By Kyle McFadden
BALTIMORE- After the 20-14 first round playoff loss to Dundalk a little over a year ago, DaLawn Parrish was left with a sour taste in his mouth. He knew deep down inside that his unit could have done better, much better. Humiliation, that’s what it felt like.
Parrish knew there was only one way to get better – to keep working your craft. Over the offseason, Parrish didn’t take any short cuts.
Countless hours in the weight room and conditioning in hazy summer days were spent so they can know that deep down inside if the chance presents itself, they would leave with no regrets.
On Friday night, the Wise Pumas got that chance and put multiple exclamation points to an already historic season as they throttle Howard, 55-6, to take home their second 4A state championship in the past four years.
“It feels great, on top of the mountain,” Parrish said.
On Wise’s first offensive drive, they marched 80 yards in seven plays and it was hammered home by running back CJ Rainey on the 5-yard score. Rainey fueled the game-setting-tone drive, picking up 42 yards and carving through the Howard defense.
“We want to start the game fast … set the tempo,” Rainey said, who finished the night with 153 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns on 19 carries. “It builds your confidence. Stop them, score points. Stop them, score points. It keeps the momentum going.”
Then, on their ensuing offensive possession, Jabari Laws darted a 39-yard pass to Rutgers commit Damon Hayes. In the first six minutes and 10 seconds, Wise jumped out to a 15-0 lead.
“You always dream of these moments,” Laws said, who finished with 98 yards passing, 90 yards on the ground and two total touchdowns. “These are my brothers.”
The flood gates flung open as CJ Rainey would go on an end zone binge, scoring on runs of one, six and ten yards over the span of the next seven minutes and 53 seconds. Wise held a 34-0 at the half.
“It’s how hard we worked to get here,” Rainey said. “I will always remember that. How much we put in after a disappointment last year.”
Over the offseason, each member of the Wise football team was demanded to perform 14 perfect bench press repetitions in their repertoire of workouts. This represented how many wins it took to win a state championship. Anything short of that is intolerable.
“I remember, lying down on that bench press, pumping out those 14 reps,” Laws said. “Dream come true, man.”
As Parrish isn’t the first guy to crack a smile, he was grinning from ear-to-ear when he stepped up at the podium to address members of the media.
“We knew if we executed, it was going to get ugly,” Parrish said. “Sure enough, it did. When you put it the work, you’re excited about the outcome.”
Though playing with a broken forearm, James Madison commit Daka wasn’t slowed down, harassing the Howard offensive line to get in the backfield as much as possible. His defense shutout Howard until five minutes left in a running clock.
“We’re a reflection of our coaching staff,” Daka said, who finished with four total tackles and one sack to give him a whopping 28 sacks to round out the year. “We put in endless hours. Put in so much work, I didn’t want to play football anymore. At times, I didn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s here now.”
As they have all year long, Wise dominated the game with their fast and physical front-7 only allowing 2.6 yards per play (127 yards on 49 plays). And, with their tenacious front-7 led by Daka, it’s backed by one of, if not the best secondary’s in the state patrolled by North Carolina commit Myles Wolfolk and Rutgers commit Damon Hayes.
“This is aaa-mazing,” Wolfolk said, grinning from ear-to-ear. “All we did was work, work, work. This is a lifetime goal. To go off to college with a state championship.”
Hayes and Wolfolk only allowed 15 passing yards the entire game on the 21 Howard attempts.
Outside of Howard’s Malik Anderson, who generated 134 yards of total offense, they combined for minus seven yards.
Wise would score three more times on a Michael Clark 53-yard run, Laws 15-yard run and a Rainey 56-yard run.
“To do it with my brothers,” Wolfolk said. “It’s kind of surreal.”
“You need to be the best you can be to help your team,” Rainey said. “I thank my father for teaching me that at a young age. All of my coaches, it goes to them. It’s a team win for my brothers.”
You can follow me on Twitter @k_fadd and Maryland Sports Access @MDSportsAccess.
Box score
Wise 21, 13, 7, 14 – 55
Howard 0, 0, 0, 6 – 6
Scoring summary
First quarter
Wise, CJ Rainey 5-yard run (Wolfolk pass to Yeboah), 7:00, Wise 7 Howard 0
Wise, Damon Hayes 39-yard pass from Jabari Laws (Yeboah kick), 5:50 Wise 15 Howard 0
Wise, CJ Rainey 1-yard run (Yeboah kick), 1:59, Wise 21 Howard 0
Second quarter
Wise, CJ Rainey 6-yard rush (Pass failed), 9:11, Wise 27, Howard 0
Wise, CJ Rainey 10-yard rush (Yeboah kick) 6:06, Wise 34, Howard 0
Third quarter
Wise, Michael Clark 53-yard run (Yeboah kick), 7:40, Wise 41, Howard 0
Fourth quarter
Wise, Jabari Laws 15-yard run (Yeboah kick), 11:45, Wise 48, Howard 0
Howard, Malik Anderson 4-yard run (Kick blocked) 5:00, Wise 48, Howard 6
Wise, CJ Rainey 56-yard run (Yeboah kick), 2:39, Wise 55 Howard 6
