Reginald Lewis, Mervo join traditional Baltimore City football powers in regional finals

When the regional football championships kick off this weekend, four Baltimore City teams will be competing — two coming off the first playoff wins in school history and two continuing a long history of postseason play.

In a turnaround season under former Douglass coach Elwood Townsend, Reginald Lewis is in the Class 1A South regional final for the first time with an 11-0 record. Mervo coach Patrick Nixon has the young No. 11 Mustangs (9-2) in the Class 4A North final riding an eight-game winning streak.

At Dunbar and Edmondson — the only city football programs ever to win state championships — the legacy continues. The Poets (8-3) are in the Class 2A North final in their 15th straight playoff appearance and 21st overall. Edmondson (5-6) earned a playoff berth for the 13th time and will take on Lewis in the 1A South final.

While having four teams in the regional finals isn't unprecedented for the city, coaches hope that it represents a continuing effort to improve the competitive level of city public school football — especially with two teams new to this level.

While 19 city programs have earned playoff berths since the city joined the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association in 1992 and began competing for state championships, only two have won state titles. Dunbar has won nine times, most recently in 2012, and Edmondson won in 2006. Of the 104 postseason wins by city football teams, the Poets have won half of them. Their 52 wins is the state record for playoff victories. Edmondson has 18 wins and Patterson has 10.

Still, several new teams have emerged to make the playoffs in recent years. Townsend turned Douglass into a state finalist in six years. The Ducks went to the Class 1A title game in 2013 and 2014 and narrowly missed the playoffs this year under new coach Alonzo Lee.

Townsend has Lewis undefeated and city Division I champions — the same way he began building Douglass. Although two city teams are guaranteed to reach the all-city 1A South region final, none is guaranteed to make it to the state final.

"I think it's really growing," said Smith, in his 10th season as Dunbar's coach. "We've got a lot of new faces around the city that's more inclined with learning the game a little more, doing what you have to do to win a state championship. It takes dedication and the kids buying into the system, and that's what those guys have done. The kids want to buy into how to get what they want to accomplish and the results are there. It's really good for the area and it's just a great time right now."

At Mervo and Lewis, Nixon and Townsend have their players dedicated to reaching the playoffs and playing well there.

Mervo's win over top-seeded and previously undefeated Sherwood was perhaps the biggest upset of the first round. The Mustangs began the season 1-2, but turned things around and earned the fourth seed in the 4A North by two one-hundredths of a point. They head to face No. 8 Howard on Friday night, marking the second straight year the two teams meet in the playoffs.

"I think what it says is that we play pretty good football, too," Nixon said of the win over Sherwood. "Sometimes we beat up on each other in the city and don't get credit for the battles. When we're paired up with other districts, we usually do well. Even though we lost (20-0), we played well against Howard last year and given the opportunity, we can play with anybody."

At Lewis, a couple players moved over from Douglass with Townsend, including senior quarterback Dariun Miller, who started in the state final with the Ducks as a sophomore. But much of the roster is home grown.

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The Reginald Lewis Falcons varsity football squad gathers on the field to practice for their upcoming appearance in the Class 1A South regional final. (Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun)

"This year has been the most exciting year," said junior wide receiver Kendall Wagner, who has been a Falcon for three years. "I couldn't wait to start the year. We knew Miller was coming over with Coach Elwood, so it was kind of like we've got to do something special here."

Wagner and running back Alfonzo Graham, a transfer from Ben Franklin, said Townsend expects a lot of hard work, but they've been pleased with the success — the first undefeated regular season in the school's 15 years of varsity football.

Miller, a soft-spoken young man who fit well with his new team, helped his teammates with the transition to Townsend's expectation of 100 percent dedication. Now, the quarterback tries to help his team put its success in perspective and stay focused on the ultimate prize as they take on Edmondson for the regional title Friday at 6 p.m. at Poly.

"I tell them, 'Y'all can't get too happy with winning,'" Miller said. "You've got to learn how to be humble, stay humble all the time. … When we're down there, we have to be focused on the game until it's 0:00 on the clock or we're not going to get that championship."

While Townsend has transformed two programs in the past nine years, he would like to see more city teams be competitive around the state. He said when it comes to the playoffs, you have to look at the bigger school classifications because having an all-city 1A South guarantees at least one state semifinalist.

Although some other jurisdictions have the same problem, he said scheduling can work against the city's bigger schools. Mervo is one of only two city 4A schools and because football teams earn more points toward the playoffs playing a bigger school, the Mustangs can be hurt because they have to play 3A, 2A and 1A teams. Sherwood, for example, played nine 4A teams and one 3A team, giving it a points advantage on Mervo with almost every win.

The city has nine 1A schools and 10 bigger schools, so Townsend said the same disadvantage can be true of 3A and 2A programs.

In the Class 2A North, Northwestern had the same record as fourth-seeded Overlea, 7-2, and more bonus points (for wins over teams with better records). However, Northwestern had five fewer win points than Overlea, because it played more small schools. Northwestern missed the playoffs by less than four-tenths of a point.

Of course, that's going to happen sometimes, Townsend said, but he and other city officials hope to adjust the schedule to maximize the chances for the city's bigger schools to make the playoffs when they have good records.

"I don't think we're as competitive as we can be in the 4A, 3A and 2A," he said. "Dunbar's done a really good job in the playoffs for 15 straight years. They went to the state championship the last year [Douglass] went and Edmondson's always been there. ... We've made some progress but not as much as we possibly could as compared to the other districts."

katherine.dunn@baltsun.com

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