Maryland's top football conferences to do battle in I-95 Kickoff Classic

Inaugural event pits MIAA's best against WCAC's best.

Football is a game of yards. Yet, in some cases it's only a matter of miles that separate the schools that make up Maryland’s two strongest football leagues -- the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association and the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference.

Wes Brown has been coveted since he was freshman.

Photo by Michael Starghill

On Labor Day weekend those miles will become yards when schools from each conference compete in the inaugural I-95 Kick Off Classic on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 3-4. The event will be held at Johnny Unitas Stadium on the Towson University Campus.

"We wanted to put something out there to highlight the power that we have as high school football in the state," said event organizer Tony Kennedy, who played at Bladensburg in the late 1980s before going on to a stellar career at Virginia Tech. 

Defending WCAC conference champion Our Lady of Good Counsel, No. 14 in the MaxPreps Preseason Top 25 Xcellent rankings, will play against MIAA defending champion Gilman in the event's feature game Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Good Counsel junior running back Wes Brown, who began receiving scholarship offers as a freshman, returns to anchor a solid offensive backfield. He'll run through holes created by offensive linemen Ryan Watson (6-3, 250) and Michael Madaras (6-6, 250) as the Falcons hope to make it two wins in a row over Gilman following last year's 49-37 victory.

"Gilman is a good team with good people," said Counsel head coach Bob Milloy, who will begin his 10th season on the Falcons’ sideline when the team travels to Cincinnati to open its season against St. Xavier Aug. 29. "We played Gilman last year for the first time and somehow outlasted them, so this should be a good football game.

"We have been playing against MIAA teams, so we are very familiar with the conference's teams. They are good coaches and good football teams. We are really looking forward to this event."

Kennedy said he has dreamed of putting an event like this together since he played in the 1987 Maryland State Youth Football Jamboree. He'll watch his dream unfold on the field when the first game of the I-95 Kick Off Classic commences that Friday night, featuring the WCAC's Gonzaga squaring off against the MIAA's McDonogh at 7 p.m.

"We are ecstatic to be playing on the opening night of the classic," Gonzaga coach Aaron Brady said. "It will be a great opportunity for our kids to showcase their talent on a big stage and under the Friday-night lights."

The Classic, which is being organized by Extra Point Productions, continues Saturday when Bishop McNamara plays Mount St. Joseph at 10:30 a.m., followed by Archbishop Spalding vs. Calvert Hall at 1:30 p.m. and DeMatha against Loyola Blakefield at 4:30 p.m.

Kennedy said it was tough determining which teams from the two conferences would participate because existing contracts had to be considered. The top four WCAC teams from 2009 are participating as are three of the top four MIAA teams. The lone MIAA Varsity B school participating, Archbishop Spalding, finished with an 8-1 record last year.

The Classic might be the only way to consistently pit the members of these two powerhouse conferences against each other in the near future. While there had been talk of a merger between the conferences in 2011, according to MIAA executive director Rick Diggs, it doesn’t appear that will happen.

"The merger would have needed a unanimous vote from all 'A' Conference directors of athletics before being presented to the Heads of School for final approval," Diggs said in an e-mail. "There was no overwhelming reason, but just a number of issues that led to the less-than-unanimous vote."

Kennedy anticipates the Labor Day weekend event will continue to grow and is currently in talks with the coaches and athletic directors from each conference about the future. He also hopes to add a more national flair by extending invitations to some of the powerhouse teams from Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and New Jersey to compete against the top local teams.

"It's great exposure for the players," said Kennedy, who also co-founded the Chesapeake Bowl and is director of football operations for the Maryland Crab Bowl. "The timing is critical and this allows college coaches to come see the top-ranked players in the area all on one stage."

Tickets for the Saturday games are $11 for all four games and can be purchased at www.I95kickoffclassic.com. Tickets for Friday night’s opening game can be purchased through the individual schools’ ticket offices or at the gate.

Jon Buzby is the sports columnist for the Newark Post, a freelance writer, and occasional color commentator for the 1290am The Ticket High School Football Game of the Week. You can reach him at jonbuzby@hotmail.com .