With the release of the final Media State Poll for the 2024 high school football season on Tuesday afternoon, Archbishop Spalding has made history by becoming the first school to finish No. 1 across all three major local football rankings: The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Post, and the Maryland Media State Poll.
Both The Baltimore Sun and The Washington Post released their final rankings earlier on Tuesday.
Led by Gatorade Maryland Player of the Year Malik Washington, Archbishop Spalding's star-studded program capped a 12-0 season with its third consecutive MIAA A Conference championship. Over the past three years, the program has gone 33-3, powered by Washington, a University of Maryland signee, at quarterback. After finishing No. 2 in the 2022 state poll with an 11-1 record and No. 3 in 2023 following a 10-2 season, Spalding's undefeated 2024 squad claimed all 12 first-place votes to outpace No. 2 St. Frances Academy. DeMatha, Riverdale Baptist, and Quince Orchard rounded out the Top 5.
The Top 5 remained unchanged from the previous ranking that was conducted before the MPSSAA state quarterfinals. While the public school state tournament sparked some movement in the rankings, the overall picture saw minimal changes. Notably, all six MPSSAA state champions were already ranked in the Top 25 before the state quarterfinals. The only new addition to the final Top 25 was 2A runner-up Huntingtown, which ended the season ranked No. 22 after an upset win over state-ranked Milford Mill in the state semifinals. Huntingtown, a preseason Top 25 selection, was not entirely a surprise postseason contender.
The most significant jumps in the rankings came from Patuxent, Arundel, and Stephen Decatur. Previously ranked Nos. 13, 14, and 15, respectively, the trio finished in the final poll at Nos. 9, 10, and 11, maintaining their relative positions despite their upward movement.
In total, 20 of the preseason Top 25 teams finished in the final rankings, reflecting a growing consistency in identifying the top programs as the gap between contenders and the rest of the field continues to widen.
Patuxent, which claimed the No. 9 spot, was the highest-ranked team not included in the preseason Top 25, though it did receive votes in the preseason poll. Of the other four teams not in the preseason Top 25, three — St. Mary’s Ryken, Linganore, and Northwest — were also among the preseason "others receiving votes."
This year marks the 34th season of the Media State Poll. Private school programs have now claimed the No. 1 ranking in all but one season since 2010. Spalding's top finish in 2024 also marks the third different private school to secure the No. 1 spot in the last three years, following St. Frances Academy in 2022 and Good Counsel in 2023.
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