November 23, 2017

Clash of the Champions: Everything you need for Damascus-Walkersville

Left to right: Damascus' Bryan Bresee, Damascus coach Eric Wallich, Walkersville's Jacob Wetzel and Walkersville coach Joe Polce. Illustration by Kyle McFadden/MSA.

WHAT: Damascus (11-0) vs. Walkersville (11-0) for the MPSSAA Class 2A West region championship

WHERE: Damascus High School

WHEN: 7 p.m. kickoff; gates open at 5 p.m.

RADIO: 1450AM The Source

STATE POLL: No. 3 Damascus, No. 4 Walkersville

USA TODAY RANKINGS: No. 4 Walkersville, No. 10 Damascus

CAPSULE: Damascus, which last lost in the 2014 3A state final game against Franklin, enters Friday night’s tilt riding a 39-game winning streak and haven’t lost at home since 2013. Walkersville, meanwhile, carries a 25-game winning streak and like Damascus, hasn’t lost since a state title game (2015 2A state final versus Patuxent). Both teams run the ball 90 percent of the time with a heavy dosage of Power I and Jet sets. The last time the two played was in the 1992 state title game. Damascus won, 12-7, but Walkersville won the first meeting, 30-16, in 1987. They, too, won the championship that year. 

DAMASCUS IMPACT PLAYERS: DE Bryan Bresee (5-star recruit and No. 1 player nationally in the Class of 2020; holds offers from Alabama, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Penn State, among others), RB Gage Dickens (517 yards and 11 touchdowns in 49 carries), RB/LB Ben Lokos (250 yards and four touchdowns in 13 carries), RB/LB T.D. Ayo-Durojaiye (670 yards and 13 touchdowns in 60 carries) OT/DE Jordan Funk (Army West Point commit), C Max Hoffman, OG Sean Rodgers (three-year varsity player), OG/DT J.C. Philbin (three-year varsity player), OT/DT Michael Jurgens (Wake Forest commit), WR/DB Javier Smith (three-year varsity player), TE/LB Matt Betterelli (three-year varsity player; team-leaded five receptions, 69 yards and a touchdown), WR/DB/KR Dustin Kitzmiller (team-leader in receptions, 5, and receiving yards, 105)

WALKERSVILLE IMPACT PLAYERS: RB/SS/KR Jacob Wetzel (1,055 yards and 18 rushing touchdowns on 94 carries; three interceptions and a touchdown, plus a kick return for a score), OL/DT Ethan Parrish (three-year varsity starter; college prospect); FB/MLB Christian Policelli (team-high 81 tackles, nine tackles for loss; 613 yards and nine touchdowns on 61 carries; 43.3 yards per punt), RB/DB Ty Littleton (615 yards and 13 touchdowns on 109 carries; nine tackles for loss), FB/MLB Tyler Gleason (56 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, two sacks; 313 yards and seven touchdowns on 13 carries, team-high 14.2 yards per rush), WR/FS Josh Polce (496 yards and seven touchdowns on 35 receptions; two interceptions), WR/DB Hunter Cleaver (182 yards and one touchdown on eight receptions; two interceptions and one touchdown), DL Alonso Hoes (43 tackles), WR/DB Aaron Jahnke (37 tackles, two interceptions, one touchdown), TE/DE Jerimiah Sweet (33 tackles, team-high 4.5 sacks)

USA TODAY SCORE PREDICTOR: Walkersville 28, Damascus 21

 

PREGAME READING:

Q&A: Previewing Damascus-Walkersville with Wootton offensive coordinator Chris Papadopoulos

Damascus faces legacy-cementing, heavyweight bout with Walkersville

Don’t underestimate ‘Zeus’: Jacob Wetzel leads Walkersville into hyped bout against Damascus

About Kyle McFadden 350 Articles

Kyle McFadden is a graduate from Linganore High School’s Class of 2014, a sports junkie and general news-hound. He got his start as a sports writer in January 2014 for Linganore’s student-run newspaper The Lance, where he wrote 13 articles.

McFadden then launched his own blog in October 2014 called The Beltway Dispatch covering collegiate, local high school and professional sports. Formally known as The Beltway Dispatch, McFadden and Evan Engelhard merged respective platforms in June 2015 to make what is now Maryland Sports Access.

With baseball, basketball and golf experience, McFadden brings ample knowledge to the helm of MSA. McFadden covers a wide variety of sports in football, baseball, basketball, golf, hockey, lacrosse, soccer and specializes in the collegiate and high school levels.

McFadden volunteers his time at Damascus Road Community Church — serving as a mentor to the youth, basketball coach at the varsity and junior varsity levels, and leads a small group of high school sophomores every Wednesday night.

Although he’s only been around journalism since January 2014, he’s a high school sports reporter for The Baltimore Sun and freelancer for The Frederick News-Post.

McFadden’s work has also appeared in DMV newspapers The Aegis, The Capital Gazette, The Daily Times (Delmarva Now), The Hometown Observer, Howard County Times, Germantown Pulse and The Towson Times. He’s also won two Mike Powell Excellence in Journalism awards and has appeared on The Best of SNO, which showcases top student work of high school and college journalists.

McFadden currently studies at Frederick Community College and plans to transfer to the University of Maryland in the fall of 2018 to work on a bachelor’s degree in journalism with aspirations to be a national college basketball writer.

Contact: Twitter

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