Inside Maryland High School Football: A Stunning Rebound, a Wild Finish and Coaching History

How does unranked Milford Mill go from a 35-point loss to No. 12 Dunbar in Week 1 to a 23-point victory over No. 14 Broadneck in Week 2?

“Old-school coaching,” veteran Milford Mill coach Reggie White said after Thursday's stunning 48-25 victory.

Broadneck entered Thursday after a Week 1 victory over a Top 15 opponent, while Milford Mill was coming off a 42-7 loss to Dunbar at UA Stadium in the Grit and Greatness Invitational.

White said his youthful team simply was not ready for Week 1.

“The stage was really [too] big for them,” White said. “This is a young team … they were worried about all the wrong things, like their eye black, wearing the sleeves. We ran into a bulldozer. Our kids were hyped, but they got hit in the mouth. After that, they needed to do some soul-searching.”

White said the Week 1 loss changed the approach in practice.

“It started Monday with practice,” White continued. “Practice was physical. We hit sleds, full speed, full tackle. We needed to get the physicality back … it’s a mindset, an old-school mindset. You gotta give the hurt before you can take it.”

The work paid off in the second half, when Milford Mill scored 28 points to pull away. Quarterback Kameron Faulcon broke touchdown runs of 73 and 11 yards.

White credited an offensive line featuring only two returning starters from last season. Seniors Jordan Hall and Blake Bradley lead a group that also includes senior Donovan Saunders and underclassmen Tyon Wilson and Sean Bryant.

Milford Mill now turns to its Baltimore County Division I schedule after opening against two state-ranked nonleague opponents.

Reggie White Closes In on 200 Wins

While Milford Mill Academy’s victory was important to the team, it also moved White closer to a place in Maryland football history. The longtime Milford Mill coach now has 199 victories and is on the verge of becoming just the third African-American coach in state history to reach 200 wins.

Pete Pompey, who coached outstanding teams at Edmondson and Dunbar, finished with 214 career victories and remains the all-time winningest African-American coach in Maryland. Current La Plata coach Danny Hayes entered this season with 203.

“Knowing I was close to 200 was one of the reasons I came back,” White said.

Crofton: Uncharted Territory

For the first time in the program's brief history, Crofton is officially 2-0 — and the Cardinals took an unusual path to get there.

Crofton blocked an extra point, converted a two-point conversion following a defensive penalty, intentionally took a safety and recovered the ensuing free kick to close out a wild 16-15 victory over state-ranked Old Mill on Thursday.

“We’re trending in the right direction,” coach Todd Sommerville said.

The victory marked another step in the growth of a program that fielded its first team in 2021. After two seasons marred by forfeits, Crofton went 0-10 in 2023, improved to 2-8 in 2024, and went 5-5 last season for its first non-losing campaign. The Cardinals actually started 2-0 in 2022, but those victories were later forfeited.

After a scoreless first half, Old Mill scored touchdowns on consecutive drives to take a 13-0 lead. But Crofton’s Mekhi Britton blocked the ensuing extra point, keeping the deficit at 13.

Jackson's first touchdown and a successful two-point conversion cut the deficit to 13-8. His second touchdown then put Crofton ahead 14-13.

The Cardinals initially lined up for the extra point, but an Old Mill penalty moved the ball closer to the goal line. Sommerville kept the offense on the field, and Jackson converted the two-point try for a 16-13 lead.

Then came the strangest sequence of the night.

With less than a minute remaining, Old Mill pinned Crofton inside its 5-yard line. On fourth down, the Cardinals lined up to punt but intentionally took a safety, cutting their lead to 16-15 while allowing them to kick from the 20 rather than out of their own end zone.

On the ensuing free kick, Crofton punted from its 20. The ball hit the ground and track standout Julian Treleaven recovered it for the Cardinals. The Cardinals took a knee from there, securing what is probably the biggest victory in the young program’s history.

Crofton recorded its first significant program victory last season with a win over then-defending state champion Arundel. But the Cardinals finished that season with consecutive losses and entered 2026 still searching for their first playoff victory.

Now Crofton is officially 2-0 for the first time. The next milestone remains obvious: The Cardinals are 0-5 all-time in the playoffs.

Rick Conner Moves Closer to Ninth on Maryland Wins List

Linganore’s 49-14 victory over Meade gave Lancers coach Rick Conner his 245th career victory. He is the only active coach among Maryland’s top 25 winningest coaches. Conner began the season tied for 10th with Chuck Markiewicz before the season-opening victory over Mergenthaler Vo-Tech moved him into sole possession of 10th place. Conner is three victories from tying longtime Middletown coach Tim Ambrose for ninth with 248 wins.

Using MPSSAA district geography, here's the winningest Maryland high school football coach associated with each district. The list includes public and private schools. Coaches who worked in multiple districts are assigned to the district where they won the most games, with their full Maryland career win total listed.

District 1 – Western Maryland: Tim Ambrose, 248

District 2 – Montgomery County: Bob Milloy, 405

District 3 – Prince George’s County: Bill McGregor, 334

District 4 – Southern Maryland (Charles, Calvert, St. Mary’s): Jerry Franks, 218

District 5 – Central Maryland (Anne Arundel, Howard): Doug DuVall, 308

District 6 – Baltimore County: Joe Brune, 212

District 7 – Upper Eastern Shore (Cecil, Harford): Dave Cesky, 206

District 8 – Lower Eastern Shore (Bayside): Bob Knox, 234

District 9 – Baltimore City: Roger Wrenn, 284

Longest Active Winning Streaks

With DeMatha’s win streak ended at 23 games and St. James School losing after nine straight victories, it’s time to look at the current list of active win streaks in Maryland:

29 – Quince Orchard (since a 29-26 loss to Northwest, Nov. 10, 2023)

15 – Linganore (since a 35-7 loss to Arundel, Dec. 7, 2024)

11 – St. Frances Academy (since to a 21-14 loss to St. John Bosco, Calif., Sept. 5, 2025)

9 – Dunbar (since a 20-12 loss to Mergenthaler Vo-Tech, Oct. 16, 2025)

Longest Active Regular-Season Winning Streaks

62 – Quince Orchard (since a 22-14 loss to Bullis School, Sept. 21, 2018)

25 – Linganore (since a 21-14 loss to Oakdale, Sept. 22, 2023)

13 – Sparrows Point (since a 27-0 loss to Randallstown, Oct. 10, 2024)

12 – Elkton (since a 46-14 loss to Joppatowne, Oct. 25, 2024)

11 – Guilford Park (since a 20-6 loss to Howard, Nov. 2, 2024)

One-Sided Rivalry

Wise was the last Top 25 team to begin regular-season play, doing so this past weekend with a 53-6 rout of Laurel. Wise's 53-6 victory over Laurel was its 15th consecutive win in the series. During that streak, Wise has allowed just 28 total points. Laurel's only victory in the series came in Wise's inaugural season, 14-7.

The Pennsylvania Connection

Calvert Hall handled The Hill School (Pa.), 41-6, in the first meeting between the two storied private schools. But the victory also continued a longstanding Calvert Hall tradition: playing Pennsylvania opponents.

Despite being surrounded by Baltimore and DMV-area schools, particularly private schools, Calvert Hall has maintained a steady connection with Pennsylvania programs. The Hill game began a stretch of three consecutive Pennsylvania opponents for Calvert Hall. The Cardinals host La Salle College this week before traveling to The Haverford School the following week. The Haverford game will be the first meeting between the schools.

Excluding the COVID-19 seasons, Calvert Hall has played at least one Pennsylvania opponent every year since 2019, continuing a scheduling pattern that dates back decades. The school has had extended stretches of Pennsylvania opponents in several previous decades.

Hill was the 19th different Pennsylvania school Calvert Hall has faced since its first out-of-state game, a 13-6 loss to West Catholic in 1928.

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