Archbishop Curley and St. Vincent Pallotti set to battle for MIAA B football supremacy

First place and the top seed for the playoffs will be on the line when the Friars host the Panthers on Friday

Since opening the season with three consecutive losses to team's ranked among the Maryland state Top 25, the Archbishop Curley football team has started its MIAA B Conference schedule at 5-0 with its smallest margin of victory being 21 points.

October 22, 2024

A possible preview of next month's MIAA B Conference football championship game will take place on Friday afternoon when St. Vincent Pallotti visits Archbishop Curley for a first place showdown, with the winner set to clinch the top seed for the playoffs. Both teams are 5-0 in league competition thus far.

Curley, a long standing member of the B Conference, outside of a one-year stint in the A Conference in 2005, began its season with losses to St. Mary's-Ryken, Concordia Prep and Calvert Hall. Ryken and Calvert Hall are currently ranked in the Maryland state Top 25, while Concordia Prep was ranked when it topped the Friars, 20-14, in early September. Since then the Friars have vanquished five straigt B Conference rivals while averaging 33 points per game and an average margin of victory of 26.4 points per game.

Pallotti returned to the B Conference this fall for the first time since 2019 after spending the last four years as a member of the A Conference. The Panthers opened their 2024 season with a loss to Georgetown Prep, also a team ranked in the Maryland Top 25, but have won six straight since, including all five of their B Conference match-ups.

Pallotti's outcomes have not been as dominant as Curley's, but they have prevailed none-the-less. The Panthers are coming off a 49-6 rout of St. John's Catholic Prep last week.

Curley has won or shared five MIAA B Conference championships but has not won a title since 2014. Pallotti won the 2019 league championship before moving to the A Conference. The Panthers also won the B Conference in 2016 and shared the 2004 C Conference title with Boys' Latin.

Both teams have already clinched their place in the post-season, while John Carroll (3-2), St. Paul's (3-2) and Severn (3-3) are battling for the two remaining spots. John Carroll hosts St. Paul's, also on Friday, in match-up that will give the winner a huge boost towards a playoff spot. John Carroll closes its regular season next week at Curley, while St. Paul's will meet arch-rival Boys' Latin in its finale. Severn, which defeated John Carroll but lost to St. Paul's, closes its B Conference league schedule at Mount Carmel on Friday. A win on Friday will keep the Admirals chances alive, but they will need things to fall the right way to propel themselves into the playoffs via a tiebreaker.