A steady, chilly December rain fell as hearty Douglass fans shivered in the M&T Bank Stadium stands Saturday night, but Douglass defensive coordinator Bill Johnson paced the sideline in shorts. He has done that for more than 30 years now, a recognizable fixture on one of the state’s most annually successful and well-respected programs.
Working closely with the head coach he chose to replace him in that position, J.C. Pinkney, Johnson has endured the chill of 12 straight seasons of playoff games with legs bare. None of them — and none of the decades of Douglass football seasons before his time — had concluded with a state title.
But at Maryland’s 2A state championship, No. 3 Douglass finally made the leap, transforming from annual contender to state champion, shutting out Dunbar, 38-0. Lifted by the most dominant defense Johnson and Pinkney have ever coached, Douglass finished a perfect season as it started it: with a shutout, its eighth of the perfect 14-win season.
“I have to go look at the trophy to make sure it’s real when we get back on the bus and head back to Upper Marlboro,” Johnson said. “We had Douglass alumni drive several states to be here today. This means just as much to those guys over 30-some years.”
As the first quarter churned away, Baltimore’s Dunbar (10-4) looked like it might be an exception. No player — let alone an entire offense of them — had managed consistent escapes from the Douglass defense, which never yielded more than 19 points this season. But Dunbar quarterback Zionnez Spencer had slipped away again and again to earn his Poets an early first and goal.
Then the Eagles defense looked offended by Dunbar’s proximity. Linemen Amir Fenwick and Glenwood Williams stifled Dunbar’s tries. The Poets did not score, and they never came close again.
Quinton Jordan intercepted a pass that ensured Dunbar would end the first half without a point.
As the defense dominated, Pinkney’s triple-option offense exploded. Akiva Wedge broke away for a 43-yard score on the Eagles’ second play from scrimmage.
Mikale Makle burst 55 yards to set up a second score. Wedge finished with 147 yards rushing, and Makle 123.
“I was shedding tears on the field,” Makle said. “It just feels great to be the best, and we can finally say we are the best. That was the goal, and we finally accomplished it.”
Then Spencer was carted off the field with an injury. Douglass knelt to pray for him. The Eagles defenders stood, clapped, and hollered well-wishes as the cart drove off — a trademark of Douglass football as recognizable as even Johnson’s shorts, the devastating defense and the powerful triple-option.
So the Eagles’ third state championship appearance in four years yielded the first title in school history. Their 173 points in the playoffs were the most ever scored by a 2A team in a postseason. They won 14 games by an average of 40 points. The Eagles forced a running clock midway through the fourth quarter, their 13th running clock in 14 games.
“For whatever reason the sun shined on us every weekend, and they continued to play extremely hard,” Pinkney said. “It was probably one of the most dominant seasons I could imagine.”
