Warriors Defeated at State Championship, Sentinels Claim Fourth Consecutive Title

The Havre de Grace High School Warriors played mightily in the MPSSAA 1A state football championship but for the second year in a row, the team was defeated by the unrelenting Fort Hill Sentinels.

The score was closer this year, testament to progress the team has made. In 2015, the Sentinels beat the Warriors, 44-14. At the end of Saturday's game at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Havre de Grace narrowed the margin to 35-14.

The Cumberland team has claimed the MPSSAA 1A football title now for four consecutive years.

The only other Maryland high school football team to win four state titles in a row is Urbana (1998-2001), according to Cumberland radio station WCBC, which reported Fort Hill returned home Saturday with a police escort in its honor.

Havre de Grace had its own celebration, before the team left the city — there was a 12:30 p.m. rally on Juniata Street before sendoff for the 3:30 p.m. game, and the city lit up its downtown street lamps maroon and white in support of the Warriors this weekend.

Warriors coach Brian Eberhardt told The Baltimore Sun his team would have to play "just about a perfect football game" in order to come out on top over Fort Hill, and at the end of the day, he said he was "extremely proud" of his team, which had already achieved a great accomplishment in making it to the state championship given that 15 players from last year's team had graduated.

PREVIOUS REPORT — As the Warriors prepare for the state championship MPSSAA game, the city is showing its support of the Havre de Grace High School football team.

A rally is planned for the Warriors at 12:30 p.m. Saturday on Juniata Street. In attendance will be the Susquehanna Hose Company.

The city of Havre de Grace also lit up downtown maroon and white for the Warriors, effective until Sunday.

The 2016 state football final will be at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 10, at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. For the state 1A title, Havre de Grace will take on Fort Hill, battling the Sentinels for the second year in a row.

In 2015 the Warriors met the Fort Hill Sentinels in the state championship, which the Cumberland team has claimed now for three consecutive years. Last year the Sentinels beat the Warriors, 44-14.

Related: Warriors Head for State Championship After 1A Playoff Win