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Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association
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MIAA 2023 Football Playoff Preview

Semifinal contests set for this weekend in the A & B Conferences; championship games will take place next week at Johnny Unitas Stadium

MIAA football semifinal playoff actions this weekend will see defending champion Archbishop Spalding host Loyola Blakefield and McDonogh travel to Mount St. Joseph, in the A Conference, while Concordia Prep hosts defending champ St. Mary's and John Carroll visits Archbishop Curley, in the B Conference. (Photo courtesy of Archbishop Spalding Cavalier Athletics)
MIAA football semifinal playoff actions this weekend will see defending champion Archbishop Spalding host Loyola Blakefield and McDonogh travel to Mount St. Joseph, in the A Conference, while Concordia Prep hosts defending champ St. Mary's and John Carroll visits Archbishop Curley, in the B Conference. (Photo courtesy of Archbishop Spalding Cavalier Athletics)
November 9, 2023

by Derek Toney

The 2023 MIAA football season has reached the post-season and it all kicks-off this weekend with a pair of semifinal playoff games in the A and B Conferences.

Archbishop Spalding claimed its first MIAA A crown last fall. The Cavaliers will try to repeat, but could have a harder time compared to their dominant run in 2022.

Spalding, ranked No. 3 in the state, hosts Loyola Blakefield in a semifinal match Friday. Two weeks ago, the Cavaliers (8-2, 6-0 MIAA A) escaped with a 30-24 overtime victory over the Dons (5-3, 3-2 MIAA A) on junior quarterback Malik Washington’s touchdown toss to Jameson Coffman (committed to UMBC for lacrosse).

The other semifinal will have No. 3 seed McDonogh (6-2, 4-2 MIAA A) at second-seed Mount St. Joseph (7-4, 4-2 MIAA A). Mount St. Joseph got a touchdown catch from senior Devin Byrd in the final 10 seconds of regulation for a 26-20 victory over the Eagles three weeks ago.

The semifinal winners will play for the title at Towson University’s Johnny Unitas Stadium Nov. 19. Spalding has won 20 of 21 MIAA A contests, including playoffs, since the start of the 2021 season.

Concordia Prep, with Under Armour All-American Ernest Willor, is the favorite in the MIAA B tourney. The Saints (9-1, 6-0 MIAA B) host defending champ St. Mary’s (4-4, 3-3 MIAA B) Saturday afternoon. 

Concordia won, 21-0, during the regular season. John Carroll visits Archbishop Curley (6-5, 5-1 MIAA B) in the first semifinal Friday afternoon in Baltimore. The Friars defeated the Patriots (6-4, 4-2 MIAA B), 23-17, last weekend.

The MIAA C, with just four teams, doesn’t have a postseason tournament. Severn (6-4 overall) went 4-0 to win its second straight championship.

Click here to view the playoff brackets for each conference. For more information or to purchase tickets, for next week's championship games, visit www.miaachampionships/football.