Calvert Hall, Loyola Blakefield ready for Turkey Bowl clash

Nobody needs to remind Loyola Blakefield football coach Blake Henry about one of the most telling stats in recent Turkey Bowl history.

“It’s who scores first,” Henry said. “In a game like that where you have 10,000 people in the stands and everybody’s been talking about it all season long … that’s a big energy boost.”

When the No. 8 Dons meet No. 5 Calvert Hall on Thursday morning in the 104th Turkey Bowl at Towson University’s Johnny Unitas Stadium, an early score will likely give one team both a physical and emotional boost in a rivalry that for many players will be the most important game of their football lives.

The numbers bear that out.

In each of the past eight meetings, including Loyola’s 40-28 win a year ago, the team scoring first has gone on to win.

“It’s immensely important. You kind of get that momentum. You set the tone,” Dons linebacker Mason Gibson said. “Preventing them from scoring and allowing our offense to have the chance and go out and score first would be huge.”

Loyola has won two of the past three meetings in a series it leads 51-44-8. But it’s also a series that Calvert Hall previously had dominated for more than a decade, winning 11 of 13 between 2009 and 2022.

To get back on track, Calvert Hall coach Josh Ward said it will be crucial for his team to harness emotions out of the locker room and limit early mistakes, as the Cardinals did two years ago when they took advantage of a first-quarter turnover to jump ahead in a 17-14 win.

“Everybody has that first five minutes of the game and first five minutes of the second half as kind of those key pivotal points where teams come out full of energy in a rivalry game,” Ward said. “For us, we’ve got to get going on offense and we’ve got to put some pressure on them. … If we get up on them, we can assert ourselves in the run game, which I think we do fairly well.”

Led by senior running back John Asuquo, now recovered from last year’s torn MCL, senior power back Kevaughn Mitchell and sophomore dual-threat quarterback Oliver Noll, the Cardinals have averaged 129 rushing yards per game and outgained the Dons by a three-to-one margin on the ground.

Meanwhile, Loyola’s running game has been a work in progress all season following the departure of 1,000-yard back Kendrick Worthington and the graduation of its starting offensive line. But the Dons came alive in their most recent game against Milford Mill, rushing for a season-best 171 yards, including 99 by quarterback Brad Seiss.

Though most of the Dons’ offense will come via the arm of Seiss, a strong-armed senior headed to Monmouth, their ability to establish the run will be important.

“I think in football, especially at the high school level, the team that can run the ball better has a much better chance of winning,” Henry said. “I’m proud of the effort those guys have made. They have some ability, and it’s just about being consistent, making your calls and playing with physicality.”

In Calvert Hall, however, Loyola will face a defense that’s arguably been one of the top units in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association, with six defenders making the all-conference team. In their seven wins, the Cardinals have allowed an average of just over 7 points per game.

“I think we’ve got the best defense in the MIAA,” said Xzavion Crumb, Calvert Hall’s all-conference linebacker. “I truly believe that our strong suit is our safeties, our corners and our linebackers in coverage. I think we’re prepared for anything and anyone, including Loyola.”

The Cardinals’ losses this season have come against three teams with a combined 32-3 record — No. 1 Spalding, No. 3 McDonogh (twice) and LaSalle, the No. 2-ranked team in Pennsylvania, according to MaxPreps’ rankings. And since falling to McDonogh in the MIAA A Conference semifinals, they’ve had 15 practices to work on their weaknesses.

“We weren’t losing to Joe Schmos,” Ward said. “Our four losses were against really good teams. I think we’re a really good team, and this gives us another opportunity to show how good we are, and extra practice time to really work at the things we need to fix and correct.”

The Dons also had that opportunity, getting nearly four weeks — basically a second preseason — to prepare for their archrival. With so much time between games, it would be easy for coaches to overthink strategy.

Once players take the field, however, coaches will be counting on their Turkey Bowl veterans to set the tone.

“You rely on the guys that have been there before and done it,” Henry said. “I reminded the guys, ‘Hey, yes, there’s going to be 10,000 people there, but none of them have any effect on the game unless you let them. You’ve really just got to focus on your brothers, your teammates and playing play by play.’”

104th Turkey Bowl

No. 5 Calvert Hall (7-4 overall, 4-2 MIAA) vs. No. 8 Loyola (5-5, 3-3)

Thursday, 10 a.m.

at Johnny Unitas Stadium, Towson University

TV: ABC

Series: Loyola leads, 51-44-8

Last meeting: Loyola, 40-28

Streak: Loyola has won two of the past three, but Calvert Hall has won 11 of the past 14

Coaches: Calvert Hall — Josh Ward (fifth season); Loyola — Blake Henry (first season)

Outlook: A year ago, Loyola relied on its big playmakers to score touchdowns on six straight possessions against Calvert Hall, but this time it likely will need to play more of a possession game to earn their first back-to-back wins in the series since 2007 and 2008. The Dons are averaging less than 2 yards per rushing attempt and have yet to score more than three touchdowns in a game this season. Quarterback Brad Seiss (Monmouth) has the potential to change that with a big day behind center but will be going against a Cardinals defense that has allowed an average of 7.1 points per game against teams not named Spalding, McDonogh or LaSalle (Pa.).

Calvert Hall is led offensively by Noll, a dual-threat sophomore who took over as starting quarterback in early October, and senior running back Asuquo, who has averaged 4.6 yards per carry, though several other players are likely to contribute. All told, six Cardinals players have surpassed 100 yards rushing, and four, led by Davenport and Morozov, have at least 100 receiving.

On paper, Calvert Hall would seem to have the overall edge, but statistics don’t always bear out in a game with such high emotions. With several weeks of preparation under their belts, look for both teams to be at their best, and likely break out a handful of plays they haven’t attempted all season.