Dunbar football makes history on signing day

Josh Fedd didn’t expect a global pandemic to upend his high school football career when he arrived at Dunbar in the fall of 2019. Linemen at Dunbar High also didn’t imagine he would. would attend Harvard, arguably the most prestigious university in the country.

But, there was Fedd, wearing a crimson-colored Harvard sweatshirt, with matching hat, taking pictures with family members inside Dunbar Auditorium on Wednesday afternoon. Fedd was one of 10 record poets to finalize their college projects.

Tavis Brown (Virginia State), Kelby Carter (Morgan State), Tony Hart (Elon), Davon Jones (Bethany College), Tristen Kenan (Maine), Shantron Monroe (Seton Hill), Ebubedike Nnbugwu (Delaware State), Devin Page (Lafayette), Devin Roche (Old Dominion) and Donald Smith (Morgan State) were recognized with Fedd.

“It’s pretty amazing. We didn’t know if we were going to have a high school career,” Fedd said.

Fedd played at the Poets Junior College in the fall of 2019. In the summer of 2020, Fedd and his teammates discovered Zoom as the COVID-19 pandemic turned off-season practices into virtual events.

The 2020 fall football season has been canceled in Baltimore City. The Poets returned to the field in 2021 and started a historic run.

The East Baltimore school has posted consecutive undefeated seasons, culminating in a Class 2A/1A state championship in 2021 (13-0) and 2022 (14-0). The consecutive undefeated seasons are a first in the history of the Dunbar program.

More impressive was what they did off the field, with a 3.2 GPA.

“That’s what Dunbar football should be,” Poets coach Lawrence Smith said. “We want student-athletes who take being a student as seriously as playing football. These guys have set a bar that we want to break every year.

St. Frances football players Kyree Benton (left), Christian Garrett and Kino Glover signed their scholarship letters during a ceremony inside the school gymnasium. Benton and Garrett will attend Delaware State University and Glover will head to central North Carolina. (Derek Toney)

Baltimore County champion and Class 4A/3A state semifinalists Dundalk asked six players to announce their college plans, led by star offensive linemen Chimdy Omoh who signed with Penn State. Running back Jordan Fiorenza heads to Wheeling University with Dajuan Jones (defensive line) and Dale Martin (linebacker). Jullian Haddix (offensive line) and Kevaun Briscoe (linebacker) have committed to Charleston and Bowie State, respectively.

St. Frances, the region’s No. 1 football team last fall, had two players signed with Delaware State in wide receiver Kyree Benton and defensive back Christian Garrett. Kino Glover (offensive lineman) will play for North Carolina Central.

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Gilman asked 21 of his student-athletes to announce their college plans on Wednesday. Greyhound football players Ahmir Crawley (Lafayette), Allan Gushue (Washington & Lee), Miles Roberts (Amherst) and Marcus Walker (Oberlin College) have signed up.

Ten lacrosse players – Jackson Barnhill (Franklin & Marshall), Warry Calhoun (Johns Hopkins), Hayden Carpenter (Connecticut College), Ian Evans (Union), George Hardy (Franklin & Marshall), Carson Mingo (Randolph-Macon), Matt Morelli (Lafayette), Wally Radebaugh (St. Joseph’s), Patrick Rodgers (Washington College) and Bo Webster (Holy Cross) – engaged. Baseball players Jalen Dockett and Adam Hicks are heading to Clafin and Gettysburg respectively.

Elijah Brijbasi (Louisville, soccer), Tim Brooks (Colgate, swimming), Ryan Capodanno (Franklin & Marshall, soccer), Tommy Soltanian (Columbia, squash) and Luke Woodworth (Stanford, sailing) have also signed up for the Greyhounds.