MIAA football playoff match-ups set
Archbishop Spalding is going for a three-peat in the A Conference; B Conference will crown a new champ
The MIAA A Conference football playoffs are here.
The postseason gets underway this weekend with a pair of semifinal playoff games in both the A and B Conferences.
In the A Conference, top-seeded and undefeated Archbishop Spalding will begin its quest to win a third consecutive league title when it hosts fourth-seeded Mount St. Joseph on Friday night (7 pm). The Cavaliers defeated the Gaels, 31-0, just last Friday to complete the most dominant regular season in league history, outscoring its league rivals, 319-3, in going 7-0 in league play.
The other semifinal will match second-seed McDonogh (6-1) against third-seeded Calvert Hall (4-2), on Friday at McDonogh (6 pm). The Eagles won the first meeting between the teams, 37-17.
Heading into the 2024 postseason, Spalding and Calvert Hall each two A Conference championships, while McDonogh and Mount St. Joseph each have one outright title and three co-titles.
The winners will advance to next week’s championship game, which will be held at a site to be determined by who is playing in the game. The scenarios are as follows:
- If McDonogh defeats Calvert Hall, the championship game will be played at Calvert Hall on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 7 pm.
- If Calvert Hall defeats McDonogh and Mount St. Joseph defeats Archbishop Spalding, the championship game will be played at Archbishop Spalding on Friday, Nov. 15 at 8 pm.
- If Archbishop Spalding defeats Mount St. Joseph and Calvert Hall defeats McDonogh, the championship game will be played at Mount St. Joseph on Sunday, Nov. 17 at Noon.
The B Conference semifinals feature top-seeded Archbishop Curley, which went 7-0 in league play hosting fourth-seeded Severn (4-3) on Friday at 2:15 pm and second-seeded St. Vincent Pallotti (6-1) hosting third-seeded St. Paul’s (5-2) on Friday at 7:00 pm.
Curley is seeking its sixth B Conference crown, but its first since 2014. Pallotti has won two B Conference championships, including 2019, before the Panthers departed for A Conference play over the last four years. St. Paul's has not won the league championship since winning two straight in 2012 and 2013. The Crusaders have won or shared six B Conference crowns. Severn has three co-championship in the B Conference with the last all the way back in 2003.
The date and site of the B Conference championship game is dependent upon the location of the A Conference game, based on the scenarios listed above. If the A Conference game is played at Calvert Hall, the B Conference championship game will be there as well on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 3:30 pm. If the A Conference title game is at Spalding or Mount St. Joseph, the B Conference game will be played at Spalding on Friday, Nov. 17 at either 4:30 or 8:00 pm. It will be the earlier time slot if their are two games at Spalding that night and the later slot if it is the only game.