 touchdowns, scoring 39 touchdowns in all. The junior back has rushed for 921 yards and 15 touchdowns in four post-season games, including 235 yards and three scores in the win over Fort Hill, a week after rushing for 281 yards and six touchdowns versus Fairmont Heights.

The Cougars can open it up too, with junior Ryan Orr throwing for 1,846 yards and 17 touchdowns this season. Travis Fields is Orr’s top target, recording 40 receptions for 848 yards and 9 touchdowns, while Eli Frei has 29 receptions for 462 yards and a pair of scores. Junior Bronson Snurr has come up big in the last two playoff games, picking off two passes from Fairmont Heights, then pulling in a 28 yard reception from Orr versus Fort Hill. Senior linebacker Tony Treganowan leads the Cougars in tackles, while nose guard Jake Baker has registered 14 tackles for loss, and 8 sacks.

The Poets and Cougars have some post-season history, going back to Tavon Austin, followed by history being made in Catoctin. Austin ran for 213 yards and four touchdowns in the Poets 48-12 rout of the Cougars in the 2008 1A semifinals, before edging Fort Hill (20-19) in the final, and before Catoctin returned the favor the following year, with a 13-12 win over the Poets in the semifinal, before winning their first and only state title, with a 37-12 win over Joppatowne.

While the Poets will vie for their 11th state championship, one away from Seneca Valley’s state record 12, the Cougars will look for their second. The Cougars are looking to follow their road map of ‘09, when they avenged a loss to the Poets a year earlier, just as they sought revenge in last Friday night’s annihilation of Fort Hill, a year after suffering a 55-6 pummeling from the hands of the Sentinels in last year’s regional final.

Willie Sean Coughlan
Willie Sean Coughlan

HS Sports Analyst

Willie, a native of Chicago, and now a resident of Columbia for 40 years, is an educator at Homewood Center in Howard County, after spending 12 years as a real estate agent, following 10 years of running a small men’s retail company. Willie has contributed to Max Preps, Digital Sports, and Varsity Sports Network. Willie has produced MPSSAA top 25 rankings for both football and basketball for 15 years, across various platforms. From a large ‘sports family’, Willie’s brother Mike led Reservoir High to the 3A basketball state title game in 2018, while his nephew Anthony serves as the Indianapolis Colts College Scouting Coordinator.

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