2023 Football State Finals Recap

Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis played host once again to the 2023 MPSSAA Football State Championships on November 30 - December 2.  Six games were played across the three days.  See below for game notes.

  • Four games were decided by less than 10 points.
  • Of the 12 teams competing in the final games of the six classifications, five were returning to the championship game from 2022 (North Point, Oakdale, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Fort Hill, and Mountain Ridge).
  • Three teams fought their way to the final game after very long absences:  Broadneck (2003 Finalist), Huntingtown (2012 Finalist), and Calvert (2000 Champion). Broadneck and Huntingtown were hoping to win their first championship, while Calvert won their only title in their only final prior to this season.
  • Five teams entered the championship game undefeated (North Point, Oakdale, Stephen Decatur, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and Fort Hill). Five teams only had one loss on their records (Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr., Mergenthaler Vo-Tech, Linganore, Calvert, Mountain Ridge).
  • Four teams remained undefeated (Oakdale, Stephen Decatur, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and Fort Hill).
  • Two teams completed a 3-Peat (Paul Laurence Dunbar and Fort Hill). This is not the first time these schools have won more than two titles in a row. Dunbar had 3-Peats two other times (2006-2008 and 2010-2012) and Fort Hill won four in a row from 2013-2016. Both are in the double digits for overall football state championships with Dunbar at 13 and Fort Hill at 10. This is Fort Hill's 8th title in the last 10 seasons.
  • One team won their first state championship (Stephen Decatur). This was also the Seahawks' first state final.

 

State Championship Results

The Class 3A and Class 4A/3A games were played in extreme fog, making it difficult to take accurate statistics from the press box. On-field statistics had to be requested from teams.
 
Class 1A
FORT HILL defeated Mountain Ridge 45-21
 
Class 2A/1A
PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR defeated Calvert 8-0
 
Class 2A
STEPHEN DECATUR defeated Huntingtown 21-13
 
Class 3A
OAKDALE defeated Linganore 42-35
 
Class 4A/3A
MERGENTHALER VO-TECH defeated North Point 14-7
* Requests for team statistics were not returned.
 
Class 4A
DR. HENRY A. WISE JR. defeated Broadneck 21-0
 
 

JOHN H. COX SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD:  STEPHEN DECATUR SEAHAWKS

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