Support from family, friends, and fans can often be the extra push a team needs to secure a big win. From the very beginning of the state finals matchup between Pikesville and Southern Garrett, it was clear that Southern had the upper hand when it came to support. The line outside the building stretched far back, filled with a sea of red from Southern fans eager to cheer on their team. As the girls battled against a strong Pikesville squad, the crowd made its presence known, reminding the players that they were not alone. The game was nothing short of a hard-fought battle, with both teams knocking down clutch three-pointers, showing incredible hustle, and playing true team basketball. In the end, though, only one team could walk away with the title. Southern made the extra plays when it mattered most, keeping the score in their favor and ultimately securing the win. The players erupted with excitement as their hard work finally paid off. When the final buzzer sounded, Southern Garrett was crowned the state champion in girls varsity basketball for their division. 🏀🏆
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qr5-rO5o1k 🏀🏀 ROAD TO UMBC MPSSAA GIRLS 1A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP 🆚 #2 Pikesville vs #4 Reservoir 📍 UMBC, Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena 📝 Kmillz (MFVAllSportsNetwork) They say, “A third time is a charm..” In the matchup today, I was hoping it would prove to be so as the Southern Garrett Rams braved a three hour drive from Western Maryland. The Pikesville Panthers, at least a 15 minute drive, a way lot less than when the state championships were held at University of Maryland, College Park. This was the third meeting of these two powerhouses in the state finals. Southern Garrett, had loss the last two, which were very close wrestling matches. The Panthers were in hot pursuit of setting state records. They looked to be the first girls basketball program to win their 6th title. They were tied currently with the Brooklyn Park Bees, and Eleanor Roosevelt. Also, senior star #1 Mariah Jones-Bey anticipated winning her fourth straight title. Big things, Big ambitions to fulfill, the stage was absolutely set for a great competition. 1ST HALF - The teams both started out getting mistakes out of the way. Garrett put the first points on the board but the Panthers got in rhythm, adding points to the scoreboard. Something that immediately stood out was the defensive stance of the Rams. Making some striking plays were forward #22 Joycelyn Ward, #10 Jayden Weaver, and #3 Gabbi Berry. Ward had a serious block stopping the famous steal, scope and scores from Pikesville. But this didn’t deter the Pike, as Jones-Bey hit a nice jumper to close out the half, 14-20. 2ND HALF - The Rams stayed their course in this part of the competition. Using their ability to create critical turnovers and make big shots, Southern Garrett made sure their lead was tightly protected. Pikesville did make a few runs doing what they do best, steal the ball and add more points. In the end, the Rams were victorious winning the girls class 1A Championship. TO THE PANTHERS, so proud of you ladies over what you have accomplished this season, and the hard work you have put in over the years. I hope you all continue doing what you have done, being a successful program. You truly have some wonderful individuals there at Pikesville. Wishing you nothing but the best. TO THE RAMS. CONGRATULATIONS on your championship victory. So happy for you, and know that it’s a wonderful feeling to see the work you put in pay off. Keep shining. Keep that same energy, making sure you bring it the next seasons to come. Looking forward to more future successes in the sports world for you. Proud of you ladies. THANK YOU TO BOTH the Panthers and Rams. You guys made the day right, giving us a good athletic competitive game. Love y’all. MFV MVP Southern Garrett’s Jayden Weaver with 17 points.
Southern Garrett captures its first state championship since 2018 🏆, defeating Pikesville 52–46.
The 1A Girls Basketball season wrapped up at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena on Saturday afternoon, where the 24-2 Pikesville Panthers faced the 21-5 Southern Garrett Rams for the third consecutive state championship. Coming in with five consecutive state championships, the Panthers took down the SEED Sabers in the semifinals in a 67-29 rout, while the Rams needed overtime to overcome the top-seeded Smithsburg Leopards 63-59. After falling in the two previous state championships to Michael Dukes’s squad, Southern Garrett head coach Landon Todd focused on scheduling more regular season opponents that echo the Panthers’ style of play. His athletes undoubtedly felt the difference. “Mt. Zion, Osborne Park, and South County were those teams. The pressure they give you on defense, the reaching and getting the ball is so much different than what we see back at home,” junior guard Jayden Weaver said. The game got off slow, with neither team taking more than a two-point lead in the first quarter. Pikesville senior Mariah Jones-Bey nailed a two-point shot from the short corner at the buzzer to put her team ahead after one. The second quarter belonged to the red and white from Garrett County, as the Rams outscored the Panthers 13-6. In the quarter, six different SG athletes found the net, with each contributing between two and three points. By the break, the Rams led 20-14. In the first half, Pikesville was led by Jones-Bey, who contributed six to the scoreboard, while Emelee Parks, Jayden Weaver, and Joycelyn Ward each contributed four, leading their team. In the third quarter, Southern’s offense continued pushing strong. In the quarter’s first four minutes, the Rams outscored Pikesville 11-5, with no individual player pulling ahead, but the team shining as a whole. The Panthers began to turn up the heat though, with Kennesaw State commit NyJae Malik-El scoring four in four minutes, and junior Calia Carter adding three in the same time frame. With an eight-point lead heading into the game’s final eight minutes, Coach Todd and his athletes knew the championship was within reach. Despite Pikesville pulling within four of the lead just one minute in, the Rams’ attack turned up the heat, regaining a nine-point lead with 3:52 to play. Pikesville sophomore Qaidence David shined as the team tried to get back on top, contributing nine over a two-and-a-half minute stretch. Despite Pikesville scoring a game-high 18 points in the final quarter, it would not be enough to win their sixth-straight state title, as Southern Garrett won gold for the first time since 2018, defeating the Panthers 52-46. The Rams had four athletes who played all 32 minutes, with Weaver leading the scoring, contributing 14 points and seven rebounds. For the Panthers, Qaidence David’s strong fourth quarter propelled her to 16, which led the purple and white. After the game, Pikesville head coach Michael Dukes tipped his hat to the newly crowned state champions. “I thought [Southern] moved without the ball really well,” Dukes said. “Some things we wanted to do in our game plan we didn’t do the best job of executing. They were able to get downhill… they got us on the offensive glass and that’s not something we've done well against this team in the past.” Despite the loss, Dukes and his athletes were proud of a season that saw 24 wins, and they’re determined to make it back to the big game in 2027. Coach Todd, after dropping the previous two state title games to Pikesville, couldn’t have been happier with how this game played out. “I’m so happy for our girls and our community,” Todd said. “It’s no secret we’ve been here two other times and we didn’t walk away with the same result. This is extra special.”
After 16 minutes of play, the Rams from Southern Garrett lead the five-time defending champion Pikesville Panthers 20-14. Neither team had more than a one-score lead in the first quarter, but SG pulled ahead in the second, leading by as much as eight points. Pikesville will have two quarters to retake the lead, but if not, Southern will take their first state title since 2018!
Southern JV’s win 24-7 over Northern. Lucas Lantz led the way with 3 rushing TD’s.
Down 12-16 with 5 minutes left in the 4th, Uniontown connects on a 30 yard TD pass to take the lead and hold off Southern to win 18-16.
In 2023, Southern Garrett High School’s girls' basketball program failed to make it out of the first round of the regional playoffs. In 2024, they made it to the state championship game. Under first-year head coach Landon Todd, a graduate of Southern Garrett and a former player at Division II West Virginia Wesleyan College, the Rams finished the regular season with a 19-3 record. After the championship game loss last March, Coach Todd explained that his team took just two weeks off before focusing all their effort on 2025. “[The championship game] was on March 15… we took two weeks off. By the first of April, we were having open gyms.” Throughout the offseason, the team played over fifty games. The spring and summer seasons were made up of tournaments throughout the region, culminating in Myrtle Beach, SC, while the fall season featured scrimmages against local high school teams, mainly from West Virginia. By the time the start of the winter season rolled around, the team was feeling more ready than ever. Rising junior Jayden Weaver explained that the entire team “wanted to go undefeated… I know we had a ton of preparation, and all of our minds were on the games.” The Rams’ season got off to a hot start, with big wins over Elkins and Tucker County, but the highlight was a 53-51 win against Wayne, the future West Virginia Class AAA State Champions. Over winter break, Southern Garrett played two games at Garrett College, one against Blackhawk and another against Morgantown. The Rams split the two games, falling to Blackhawk by three and defeating Morgantown by eight. Coach Todd knew that the three-point loss was mainly due to his team going just 5/16 from the free throw line, and rising senior Emelee Parks explained that “losing that game made us have a sour taste in our mouths and we knew we wanted to win from there on out.” Excluding a loss to Berlin Brothersvalley, the Pennsylvania Class AA State Champions, the Rams went on to win every single game on their schedule, finishing the regular season with a 20-2 overall record, while going 9-0 within their region. Throughout the season, the Rams faced one of the toughest schedules out of any team in the state, matching up against the West Virginia Class AAA champion and runner-up, Class AAAA runner-up, and several other quarter-finalists and semi-finalists from various classes. Coach Todd explained that going into the 2024 championship game, his team was not prepared coming from a competitive standpoint. While scheduling games for the 2025 season, “we wanted to make sure we were setting ourselves up to make sure we were as prepared as possible,” Coach Todd explained. The first round of the playoffs was surprisingly difficult for Southern Garrett. Matching up against Mountain Ridge, a team the Rams beat by 23 and 29 points during the regular season, the Rams trailed for over three quarters. Emelee Parks explained that her team “Kind of just overlooked [Mountain Ridge], and took them for granted,” while Coach Todd added that the Miners “Came out and punched us in the nose, and we didn’t have a response until 28 minutes into the game.” The next three playoff games went smoothly for the Rams, defeating Allegany, Snow Hill, and Smithsburg by an average of 36 points. Going into his second consecutive championship game, Coach Todd explained that he focused the team on watching film to prepare for Pikesville’s style. “There’s only so many new things you can do [five months into the season]... it's not like you can just keep doing shell drill over and over.” At halftime in the championship game in College Park, the Rams were trailing 29-27. With the deficit being just two points, Coach Todd’s message to the team was “Don’t lose faith now… Just stay the course. You guys have been here before, and you’ve done it. Don’t lose faith.” While the Rams fought hard, they fell 67-62 in the state championship. Jayden Weaver explained that in this game, “Our defense wasn’t top-notch. I know a lot of us were in foul trouble, especially our bigger players that play a lot.” Both she and Garrett College commit Carly Wilt fouled out in the game. Similarly to last season, the team took a few weeks off before getting back to competing. Southern Garrett has been hosting open gyms since early April, while participating in tournaments and single games in Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, and other cities. Next winter season, the Rams will travel to Washington, DC, to take on teams with similar playing styles to those they may face in the state playoffs in 2026. Both Emelee and Jayden are looking to improve their overall game next season, but they will both have a slight focus on their defense. Coach Todd is solely focused on being present in this moment, planning on finding the best team to put on the court this winter. I’d like to thank Southern Garrett Girls’ Basketball head coach Landon Todd, as well as Emelee Parks and Jayden Weaver, for participating in an in-person interview at Southern Garrett High School. The recording of that interview will be available on our social media platforms in the coming weeks.
Ryan Bird and Reece Tasker both homered.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJh5ZkfoPr0
Mariah Jones- Bey and Nyjae Malik-El led the way with 21 and 19 points respectively. Congratulations to the Panthers!
Pikesville up by 7 heading into the fourth quarter
Pikesville up by 2 in the first game of Saturday’s championship slate. A battle between the basket attack of the Panthers and the shooting from Southern Garrett.
Southern Garrett actually won this game. Not Snow Hill.
Brunswick boys varsity played Southern Garret boys varsity, Saturday afternoon 2/22/25. It was Brunswick's senior night and the biggest crowd of the year came out to watch. The ceremony before the game was nice and shout out to Mark Cooke, Eli Miller, Jacob Genos, and Jackson Dudley for having a great season and congratulations on graduating. Southern Garret threw the first punch though, going up seven quick. Brunswick's seniors fought back with Jacob Genos scoring five unanswered to get Brunswick back in the game. Brunswick, thanks to Jacob Genos and Aaron Birney took the lead at the end of the first 14-9. Brunswick kept the momentum and played a great defense to keep their lead. Mark Cooke started to find the hoop while Aaron and Jacob continued to spark up the student section by hitting threes. Andrew Jones and Mark Cooke started to dominate the boards and finish in the paint, allowing for Brunswick to keep the lead 29-22 at halftime. Southern Garret continued to battle though also getting to the basket and shooting well from beyond the arc. Jackson Dudley for Brunswick showed up, hitting a clutch, deep three to give Brunswick the momentum back. Southern Garret answered though even taking the lead at one point but Andrew Jones was going off for Brunswick getting every board he could and was scoring down low. Brunswick was able to hang on to the lead and win on their senior night, 48-42. Jacob Genos led the team in scoring with 12, points also came from Mark Cooke, Aaron Birney, Eli Miller, Andrew Jones, Jackson Dudley, and Brady Renn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TUqqudYsRg
Jared Haskiell walkoff single in bottom of 9th
Walkoff single by Jack Healy!