DeMatha quarterback Ryan Mitch got his first varsity start two years ago against Gilman, and it's one he's not likely to forget.
In a 14-0 loss played in a downpour that produced ankle-high mud puddles, Mitch, then a sophomore, was 4-for-14 for 49 yards and yielded a game-winning, 76-yard return of an interception for a touchdown. He was also sacked seven times.
"Now, it's a team goal to beat Gilman every year," said Mitch, a 6-foot-3, 210-pounder who will play for the University of Maryland in the fall of 2003. "It's also a personal goal."
DeMatha evened the score against Gilman last fall, winning, 16-0, at Johns Hopkins' Homewood Field.
Tonight at Morgan State, Mitch will get another chance as he leads DeMatha, winner of 22 straight and ranked No. 22 nationally by USA Today, against the Greyhounds, four-time Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference champions.
"Beating Gilman, for me, is always one of my most important games. It's grown into a rivalry, even though we've only played each other twice," said Mitch, who passed for 1,250 yards and 12 touchdowns last season.
"Every year it's been, 'Win the WCAC, beat Gilman.' They're a good team, and it's really important to beat them because I want to go out a winner."
DeMatha, the two-time defending Washington Catholic Athletic Conference champion, is ranked No. 1 in the state by the Associated Press. Gilman is ranked No. 4.
When Gilman defeated DeMatha at its home field at Parkdale High in Prince George's County, it defeated a Stags squad that was ranked No. 1 in the state, No. 24 nationally, had not lost in 32 regular-season games and owned an 18-3 record against Baltimore teams. City was the last Baltimore team to defeat the Stags, 20-12, in 1966.
Gilman handed DeMatha its first shutout loss since November 1980 and its first home loss since October 1994.
"I wasn't on the varsity, but I watched the game. We hate losing, and Gilman is the last team to beat us," said Maryland-bound running back-defensive back-wide receiver Josh Wilson, who had the Stags' final score - on a 34-yard run - in last year's rout of the Greyhounds.
"Beating Gilman last year was a big deal for us, and we wound up going 11-0," Wilson said. "This year, we have a chance to go 12-0."