MIAA Conference A vs. B

By: Keith Mills

The MIAA B Conference football league has evolved into one of the most competitive in the state. Year after year, the majority of the nine teams play close, tough games usually decided by a touchdown or less. This year there are two unbeaten teams in league play (Archbishop Spalding, 4-0, and St. Mary's, 2-0) and another three (St. Paul's, Archbishop Curley and Boys' Latin) still in the hunt.

However, as solid and competitive as the B league has been, it's still the MIAA A Conference that remains the class of the area.

Five of the nine B Conference teams this year are playing at least two A Conference teams and the A teams have yet to lose a game. And in many cases the games have not been close. Gilman's 55-19 win last Friday over Archbishop Spalding raised the A league's overall record against the B to 9-0. Only St. Mary's, a 23-20 loser to Georgetown Prep, and Archbishop Curley, a 28-14 loser to McDonogh earlier in the year able to keep the game within two touchdowns.

The difference in the two leagues isn't so much a difference in coaching or style of play, but rather in the number of quality football players the schools attract. Gilman and Archbishop Spalding are both well-coached teams; but the Greyhounds exposed a huge difference in the number of bigger, stronger and faster players.

The depth of talent in the A league makes it difficult for the B Conference teams to compete at that level. It has been that way since the days of the old MSA A Conference, when select private and public schools such as Loyola, Poly, Gilman, Northwestern, Calvert Hall and Loyola consistantly battled for league championships and area superiority. McDonogh and Mount St. Joseph often rotated between the B and A leagues as did Archbishop Curley, though both McDonogh and Mount St. Joe both spent a lot of time in the A Conference several years ago.

Spalding has won the last two B Conference championships under coach Mike Whittles, finishing unbeaten last year, and there has been a lot of talk about the Cavaliers moving into the A league. Their freshman program is thriving and their junior varsity is bursting at the seams in regards to numbers. But last week's loss to Gilman proved the Cavs are right where they belong.

The same with Archbishop Curley and Boys' Latin. Sean Murphy has done a tremendous job rebuilding the Friars program. They spent the last two years in the A league struggling. They dropped back into the B league this year and are 3-1 in the conference and a contender for the championship.

Under Ritchie Schell, Boys' Latin has enjoyed tremendous success in the B league, winning the title three years ago and playing for the championship two years ago. But in their first of two games against A league teams, the Lakers lost to Loyola, 49-7.

What does it mean? Despite an influx of good coaching and more quality players, the B league is still a notch below the A. And that's OK. The B Conference remains competitive and the perfect fit for hundreds of outstanding area football players who may not be quite big enough or fast enough to take the week-in, week-out pounding of the A league but are still good athletes who play the game the right way.

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One footnote to the Gilman-Spalding game. Spalding senior defensive tackle Brandon Matter broke his leg early in the third quarter and will miss the rest of the season. Matter is one of the more interesting young players in the area.

His mother owns a health club/spa in Severn that many of the Ravens visit and have visited over the years. Matter has become good friends with many of the Ravens, including Jon Ogden, Ray Lewis, Haloti Ngata and former Ravens Edwin Mulitalo and Adalius Thomas.

One of the area's best defensive linemen, Matter is being recruited by Boston College and Wake Forest.

Posted October 18, 2007