As the “three-peat” chants filled Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Friday night in Annapolis, the inevitable was taking place.
Dr. Henry A. Wise High School of Prince George’s County defeated Montgomery County’s Quince Orchard 38-20 to capture its third consecutive Maryland 4A state championship.
Wise took control with a 25-point fourth quarter, led by John Oliver, who amassed 221 yards on 31 carries, and Florida State University commit Anthony Lytton Jr.
The Pumas have now won 42 consecutive games dating back to 2014.
Wise head coach DaLawn Parrish spoke highly of his team, addressing that although they accomplished their goal of retaining their title, the work doesn’t stop here.
“The 11-on-11 is over, but the work isn’t done,” he said. “We have ‘Q’ coming back, other players coming back and players moving up so for now we celebrate, but it’s back to the grind soon.”
“Q” — or Quinton Williams, the Pumas’ junior quarterback — racked up 227 all-purpose yards (179 passing, 48 rushing) in Friday’s win, shaking off two interceptions to lead the fourth-quarter comeback.
Despite the loss, the game was special for Quince Orchard quarterback Doc Bonner, as he was knocked out of the two teams’ previous matchup in the 2016 state final. Bonner accounted for 283 total yards (118 passing, 165 rushing) and two touchdowns, but came up short in the end.
Nevertheless, he was grateful to have finished the contest this go-around, calling the opportunity to play for Quince an honor.
“You see kids holding signs supporting us, people in the local stores supporting us,” Bonner said. “I’m proud to be a part of Quince Orchard.”
As Wise prepares for another title defense in 2018, the magnitude of their streak was put into perspective by Parrish, who said the end result of a championship is ultimately more important.
“We completed our mission, we made a goal at the beginning of the season to win another championship and we did,” Parrish said. “You can give me the chip, if we lose a game along the line, it’s OK. We’ve lost before, but now we’re prepared to win for a very long time.”
