Football: Resilient Indians Fall Just Short of First State Title

BALTIMORE — Wilde Lake came into Thursday's Class 3A final fully aware of what Franklin had done in its last two games.

But unlike the Indians' last two opponents, the Wildecats refused to allow Franklin to claw back from a late deficit, holding on for a 21-14 victory to secure their first state championship since 1997.

The Indians had erased late 14-point deficits in each of their previous two games, beating North Harford, 28-21, in the 3A North final and Huntingtown, 15-14, in last week's 3A state semifinal.

"That's all we talked about, that we can't allow them to come back," Wilde Lake running back/linebacker Edward Gilman said after the game. "But I'm just so happy [we held on] and we're extremely happy to bring this state title back to Wilde Lake."

Yet with just more than two minutes left in the game, it looked like possibly more of the same from the resilient Indians.

Despite struggling offensively for much of the second half, quarterback Joey Dorsey connected with receiver Ian Thomas for a 22-yard touchdown, trimming the Wildecats lead to 21-14.

But Wilde Lake was able to recover the ensuing onside kick and proceed to run out the clock, effectively closing the door on a potential third straight comeback for Franklin.

"We've become known as a team that can come back in the final minutes," Indians running back/safety Mark Venable said. "Today, we just fell short."

Venable led Franklin with 69 yards on 18 carries, also adding a 34-yard catch during the fourth quarter. Dorsey, meanwhile, tallied 169 yards and two touchdowns through the air – both to Thomas – but also coughed up two interceptions, including one late in the second quarter that led to an 8-yard scoring pass from Khalil Viera to Eron Pruitt which gave the Wildecats a 13-7 lead going into the half.

Viera reeled off a 36-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter, breaking several tackles along the way, to extend Wilde Lake's lead to 21-7.

The Wildecats racked up 228 yards on the ground. Viera had a team-high 121 on 19 carries and Gilman added another 74 on 18 carries. Gilman also produced Wilde Lake's first score on a 3-yard run early in the first quarter.

The loss is a disappointing end to a breakthrough season for the Indians, who were playing in their first state championship since 1978, but were in search of the first state title in school history.

"The outcome wasn't what we wanted," Franklin coach Anthony Burgos said. "But we were resilient and kept pushing and pushing, like we had all season. Unfortunately this game, as opposed to the last two, we just ran out of time. It was very close to a real storybook ending."