On Oct. 27, Mead High School was buzzing in anticipation of the upcoming football game that night. The Mavericks were visiting the Frederick Golden Eagles. The Mavs were looking to pick up a win and bounce back from last year’s tragic loss against Frederick, which prevented them from gaining a spot in the CHSAA 4A State Football Championships.

The Mavericks won the coin flip and chose to defer the toss, opting to receive the second half kickoff. After receiving the opening kickoff, the Golden Eagles moved down the field, quickly looking to strike first right out of the gate.

However, the Mead defense was able to come up big and thwart the offensive threat posed by the Eagles early on. Looking to move down the field quickly, Mead began their first offensive efforts of the game, but were quickly stopped and forced to punt—returning possession of the ball back to Frederick.

Moving quickly down the field once again, the Golden Eagles were quickly able to strike and deliver the first offensive blow of the game. Completing a rushing touchdown and extra point attempt, Frederick was off to an early 7-0 lead with eight minutes to go in the first quarter.

However, the Mavericks were able to drive back up the field for kicker Jordan Lohr (’24) to deposit a 28 yard field goal, cutting into the Frederick lead with four minutes to go in the first quarter. With the ball returned to Frederick, they drove back up the field and, in the final minutes of the quarter, scored yet another touchdown. Dropping in another extra point, the Golden Eagles had pushed their lead to 14-3 to end the first quarter.

For each team, the second quarter was a defensive battle. Both teams executed a plethora of fantastic defensive plays to stop the other from scoring. The half ended with no progression for anyone on the scoreboard.

The second half opened up with the Mavericks in possession of the ball. Unable to get anything going, they were forced to punt and put the ball back in the hands of the Golden Eagles.

With roughly seven minutes to go in the third quarter, Frederick, once again, completed a touchdown pass to stretch their lead to 20-3. Mead looked to score in order to keep the game within their grasp after a missed extra point attempt. Driving down the field and fighting many questionable penalties, the Mavericks completed a touchdown pass with two minutes to go in the third quarter and cut into the Frederick lead. After completing the extra point, the Mavericks had reduced the lead to 20-10. Frederick had regained possession of the ball, and in the final minute of the third quarter, Mead came up with a huge interception to recover the ball again.

With the tides of the game turning and the fans that had stuck through the blistering cold rallying behind them, the Mavericks were hungry to strike and take control of the game. In the final seconds of a huge third quarter, Mead’s Ethan Elmore (‘27) rushed for a touchdown to bring the game to 20-16. Victory over their long-standing rivals was just within reach for the MHS football team.

Yet the attempts were to no avail. Frederick completed a field goal with three minutes to go in the fourth quarter after a very well fought second half. After raising their lead to 23-17, the Golden Eagles staved off the Mavericks last ditch effort to complete a pass that would have tied the game at the end of regulation.