Eagles roll over rival Greyhounds

Ellis rushes for 4 TDs in McDonogh’s most lopsided victory in series since ’69

To McDonogh quarterback DeJuan Ellis, it mattered little that for the first time in years, there was no championship on the line in Saturday’s 101st meeting with archrival Gilman.

The Eagles’ first-year signal caller, who transferred to the Owings Mills school from Bishop O’Connell before this season, learned all he needed about the rivalry from teammates.

“They said to treat every Gilman game like a championship,” Ellis said, “and that’s exactly what it felt like.”

The Virginia Tech commit left little in the tank, rushing for 214 yards and four touchdowns, and throwing for 116 more yards, as No. 3 McDonogh rolled over host Gilman, 42-6, to give the Eagles their most lopsided victory in the series since 1969.

Running back Mylique McGriff added 97 rushing yards and a touchdown for the Eagles (8-3, 4-2 Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference), who still trail in the all-time series — the area’s second oldest, behind City-Poly — 60-36-5.

It was the first time in four years that the matchup didn’t decide the A Conference championship, since both teams already had been eliminated. Still, McDonogh coach Dom Damico said motivating his players wasn’t an issue.

“We’ve been playing for 101 years. We know this can make or break anyone’s season,” Damico said. “Even if both teams were 0-9 going in, it would be a hardfought game.”

Despite suffering through one of its most difficult seasons in recent history, the Greyhounds (2-9, 1-5) posed a stiff challenge early, limiting McDonogh’s running game and showing some spark on offense, led by junior quarterback Purnell Hill.

The game was scoreless through a quarter before the Eagles broke through when Ellis capped an 18-play drive with a 12-yard floater to Marquis Thornes.

The score was huge for a McDonogh team intent on not letting Gilman gain any early confidence.

“We told them that once they get the momentum and they feel like they belong in the game, they usually stay in the game,” Damico said. “So it was very important for us to get off to a strong start and make some big plays.”

Said McGriff: “We couldn’t really run the ball as much in the first half, but we got it going.”

Ellis later capped another long drive with a 1-yard run over the right side shortly before halftime, and added scoring runs of 6, 70 and 46 yards before being pulled late in the third quarter.

Ellis said the win meant more to him after learning about the importance of the rivalry.

“I just knew how exciting this game was. They told me how it was and how the crowd is,” Ellis said. “We just played our hearts out for our seniors.” M 0 14 21 G 0 0 0 M—Thornes 13 pass from Ellis (Beatty kick) M—Ellis 1 run (Beatty kick) M—Ellis 6 run (Beatty kick) M—Ellis 70 run (kick failed) M—Ellis 46 run (Ellis pass to Thornes) M—McGriff 40 run (Beatty kick) G—Schloeder 28 pass from Edmunds (no attempt) 7 6 — — 42 6