Smyrna was stopped on downs at the Dover 31-yard line on its first possession Saturday afternoon at Delaware Stadium.
It was only putting off the inevitable.
The Eagles scored on their next seven series, going up by 21 before halftime and 37 midway through the third quarter, resulting in a running clock and a relentless 52-7 romp over Dover in the DIAA Class 3A title game.
The 45-point margin made it the most lopsided outcome in 102 state football title games in any division or class in tournament history, which dates to 1971.
Smyrna was equally formidable moving the football through the air or on the ground, piling up 396 total yards. Yamir Knight exemplified the Eagles’ multi-dimensional firepower as he ran for two touchdowns, threw for one and caught a pass for another.
“Especially because of last year’s loss, we had a huge chip on our on our shoulder to get this win,” Knight said.
The Smyrna defense also rose to the occasion, limiting Dover to 99 total yards as Brandon West’s team-high nine tackles included 3 1/2 for lost yardage.
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Playing in its sixth state title game, Smyrna added a fourth championship trophy to its gymnasium display. The Eagles won three straight Division I championships in 2015, 2016 and 2017 but fell in the 2021 2A final to Middletown and in the 1975 Division II final.
“We were here last year and lost a heart-breaker,” Smyrna coach Mike Judy said. ” . . . It just kinda scars your soul when you go through something like that. I’m just really proud of them and really proud that they got the opportunity . . . It was gonna be really hard to stop us.”
Smyrna (12-1) won its 11th straight since a 21-14 loss to Middletown on Sept. 16, having avenged that with a 48-0 semifinal romp over the Cavaliers. The Eagles had prevailed 46-21 at Dover on Oct. 22 and scored at least 40 points in each of their last nine games.
Quarterback Brian Wright completed 16 of 24 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns. Nolan Fretz had 99 yards on seven receptions with a touchdown.
Markell Holman, who had played his first three high school seasons at William Penn, gained 113 yards on 14 carries with two touchdowns for the Eagles.
“We just have so many different aspects to our offense,” Wright said as Smyrna offensive guru Mike Marks joined him for some postgame revelry. ” . . . We just stay in the filmroom and grind and we haven’t stopped.”
An onside kick, recovered by Smyrna’s Stephan Driver, turned out to be an early boost for the Eagles. They’d returned the favor by stopping Dover on downs at the Smyrna 29 on the Senators’ first possession. Six plays later Wright passed 26 yards for the TD to Fretz one play after a 30-yard Holman scamper.
Driver’s subsequent recovery gave Smyrna possession at the Dover 33 and a chance to quickly extend its lead. This time, Wright’s 30-yard throw to Fretz set up Holman’s 13-yard TD run.
Dover did then drive 56 yards for a touchdown, Nahseem Cosme throwing 14 yards to John Parker as the Senators cut the Dover lead to 12-7 and hinted they could make it a a game.
But Smyrna answered emphatically with 65- and 63-yard scoring drives. Knight finished the first with a 17-yard TD reception from Wright and the second with a 2-yard carry as Smyrna happily carried a 28-7 lead into halftime.
“Linemen were moving bodies,” Knight said. “We just had to execute our plays and that’s what we did.”
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It just got worse for Dover in the third quarter as the Senators fumbled the kickoff with Machai Stinnett recovering for Smyrna, leading to Knight’s 27-yard TD pass to Holman. Smyrna kicker Joshua Michael then recovered another onside kick, leading to Knight’s 6-yard TD run as Smyrna went ahead 44-7 and, due to mercy rules when the margin reaches 35 points, the clock kept ticking with 6:34 to go in the third quarter.
Smyrna, however, was merciless, getting another fourth-quarter touchdown on Holman’s 1-yard run.
Dover was seeking the third state football title since the tournament’s 1971 inception, having won Division I championships in 1977 and 1988. The Senators also reached the 2001 title game and lost to Newark.
The Senators (8-5) are in their second season under coach Chip Knapp, the long-time Wesley College offensive coordinator who was Wolverines head coach the last three years before the school’s 2021 closing.
“This is a quality team we played tonight,” said Judy, a Dover graduate who was a starting center and team captain at Wesley. “They’re very physical and talented. So you know it was gonna be tight early and we were just hoping that we would wear them down.”
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