Coach: Pikesville Football Moving on from Mediocre Past

Since Jamie Willis took over as head football coach in 2008, Panthers assistant coach John Fontinell said he has seen the program, once mired in mediocrity, take progressive strides toward establishing itself as a viable contender in Class 1A.

According to Fontinell, Pikesville had posted just 11 winning records in 43 seasons prior to Willis’s arrival and had qualified for the playoffs only once.

Willis came to Pikesville “wanting to establish a winning tradition" and has succeeded, said Fontinell, who has been involved with the Panthers’ football program since 1994.

Not only have the Panthers posted winning records during two of their previous three seasons under Willis, but have also made the playoffs twice, even posting the program’s first-ever playoff victory.

Friday, Pikesville accomplished another first, beating county nemesis Randallstown High School for the first time in program history.

Prior to the victory, the , but rarely came close.

Randallstown, a consistent playoff contender for most of the last 40 years, had outscored Pikesville by a combined margin of 141-21 in the two teams’ previous four meetings.

Friday, though, the Panthers jumped out to an 18-point, first-half advantage before cruising to a 24-0 victory.

“It’s very satisfying to get this win,” Fontinell said. “Getting a win against Randallstown is a tremendous win for the program and is just another step in us continuing to change the culture of football at Pikesville.”

Like Fontinell, Willis was extremely excited to get the win.

“It’s huge for us,” Willis said, noting that he had used the Panthers’ unsuccessful history against Randallstown as a motivational tool with his players in the week leading up to the game.

After doing that, Willis said his team “came out fired up and ready to play.”

A week after Lansdowne, 22-6, Pikesville jumped out an early lead on the Rams.

Following a scoreless first quarter, the Panthers scored three touchdowns during the second quarter before adding another during the third.

Pikesville scored each of its four touchdowns on the ground. Running back Cameron Hurt rushed for two touchdowns while quarterback Julian Barnes and running back Travon Wright each ran for one.

As a team, the Panthers racked up 194 rushing yards. Wright led the way with 131 yards on 16 carries.

“They were able to spread us out and use their speed,” said Randallstown coach William Crawford.

Willis also credited Pikesville’s defense, which notched the team’s first shutout since 2009.

Among others, Willis praised the play of Tyrone Brown, Devante Morgan, Myles Parham, Brian Stevenson and Yazid Trice.

“The defense played very well,” Willis said, adding that “that’s probably the most physical that we’ve played as a team in the four years that I’ve been at Pikesville.”

Now, though, Fontinell hopes the Panthers can build on the momentum from the win. They travel to face St. Vincent Pallotti in Laurel on Friday at 7 p.m.

“We’re really excited as a program,” Fontinell said, “but we still also want to keep getting better on both sides of the ball.”