Douglass High Prepares For Big Game

Frederick Douglass High School will battle Middletown for the Maryland 2A State Football Championship tomorrow afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. Both programs are looking to make school history as neither team has ever captured a state championship in the sport.

“It would mean a lot for these guys,” said Middletown head coach Kevin Lynott, “just as it would for Frederick Douglass.”

The Middletown Knights lost to McDonough in last year’s 2A state championship and were focused on getting back to the title game.

“They just did everything in their power to get back here,” said Lynott, whose team boasts a 12-1 mark entering Saturday’s contest.

The Knights are led this season by quarterback Michael Pritts, along with running back Zach Welch and wide receiver Ben Lewis. Pritts, a senior, is not only a talented passer but he’s also a threat to run once he has the ball in his hands. He’s thrown for over 1,100 yards and scored seven touchdowns through the air.

Defensively, the Knights have defensive linemen Nate McCartney and Nick Rabat, along with linebacker Collin Delauter.

Meanwhile, the Frederick Douglass Eagles (11-2) will be making their first appearance in a state title game since 1975. Douglass is led by the backfield tandem of Emmanuel Smith and Josef Hinnant, who combined for over 200 yards and three touchdowns in the state semifinal victory over Kent Island.

Hinnant finished with 130 yards on 16 carries, and scored on a 9-yard run in the first quarter, before adding a 4-yard run in the fourth quarter. Smith finished with 103 yards on eight carries and registered an 84-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

Hinnant has rushed for over 1,200 yards and scored 15 touchdowns this season and Smith has been an integral part of the offense since his return from a broken arm.

“They’ve been consistent,” Douglass head coach J.C. Pinkney said about his dynamic duo. “It’s been a 1-2 punch type of deal.”

Still, the Eagles have their work cut out for them, facing one of Frederick County’s top programs. The Knights have won 19 Monocacy Valley Athletic League championships and made five state championship game appearances in program history.

Both programs, however, seek an elusive state title but only one team will leave Baltimore with a state championship trophy.

Pinkney is hopeful his team can finally break through the glass ceiling.

“It would mean a lot,” he said. “The community has been behind us one hundred percent.”