Nearly a year later, the No. 13 Eagles have yet to regress to a more human state. With a 20-10 road win against previously undefeated Calvert on Friday night, North Point continued its reign of terror in Southern Maryland and moved to 5-0 with a strong second-half performance.

“That team set a new standard for our program last year,” Coach Billy Condo said. “And a lot of this year’s players were a part of that. So they’re still hungry.”

It was a young group last season, featuring the smallest number of seniors the 18-year-old Waldorf program has ever had: 17. So the roster featured plenty of experience this year, with 27 seniors and seven returning starters on each side of the ball.

The veteran squad has looked untouchable this fall, beating its first four opponents by a combined score of 171-0. But on Friday night, Calvert (4-1) quickly showed it had the talent and size to challenge that supremacy. The feisty Cavaliers, coming off a strong 2022 season in which they reached the state semifinals, took to the air in the first half and grabbed an early lead thanks to a few big passing plays. They led North Point 10-7 at the break.

Fall 2023 high school sports scores

“Oh, I love this,” senior running back Kaleb Hart told his Eagles teammates as they trudged off the field at half. “This is the type of game I’ve been waiting for.”

Hart had provided the Eagles’ only touchdown to that point, a stunning 40-yard scamper that seemed to wake up a sluggish offense in the second quarter. North Point opened the second half with an efficient five-play scoring drive, with Hart’s second touchdown of the night handing the Eagles their first lead.

Finally in the driver’s seat, North Point focused on what it does best: rushing and defense. Junior Damien Brown ran in a fourth-quarter touchdown to extend the lead to 10, and the defensive front, led by explosive linebacker Kamari Loving, throttled the Cavaliers. The home team passed midfield just once in the second half, and that trip came with the clock under a minute and the result decided.

“A test like this feels good,” Hart said. “Things didn’t really go our way early, but it’s nice to know that when things don’t go our way we can still do what we do.”