Douglass Falls Short in State Title Game

Frederick Douglass High School's bid to capture its first ever state championship fell short Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

Middletown High School, of Frederick County, won the game with a resounding 43-6 victory over the Eagles in the Maryland 2A state championship game. The Knights were led by the three-headed monster of quarterback Michael Pritts, running back Zach Welch and wide receiver Ben Lewis.

The talented trio helped the Middletown offense account for nearly 350 yards rushing against Douglass.

Middletown, who suffered a disappointing 21-14 loss to McDonough in last year’s state title game, finished the 2011 campaign at 13-1.

“We were just really motivated,” said Lewis, who has verbally committed to Syracuse. “We really wanted a state championship obviously coming up short last year. [We were] really motivated to come back this year and bring it home.”

Middletown jumped out to a 16-0 lead before Douglass quarterback Taitor Reynolds Jr. connected with Kyle Smith on a 28-yard touchdown pass with 32 seconds left before intermission. Douglass opted to go for the two-point conversion but running back Emmanuel Smith failed to reach the end zone.

Middletown dominated the second half, outscoring the Eagles 27-0 en route to the state crown. Douglass finished the 2011 campaign at 11-3.

“I’m not a sore loser. I’m not going to make any excuses,” said Douglass head coach J.C. Pinkney, whose team was making its first state championship game appearance since 1975. “They flat out beat us ... and I’m happy for those guys and I’m happy for us as well. You know we’ll get back to grind and hopefully come back and get our first [state championship].”