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The Douglass team bus arrived late for Friday's Class 2A state semifinal game against Eastern Tech at the Community College of Baltimore County in Essex. The game did not begin until 7:45 p.m. – 45 minutes after its scheduled 7 p.m. start.

Eastern Tech prevailed, 27-12, to advance to the state championship game for the third year in a row. The Mavericks, who lost the state title game the past two years, will face Queen Anne's in the 2009 state final next Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. Queen Anne's beat Middletown, 48-33, in the other 2A state semifinal on Friday.

"I don't think we gave ourselves much of a chance," Douglass coach J.C. Pinkney said after the game. "I felt we missed some good opportunities. We did struggle some on defense. The bus situation certainly didn't help us, but once we got on the field, we should have made the plays to win."

As for why the Eagles' bus was late, Pinkney responded, "I have no idea."

Once the game started, the Eagles (10-3) had trouble containing Eastern Tech quarterback Zach Burkhardt. The 6-foot-1, 184-pound senior tossed two touchdown passes and ran for 86 yards.

After the teams played a scoreless first quarter, Burkhardt had a 39-yard scamper to set up the game's first touchdown. Eastern Tech tailback Marquis Bannister scored on a 1-yard touchdown run, and an extra point gave the Mavericks (12-1) a 7-0 lead with 7 minutes, 57 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

Douglass responded less than 2 minutes later when senior tailback Emmanuel Paul's 39-yard touchdown run cut the deficit to 7-6. But when Eastern Tech got the ball back, the Mavericks needed just two plays to add to their lead. Burkhardt found Criszon Brown on a 44-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-6.

Two drives later, Eastern Tech took over on the Eagles' 37-yard-line after an 8-yard punt by senior Will McKenzie. Six plays later, the Mavericks were in the end zone again, as Burkhardt found Bannister on a 12-yard touchdown pass, giving Eastern Tech a commanding 21-6 lead at halftime.

The Eagles seemingly put themselves back in the game when quarterback Richard Barber found McKenzie on a 70-yard touchdown pass, making it 21-12 early in the third quarter.

But the Mavericks responded with a 10-play, 69-yard drive, capped by a 10-yard touchdown run by Emmanuel Gbor that sealed the game. The score gave the Mavericks a 27-12 lead late in the third quarter.

The Eagles had another shot to score, advancing the ball to the Mavericks' 2-yard line. But Barber's fourth-down pass in the end zone was tipped by Eastern Tech senior Wole Ogunbo, ending the threat.

Barber was held to 6 completions on 17 attempts for 120 yards and a touchdown, and was sacked five times. Gbor had a big day on the ground, running for 93 yards and a touchdown, leading the way for the Mavericks as they amassed 277 yards rushing.

Paul finished with 119 yards rushing and a touchdown on 16 carries.

Douglass (10-3) 0 6 6 0 – 12

Eastern Tech (12-1) 0 21 6 0 – 27

E -- Bannister 1 run (Kratochvil kick)

D -- Paul 39 run (run failed)

E -- Brown 44 pass from Burkhardt (Kratochvil kick)

E -- Bannister 12 pass from Burkhardt (Kratochvil kick)

D -- McKenzie 70 pass from Barber (run failed)

E -- Gbor 10 run (kick failed)