St. Mary's Ryken wins WCAC football championship

By Ted Black, Southern Maryland News tblack@somdnews.com

Since the outset of the season the coaches and players on the St. Mary’s Ryken High School football team had set their sights on returning to the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Metro Division Championship game and regaining the title St. Paul VI Catholic High School had usurped the year before.

Last Saturday afternoon at the Prince George’s Sports & Learning Complex in a rematch of the two teams, St. Mary’s Ryken attained a genuine measure of revenge when the Knights upended the Panthers 43-6 to capture their second WCAC Metro title in the last three years.

One year after the Knights fell on a dreary, rainy night at the stadium, they set the tone Saturday early en route to a performance that mirrored the ideal conditions.

St. Mary’s Ryken (9-3) had defeated Paul VI by 48-14 six weeks earlier on the Knights’ homecoming then posted a pair of similar triumphs against Bishop O’Connell 49-0 and 56-12 in its league and postseason meetings. Nevertheless, Ryken had also defeated Paul VI narrowly in their league meeting one year ago only to watch the Panthers prevail in the WCAC title clash.

But through the early stages of last Saturday’s contest, Ryken began as if redemption was a foregone conclusion.

On the Knights’ second play from scrimmage, junior running back Malachi Milburn raced 56 yards for a touchdown, leaving several would-be tacklers in his wake. Fittingly, Milburn added another rushing touchdown moments later and a third in the fourth quarter to cap the lopsided victory.

“We wanted this from day one,” Milburn said. “We knew we had to get back here and win. It really didn’t matter who we played. Our focus was getting back here. This one means a lot. I still have one season left, so maybe we can get one more.”

SMR also displayed depth and balance throughout the contest, mirroring what it had accomplished all season. Junior quarterback Nicholas Reisinger completed three touchdown passes to three different targets, Milburn, Connor Todd and Christian Washington and kicker Jonathan Campbell connected on a 37-yard field goal in the second quarter.

“I think this one means a lot to me and to the seniors,” SMR coach Gary Wynn said. “Those guys started as sophomores and were part of that team when we won the WCAC Metro title. I’m happy for them that they get to go out with a win.”

While SMR had been virtually flawless in its unbeaten run through the WCAC Metro portion of its league schedule and postseason, the Knights also could boast of two close games against WCAC Capital Division foes. The Knights edged McNamara 28-21 and suffered a tough 27-21 setback to perennial power Good Counsel in another.