You might be surprised to read this, but after his players and coaches and their families, three of the people that Dunbar football coach Lawrence Smith thanked for the Poets' 14-0 season, which culminated Saturday with a 58-34 win over Allegany in the state 1A championship game, were the coaches of his chief rivals.

"When you play against (Poly coach) Roger Wrenn and (City coach) George Petrides, they prepare you for games like this," said Smith after the Allegany game. "These folks from out of town talk about their line play, but when City and now Poly, who run the same offense (as Allegany), but with an athlete in the backfield, it's going to prepare you for this."

Smith continued: "That's why our kids never put their heads down, because when you play against Edmondson (coached by Dante Jones), City and Poly and schools like that, with the running back that Edmondson and Poly have and the quarterback that Poly and Edmondson and City have, when you get to this level, it's like slow motion for our kids.

"That's just the way it is. You can say what you want about Baltimore City football, but one thing we have is athletes. And we have some hell of a good group of coaches."

After Saturday, it's safe to say you can add one more to that list.