It’s that time of year again: Dunbar football is on the march.

The three-time defending Class 2A/1A state champions dominated both lines and made big plays when called on Saturday against visiting Fallston, claiming a 36-0 win in the quarterfinal round. Now 12-0, the No. 4 Poets will take on the Frederick-Liberty winner in next week’s semifinal round either Friday or Saturday.

In advancing Saturday, the Poets got touchdown runs from Cordae James, Cole Floyd, Normauri Johnson and quarterback Savion Witherspoon, who also threw a 35-yard strike to Jalen Gause.“If we can control the line of scrimmage, we feel we can play our game,” Dunbar coach Michael Carter said. “So that was the main thing, us controlling the line of scrimmage, being able to run the ball and keep Savion on his feet. So that was all good.”

Throughout the game, the Poets’ offense was able to sustain drives, mostly with quality execution on third down. But it was a fourth-down play in the closing seconds of the first half that summed up the outcome.

Already leading 14-0 with 14 seconds left in the second quarter and facing a fourth-and-18 on the Fallston 35, Witherspoon had a lengthy scramble to keep the play alive before heaving a pass to the end zone for Gause. It sent the Poets into the halftime break with a 20-0 lead, and they never looked back.

Defensively, the Poets got an interception from Samuel Eades and a fumble recovery from Eli Turpin. The special teams also blocked an early field goal try from Fallston, which finished the season with a 7-4 mark.

Although they were able to enjoy some quality drives of their own behind a gutsy performance by sophomore quarterback Mike Griffin, the Cougars were unable to close out any series. On defense, linebacker Evan Alcide had a strong day that included two fumble recoveries.

Fallston came into Saturday on a three-game winning streak, reaching the state quarterfinals for a second straight season.

“Our guys are tough. This is probably the state champion we ran into,” Fallston coach Keith Robinson said. “Ultimately, they were just bigger, stronger, faster that us, but I’m proud of the way our guys played.”

For the Poets, more good news came Thursday when it was announced that three-star offensive tackle Joshua Blackston, who was his usual dominant self Saturday, became the first football player from Baltimore City public schools to be named an Under Armour All-American.

During practice, the 6-foot-5, 275-pound Rutgers commit got a monumental surprise when Under Armour representatives presented him with an All-America Game jersey as his parents, teammates and coaches were on hand to celebrate the special occasion. He’s proud to be able to represent Baltimore in the 2025 Under Armour All-America Game, set to take place Jan. 2 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.

“It’s a privilege to be the first Baltimore City public school athlete to be selected,” he said. “For me, it’s a blessing that I can be the leader of that, to put on for my city and showcase the talent that Baltimore City public schools specifically produce.”

Milford Mill 42, Easton 7: The nasty cold and rain nor Easton’s defense could slow down Milford Mill, which claimed a thorough win Friday night over the visiting Warriors in the Class 2A state quarterfinals. The No. 9 Millers (10-1) will next host Huntingtown, a 35-0 winner over New Town, in next Friday’s semifinals.

With the difficult weather conditions, Milford Mill coach Reggie White told his offensive line before the game that it would have to take on the lead role. After the dominant victory, kudos came from the coaching staff. The Millers pounded out 250-plus yards on the ground with rushing touchdowns from running backs Damon Ferguson, Jamal Epps and Dejuan Nelson.

The Millers got the opening kickoff and needed four plays to complete an 80-yard drive, capped by Ferguson breaking free down the left sideline for a 50-yard score. A 22-yard touchdown run by Epps on the Millers’ next possession made it 13-0.

After the Warriors (8-4) got a 40-yard run from quarterback Mikey O’Connor, the Millers’ defense got two points on a safety and then closed the first half by getting touchdown runs from Nelson and Ferguson for a 29-7 halftime lead. Nelson’s 82-yard scamper with 3:06 to play in the fourth quarter made it 42-7 to prompt a running clock.

The Millers’ defense did its part with cornerback Koby Sarkodie recovering a fumble that led to Epps’ touchdown run in the first quarter. Late in the third quarter, safety James Gamble had an interception.

Despite the limited air game, quarterback Owen Newberns connected with wide receiver Romero Ison on a 34-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. The Millers are one win away from playing for another state title, having won the big game in 2022.

Perry Hall 39, Thomas Wootton 2: When a play needed to be made, Perry Hall senior Corey Costner was there to make it in the Gators’ 39-2 victory Friday over Thomas Wootton in the Class 4A/3A state quarterfinals.

Costner scored on touchdown passes of 36 and 33 yards from quarterback Terrell Hearn and on runs of 96 and 37 yards. He totaled 229 yards from scrimmage — 162 on the ground and 67 through the air.

The victory sends the Gators (9-2) to the state semifinals next Friday, where they will host North Point, which shut out Old Mill.

On a cold, drizzly night, the Gators’ shotgun formation was affected the most as they had six plays total a loss of 38 yards because of problems with the snap and securing the ball. Without that lost yardage, the Gators gained 354 rushing yards and 80 passing yards. Running back Cam Scott ran for 119 yards on 10 carries and Hearn had five attempts for 81 yards.

— Craig J. Clary

Mervo 46, Frederick 26: Regardless of the situation he found himself in, Mervo coach Patrick Nixon went back to the basics and put his faith in a simple, effective and explosive option: quarterback Davon Smith Jr.

Taking on challengers from all angles, the defending Class 4A/3A state champions relied on Smith and he took care of business in the state quarterfinals, scoring four times to lead Mervo to a 46-26 victory over Frederick on Friday night. The win puts Mervo back in the state semifinals, where it will host Leonardtown next week at a time to be announced.

The Mervo offense was more than pretty — it was perfect early on. Smith led the Mustangs on three straight touchdown drives to open the game.

Smith and running back Kaden Foster shared the workload on the ground, each scoring on impressive touchdown runs before Cleveland Deshields punched in the third score from 15 yards out to finish off the perfect start.

— Timothy Dashiell

Broadneck 24, Northwest 14: Broadneck quarterback CJ Watkins passed off to his running back, Ian Mauldin, more than he typically would this fall. Mauldin made good use of it, running in a touchdown in a Class 4A state quarterfinal against Northwest and setting up three other scores.

That choice cloaked Watkins from Northwest’s gaze on two key fourth downs. One, 28 yards from the Jaguars’ end zone with a few minutes left. Broadneck only led the visitors by a field goal at that point, but one more Bruins touchdown would all but seal another win. Watkins called for the snap and faked a pass to Mauldin. The running back jutted forward and a mass of Jaguars collapsed into him — leaving Watkins alone. Two plays later, Watkins shot out of the pocket, skimmed the right sideline and barreled into the end zone, leading to the final score.

From when Mauldin put on his Cape youth football jersey, he dreamed of what he’d be able to do for Broadneck. Now, he and his fellow seniors can walk off their field for the last time knowing that in 24 home games, they never lost. The last team to beat Broadneck (11-1) on its field was Spalding in 2021, when all the current seniors played JV.

The running back didn’t have the state quarterfinal last year he’d hoped to when Northwest corralled him and the Bruins offense to 14 rushing yards. But this was his last game on Broadneck turf. Mauldin eclipsed 14 within the first quarter on Friday. By game’s end, he totaled 119 yards on 27 carries.

— Katherine Fominykh

Oakland Mills 31, Atholton 0: Oakland Mills football considers itself a family. Leading up to Friday night’s Class 3A state quarterfinal against Atholton, the Scorpions preached the importance of everyone doing their job and leaning on one another.

That mentality yielded great results as the No. 4 seed Scorpions dominated the No. 5 seed Raiders in all three phases, leading to a 31-0 win.

Oakland Mills (11-1) secured the program’s sixth state semifinal berth and first since 2021. The Scorpions will face top-seed Linganore, which defeated No. 8 seed Bel Air, 34-14, next Friday.

In a battle between high-octane rushing attacks, Oakland Mills set the tone on the game’s opening drive. The Scorpions engineered an 80-yard touchdown drive that took nearly eight minutes off the clock. Ramsey capped it off with his first of four touchdowns on the evening.

— Jacob Steinberg

Perryville 27, Patterson Mill 2: Rain that turned to snow and back to rain again persisted throughout Friday night in Perryville. Coaches and reserves on the sidelines draped themselves in coats and wool blankets to escape it. Both teams aptly prepared for the conditions, ready to keep the ball on the ground as much as possible.

These elements would typically lean in the favor of Patterson Mill. Its Wing-T, run-centered offense can be a nightmare for some defenses. But not Perryville’s. The Panthers’ balanced offense instead thrived Friday, and its defense held Patterson Mill out of the end zone in a 27-2 win in the Class 1A state quarterfinals.

Results elsewhere in the 1A bracket will give fourth-seeded Perryville a home semifinal game next week against Fort Hill.

Quarterback Joey Thomason threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score. Running back Jordon Jones ran for a touchdown and took a dump-off from Thomason 21 yards for his second score to cap the victory.

— Taylor Lyons