Carroll County had a very successful year on the football field last year, with Westminster and South Carroll advancing to the Class 3A and 2A championship games, respectively, at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. Still, both teams lost to powers from Prince George?s County and came up short of their ultimate goal.
This still leaves Carroll County with no state football titles in any category since the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association football tournament began in 1974. By comparison, Prince George?s County owns 17 football crowns in the same 32-year period, including Gwynn Park and Potomac last year. Montgomery County has a whopping 41.
Prior to last season, Carroll County?s chances for a state championship had been few and far between. Westminster?s only previous championship game experience came in 1976. South Carroll advanced to the state semifinals on three separate occasions ? in 1980, 1983 and 2003. Also, North Carroll made the state semifinals in 1978, while Francis Scott Key reached the same mark in 1976.
Westminster coach Brad Wilson said he is optimistic that trend will end in the near future as the quality offootball in Carroll County continues to improve on an annual basis.
“There?s a lot of good football in Carroll County, which is part of the reason I came here,” said Wilson, who is in his third year at Westminster after spending most of his coaching career in Anne Arundel County. “There?s been a lot of coaching changes in recent years, which has forced kids to learn a number of different systems. I think if the coaches remain in place, the wins will come.”
Winters Mill coach Ken Johnson would like nothing more than to put together a playoff run like Westminster and South Carroll had in 2005. He said there is nothing any school can do to influence what type of players end up at those programs. The key to success, he said, is to manage what you can from within.
“You have to look at what your own team does because you can?t control what the opposition does,” said Johnson, who is in his fifth year coaching the Falcons.
Francis Scott Key coach Bill Hyson said he thinks his players and those around the county will prepare harder after seeing what happened last year.
“Success breeds success,” Hyson said. “The elevated level of competition has forced everyone to work that much harder.”
