Only one team in each class will win the state championship. Every other team will eventually find their ceiling and fall by the wayside. Hagerstown found their ceiling on Friday.
When the Hagerstown Tigers traveled to Lapel Friday, Nov. 6, to play for the sectional championship at the famous Boneyard, it was a battle between state-ranked teams, both of whom put up gaudy numbers this season. The game drew a large crowd and in an unusual twist the bands from both schools showed up to add to the atmosphere.
Lapel dominated all aspects of the game from the opening kick. Entering the game, the Tigers had only allowed an average of 11.3 points this season. Friday, the Bulldogs scored 20 points in the first quarter and added 22 points in the second quarter to take a 42-0 lead, which triggered a running clock in the second half. The game was a major mismatch.
The Tigers won the pregame coin toss and deferred. It did not take long for the Bulldogs to light up the scoreboard. The Bulldogs put together an eight-play drive capped off by a 3-yard TD run from Jack Miller four minutes into the game. The PAT kick was wide, giving Lapel a 6-0 lead.
The Tigers tried to answer before their drive stalled out near midfield and they were forced to punt. Lapel put together a 20-play drive topped off by a 7-yard TD pass from Max Lockhart to Jaxson Cripe with 1:06 remaining in the first quarter. The PAT was again wide and Lapel led 12-0.
The Bulldogs executed a successful onside kick and eight seconds later they were back in the end zone on a 49-yard pass from Lockhart to Cripe. The Bulldogs tried a two-point conversion pass. A Tiger defender batted the ball away, but it fell into the hand of a Lapel player to extend the Bulldog lead to 20-0 with 58 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs also controlled the second quarter. The Bulldogs scored at the 6:44 mark on a pass from Lockhart to Liam Ko. Miller ran in the two-point conversion that made the score 28-0. The Bulldogs scored again on a 20-yard punt return by Miller. The PAT kick was good to push the lead to 35-0.
The Tigers were pinned deep and facing a fourth and long. Kaden Hall dropped back to punt, but instead of punting he ran for 22 yards, the longest Tiger run of the game. The Hagerstown drive again stalled, and Lapel scored again just before halftime on a 30-yard pass play from Lockhart to Reed Hamilton to make the score 42-0 and trigger a running clock in the second half.
The only score in the second half came with one minute remaining in the game when Krayson Riggs scored on a 1-yard run to make the final score 48-0.
The Bulldogs generated 502 yards of offense, 229 yards rushing and 277 yards passing. Hagerstown had a season low of 79 total yards, 73 yards rushing and 6 yards passing. Schmitz led the Tiger defense with 16 tackles.
It was the last game in a Hagerstown football uniform for seniors Craig Gwin, Ben Hokey, Zerek Jett, Ty Lieberman, Peyton Ramsey, Keegan Rue, Cale Schmitz, Sam Solis and Nick Tinkle.
Lapel (11-1) 20 22 0 6 48
Hagerstown (11-1) 0 0 0 0 0
A version of this article will appear in the November 11 2026 print edition of the Western Wayne News.
