Quince Orchard and Dunbar Extend Their Maryland High School Football Dynasties

The Poets rout Lackey for their 14th MPSSAA state crown; QO outlasts Wise for its second consecutive Class 4A title

Quince Orchard head coach John Kelley speaks with his squad after it defeated Wise for their second straight Maryland Class 4A state championship. / Derek Toney

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND - The Maryland high school football dynasties of Quince Orchard and Dunbar remained alive and well Friday, each winning Maryland public state championships at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

Dunbar stormed to a 50-20 victory over Henry E. Lackey in the Class 2A/1A title match. Kyrell Lynch threw for 204 yards and four touchdowns for the Poets (12-1 overall).

Quince Orchard won its second consecutive Class 4A crown with a hard-fought 26-21 decision over Henry A. Wise. Senior quarterback Will Drakeford threw for two scores and rushed for 127 yards and two more touchdowns for the Cougars, ranked No. 4 in the latest High School on SI Maryland Top 25 rankings. 

Here’s five takeaways from the second day of Championship Weekend for Maryland public school football:

The more things change, the more Dunbar keeps winning championships

Once recognized for its mythical national championship boys basketball teams in the 1980s and 90s, football is now synonymous with the Baltimore City school. The 13th-ranked Poets won their state-record 14th championship, pulling away from Lackey in the opening match on Friday. 

“I’m super proud of this team,” Dunbar senior linebacker Jabari Torbit said. “We had a lot of bumps and bruises, but we overcame [them] and got the dub. I’m really proud of this team, I love the tradition, I’ve been here for so long. I just hope we continue to keep going and going until we get 20, 30 however many more state championships we can get.”

A year ago, Torbit and his teammates left Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium disgusted after a bid for a fourth straight 2A/1A title ended in a 8-6 loss to Patuxent. The Poets turned the ball over four times.

Dunbar was sloppy at times Friday (two turnovers), but atoned with explosive plays. The Poets had three scoring plays of 30 yards as Lynch (11-for-18) threw scores to Khamari Tucker (34) and Kylin Holmes (31). Holmes finished with 160 offensive yards and three touchdowns.

Their 50-point effort was the fifth in Maryland public state football championship history. The Poets did it with new coach Courtney Bridget, who won a title as a player in 2008.

Dunbar’s only loss came against Mervo, which won the 2025 4A/3A state title on Thursday, in week severn at Morgan State University, ending a 46-game winning streak in Baltimore City league play. 

“I’m just happy for my kids, proud of them, happy for the program, the school, the community, everyone involved who had a piece in putting this thing together,” said first-Bridget, who joined Michael Carter, Ben Eaton, Stanley Mitchell and Lawrence Smith as Poets’ state championship-winning coaches.. “When I first met this group in March, the first thing I talked about was getting back to this moment and finishing.”

Forgettable start leads to end of Lackey’s unlikely postseason run

The proverbial clock struck midnight on Lackey’s Cinderella-esque run to Annapolis Friday afternoon. The Chargers bounced back from a 22-point first quarter deficit to trail by a score at halftime before Dunbar scored on its first four possessions in the second half.

The scenario didn’t seem likely for the Charles County school, entering October winless.

“Eventhough we started slow we kept pushing, 100-percent effort all day everyday,” said Lackey senior quarterback Malik Gordon. “Nobody thought we would be in this game. Everybody thought we would lose worst than this…I’m just proud of my guys.”

The Chargers (8-6) won four road games, including decisions over Southern Maryland Athletic Conference champ and rival Calvert and the 2A/1A overall No. 1 seed Sparrows Point, to reach their first state final since 2004.

Then, came the opening kickoff. Lackey fumbled the kickoff and Dunbar recovered. The Poets scored a few plays later. 

It was the first of three lost fumbles in the opening quarter. 

Sparked by a scintillating 65-yard touchdown run by Ronald Johnson, Lackey was able to pull to within 22-14 at halftime. The Chargers had Dunbar’s offense in 3rd-and-12 on the opening drive of the second half, but the Poets converted a first down and scored. 

Johnson (85 yards), a senior, scored twice for Lackey while Gordon accounted for 175 yards (130 rushing) and two touchdowns.

“We (Dunbar) spotted them 22 points, I challenged them to punch back and that’s what we did,” said Jimari Jones. “We continued to fight, we continued to battle…I’m proud of these guys and hope this taste in their mouth is the spark and fuel for the offseason.”

Quince Orchard’s defense answers challenge 

In a game that compared to a championship boxing match, Quince Orchard grinded Wise in the final quarter to complete a perfect 14-0 campaign.

After two explosive third quarter scores brought Wise to within five, the Cougars’ defense recorded three sacks in the defining last eight minutes, the final from senior Diego Rodriguez, dropping Wise quarterback Eric Wedge with 46 seconds left in regulation.

The Pumas failed to convert on a 4th-and-long, allowing Quince Orchard to exhale - and exalt - with the program’s seventh Maryland state crown.

“We’re battle-tested, we had a gauntlet of a schedule…we’ve done it before,” said Cougar senior defensive end Kacey Gilliam, who’s verbally committed to James Madison University. “We just had to make plays.”

Quince Orchard coach John Kelley said the defensive front of Gilliam (three; two for loss), Rodriguez (five), junior Jaheim Bond (four) and sophomore Uriah Lyles (four; sack) was the Cougars’ strongest link this season. 

“We were fortunate, we made some key stops,” said Kelley, whose defense finished with four sacks and 11 tackles for loss. “We definitely faced adversity and our kids rose up to the challenge.”

Positive vibes for Wise despite falling short

Disappointment wore on Steve Rapp’s face during the press conference after last year’s Maryland Class 4A state final loss to Quince Orchard. The second-year Wise coach’s demeanor was much different late Friday evening. 

“This year was really special for our program,” said Rapp, who moved from offensive coordinator to lead coach after DaLawn Parrish left for Westlake after Wise’s 2023 state title-winning run in 2023. “We got off to a rocky start and had to reinvent ourselves. I found a lot of love in the process, having to rebuild it. These guys made me fall back in love with the process.”

The No. 7 Pumas (12-2), who started eight underclassmen Friday, graduated a senior class last season led by Trent Wilson (University of Oklahoma) and DeCarlos Young (Temple University). Wise lost to King’s Fork (Va.) and Prince George’s County (Md.) league rival Charles H. Flowers, which later forfeited the win for playing with an ineligible player.

“We were doubted from the beginning,” said Wise senior running Kam Parker. “We  established a bond and showed people we can accomplish anything we put our minds to…I don’t think a lot of people expected us to be here in this spot or this game to be close.”

Parker helped Wise climb out of a couple of two-score third quarter deficits with a 85-yard kickoff return touchdown and a 65-yard scoring run. Parker, who finished with 228 all-purpose yards, put Wise in Quince Orchard’s territory to end the third quarter, but the drive eventually stalled. 

The Pumas didn’t breach Quince Orchard territory their final two drives.

“We struggled with field position,” said Rapp. “We started one drive at the 3, we get the ball with two minutes left and have to go 92 (yards)…those aren’t great numbers. The defense played well enough to win. We didn’t get bullied…that’s what they’ve (Quince Orchard) done all year.”

Game of Thrones

Quince Orchard v. Wise is the definitive rivalry in Maryland high school football. The programs have combined to win 11 of the last 13 Class 4A state championships. 

Friday marked the sixth meeting in the 4A final since 2012. Wise won in 2012, 2016 and 2017. The Prince George’s school have won six 4A titles overall.

Quince Orchard have won the last three meetings starting with the 2021 championship. The Montgomery County school claimed a record seventh 4A crown Friday evening. 

The squads, who didn’t shake hands Friday after a brief postgame dispute, headline the favorites in 2026. Quince Orchard started nine underclassmen Friday and have 39 letter winners scheduled to return next fall while Wise have 37 letter winners scheduled back.