Howard High aims for first state title in 40 years

ELLICOTT CITY, Md. (WUSA9) — For the first time in 40 years, the Howard High School Lions will compete for a state title.

The Lions far surpassed expectations in 2015, going undefeated during the regular season.

Howard High takes on perennial power Wise High School Friday night under the bright lights of M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Baltimore Ravens.

The Lions hope they saved their best roar for last.

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Wins a’plenty in the Lions’ den

635847495941514433-HowardFBSeniors“If I stood in front of our team and told them it was like any other game, they’d call me a liar,” Howard head football coach Bruce Strunk said with a little chuckle. “I’m trying to keep it as normal as possible but when we walk down the tunnel, the kids are gonna know something else so I’ve been preaching all week that it is something special.”

‘Something special’ potentially awaited his Lions last year too, as the bright lights at M&T Bank Stadium began firing up for state championship high school football. But, his team fell short against Old Mill as they fought for their shot at the highest prize.

The stingy loss stuck a thorn in their side for a year…until last week, when Howard beat Lake Braddock in the ’15 semis, breaking one long state finals appearance drought.

“This is the first time in over forty years that our school has been in the state finals for football and not just the whole school, but the whole community is embracing it,” the head coach said as he elaborated on the elbow grease and strategizing involved in the process. “It’s the environment we’ve tried to create around here over the last eight years…not just for football but across the board. If all your students have the same mentality, it’s contagious and our athletic program has really improved over the last few years.”

When you learn that the current senior class will enter Friday’s game with only one single loss to their names…’improved’ sounds like an understatement.

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A reason to cheer

This Friday night, the unbeaten Wise Pumas will hit the field at M&T Bank Stadium, seeking the program’s second state title and second undefeated season.

Behind the benches and on the sideline will be another undefeated Puma….cheerleader Mikayla Edwards.

Her wins haven’t come through making and breaking tackles, blocking linemen, or dancing into an endzone; they’ve come in another form.

“I tried out for cheerleading in seventh and eighth grade and I didn’t make the team but ninth grade year, I tried out and I made the Wise cheerleading team and I’ve been on the team ever since,” Mikayla said.

The lead-by-example senior walks around with a quiet confidence and a head held high. She does everything her teammates do….stunting, jumping, dancing…even tumbling. But with an extra challenge; she has only one full arm.

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Funk spunks state record, title run

635845897709809992-DamascusFranklinTitleGameWhen mornings, noons and nights are spent either on a field or thinking about what you’ll do next when you get back on one, little stings more than the feeling of defeat. In the same token, nothing feels better than the chance to recoup the feeling of that loss.

The Swarming Hornets of Damascus High School have paved the way to doing just that this Thursday night against the Dundalk Owls. This year, it’s the birds. Last season, it was the Indians…

Flashback to the very end of the 2014 season…when the guys in green were handed their first loss of the season. A halftime locker room session at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore was hovered by a cloud of confidence, as the Hornets held a three-touchdown lead. But the tide turned in the final two quarters, as the one-loss Franklin Indians came back with a bang, scoring five unanswered.

But for some of those athletes, there’d be another year, another opportunity.

One could certainly say star running back Jake Funk has made the most of his senior season on the gridiron, leading his Hornets to another shot at reversing last season’s outcome. Funk says a lot of the team’s success is due to a coaching staff dedicated to building the season that this one has become.

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