High School

Malik Washington Throws 3 First Half Touchdown Passes in His First College Start

Making his first college start, as a true freshman, Washington tosses for three scores in the second quarter against Florida Atlantic

Gary Adornato

Former Archbishop Spalding star quarterback was named the starter for the University of Maryland's season opener as a true freshman.
Former Archbishop Spalding star quarterback was named the starter for the University of Maryland's season opener as a true freshman. / Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

Hailed as the player who could finally lead the University of Maryland football program to sustained success in the Big 10, former Archbishop Spalding star quarterback Malik Washington was named the starter, this week, for Maryland's season opener, as a true freshman.

He delivered quick dividends.

After a bit of an unsteady opening quarter, Washington led the Terps on a six play, 50-yard touchdown drive, early in second quarter, capping it with his first college touchdown pass, a 29-yard strike to Shaleak Knott down the right sideline.

Washington was 4-for-4 for 48 yards on the drive, but he was not done yet.

On Maryland's next possession, he took the Terps right back to the house, leading a seven play, 72-yard march. He was 4-for-5 for 54 yards on this drive, including a beautiful back shoulder throw to Kaleb Webb for a 29-yard score with 3:05 to play in the half, giving Maryland a 26-7 lead.

With the nerves settled and a little success under his belt, Washington really settled in, leading the Terps on a brilliant two-minute drill.

Starting at the Maryland 33 with 1:51 to play in the first half, Washington was 6-for-7 for 54 yards, including a 9-yard TD toss to Dorian Fleming, stretching Maryland's lead to 33-7.

Washington finished the first half having completed 21-of-33 passes for 200 yards and three scores. He completed 18 of his final 22 throws in the half.

In the third quarter, Washington engineered a pair of field goal drives before being given the rest of the afternoon off. His final numbers included 27 completions in 43 attempts, the three touchdowns and zero interceptions. Officially, he did not have a rush, but he did run once for 11 yards and first down, but the play was nullified by a penalty.

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Gary Adornato
GARY ADORNATO

Gary Adornato is the Senior VP of Content for High School On SI and SBLive Sports. He began covering high school sports with the Baltimore Sun in 1982, while still a mass communications major at Towson University. In 2003 became one of the first journalists to cover high school sports online while operating MIAASports.com, the official website of the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association. Later, Adornato pioneered market-wide coverage of high school sports with DigitalSports.com, introducing video highlights and player interviews while assembling an award-winning editorial staff. In 2010, he launched VarsitySportsNetwork.com which became the premier source of high school media coverage in the state of Maryland. In 2022, he sold VSN to The Baltimore Banner and joined SBLive Sports as the company's East Coast Managing Editor.

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