Sometimes wins and losses in life are celebrated and bemoaned by just a fraction.
At Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, they difference between elation and agony was just a yard.
On a two-point conversion in overtime, North Point, out of Charles County, stopped Mervo quarterback Davon Smith Jr. a half yard short of the goal line, securing a 21-20 victory in the Class 4A/3A state championship game.
The title was the second for the Eagles (12-2), while the loss was the first for Mervo (11-3) in a state final after two victories. The Mustangs beat the Eagles, 14-7, in last year’s title game.
“It’s a part of the process and we understand that,” Mervo coach Patrick Nixon said. “The last few years we we’re on the other end of this, and this year it’s a little different. It’s a two-point conversion play that we’ve been running all year — and they were ready for it.”
Smith took the ball and immediately charged for the middle of the line, but the lane he was running for closed quickly and he was stopped just short of the goal line.
Smith led the Mustangs with 108 yards rushing on 17 attempts. He was also 4-for-11 passing for 69 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception.
North Point was led by Damien Brown’s 142 yards rushing on 18 attempts, and quarterback Kyler Ferriera, who was 4-for-8 for 32 yards with no touchdowns and 51 yards rushing.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Eagles finally got their offense going midway through the second. Ferriera took over after a Mervo punt at his own 29 yard-line. He methodically led the Eagles down the field, using only one 12-yard pass in an 11-play, 71-yard drive that stayed on the ground and consumed four minutes. Brown carried the ball in from 7 yards out to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead just over a minute until halftime.
For the half, North Point ran almost double the offensive plays Mervo did. The Eagles held a 29-16 advantage at the break and they were outrushing the Mustangs, 122-70.
North Point added another touchdown early in the third quarter on a 3-yard Brown run to make it 14-0, but then Mervo started showing signs of life.
The Mustangs put together an impressive drive late in the quarter to cut the margin to 14-6. That drive was capped by a 22-yard Smith pass to Tywan Baker with less than a minute left in the third quarter.
Mervo finally tied the game with an impressive drive late in the fourth quarter. The Mustangs went 85 yards before Smith found Marquise McDougal in the front of the end zone with 3:45 left.
The teams went to overtime and North Point scored first. On the third play from scrimmage, Ferriera called his own number, running diagonally across the field from 7 yards out. A Christian Solomon kick gave the Eagles a 21-14 lead.
Mervo got the ball and Smith threw two incompletions before running the ball in from 10 yards out to cut the margin to 21-20. After a time out and a North Point unsportsmanlike conduct penalty moved the ball inside the 2, Smith came up just short of the goal line setting off a wild celebration by the Eagles.
“We’ve been a program that historically has battled back from adversity, but today it just didn’t happen,” Nixon said. “We know each other well. They just made more plays when it counted down the stretch and we just couldn’t seal the deal.”
Class 4A/3A State Championship
North Point 21, Mervo 20, OT
NP 0 7 7 0 7 — 21
MV 0 0 6 8 6 — 20
NP – Brown 7 run (Soloman kick)
NP – Brown 3 run (Solomon kick)
MV – Baker 13 pass from Smith (run failed)
MV – McDougal 19 pass from Smith (Smith run)
NP – Ferriera 6 run (Solomon kick)
MV – Smith 10 run (run failed)
