Football By The Numbers: Week 13
After a long fall with lots of surprises, the state finals at M&T Bank Stadium are here. Local fans anticipate the matchups between No. 6 Franklin and No. 9 Wilde Lake in the Class 3A final Thursday at 7 p.m., and between No. 12 Dunbar and Havre de Grace in the Class 1A final Saturday at noon, as well as undefeated Urbana vs. Wise in Class 4A Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Middletown vs.McDonough in Class 2A, the tournament finale Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Here are some numbers that stand out from the state semifinals, the Turkey Bowl and the state tournament record book:
0
Time left after Mark Venable scored the game-winning touchdown in Franklin’s 15-14 win over Huntingtown Friday.
0
Defending champions returning to the finals after last year’s Class 2A champ Eastern Tech fell to Middletown Friday.
1
State finalist back from last year – Wise in Class 4A.
1
No. 4 seed left among the state finalists – Wilde Lake, which knocked off the No. 1 team in the state as ranked by MDVarsity .com, undefeated Damascus, 21-14, Friday.
2 I
Interceptions for Wilde Lake’s Nick Pelletier in the win over Damascus.
3
State finalists that have never won a championship – Franklin, Middletown and Wise.
5
Turnovers for Damascus – two converted by Wilde Lake in the victory.
5:43
Time needed for Franklin to score 15 points and come from 14 points down to nip Huntingtown on a buzzer-beating touchdown run.
6
Least number of points allowed by any team in the playoffs since the three-game playoff system began in 1985 – by Wilde Lake in 1997.
12
Longest winning streak among the state finalists by Urbana and Wise. No. 12 Dunbar has won 11 in a row.
12
Record for most state championships held by Seneca Valley, which won its last title in 2002.
21
Total state championships won by this season’s finalists – Dunbar, six; Wilde Lake, five; Urbana, four; Havre de Grace and McDonough, three each.
24
Straight years the team scoring first has won the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Bowl until No. 1 Calvert Hall ended the run last week, coming from 6-0 down to beat Loyola, 41-13.
28
Years since MIAA A Conference champ Calvert Hall has won a league title. The Cardinals won the MSA A Conference in 1982.
35
State playoff wins in the history of Dunbar’s program – the most by any team in the finals. Wilde Lake is second with 24 and Havre de Grace, third with 22. Seneca Valley has a state-record 41.
41
Consecutive points scored by Calvert Hall in the 41-13 Turkey Bowl romp over Loyola.
66
Offensive plays run by Eastern Tech Friday night – 27 more than Middletown – but the Mavericks scored their only points with four seconds left in a 20-6 Knights victory.
92
Most points ever scored by two teams in a state championship game – Dunbar’s 58-34 win over Allegany in 2007.
186
Most points ever scored by one team in postseason – by Dunbar in 2007.
289
Yards gained by Havre de Grace’s Michael Kelly, who scored three touchdowns in the 34-14 win over Brunswick.
1997
The only year all four state champions were undefeated – Seneca Valley, Wilde Lake, Fort Hill and Hereford.
10,967
Fans at this year's Turkey Bowl at M&T Bank Stadium.
• Many thanks to Sheldon Shealer, who compiles state records for the MPSSAA, for the state tournament records listed here. For more state football records, go to MPSSAA.org and click on Record Book.
