Live Blog: Wilde Lake Wins Football Championship, 21-14, Over Franklin

Wilde Lake won its sixth state championship, defeating Franklin High, 21-14, for the Class 3A title. Columbia Patch had minute-by-minute updates of the action. And check in later for a full story from our reporter at the stadium.

9:00 – Wilde Lake punts the ball and it bounces all the way down to Franklin's 10. Beyond that, a holding penalty on the punt puts Franklin to the five. Considering that this has been a running game primarily, Franklin will have to use a LOT of clock just to get a chance to pull within one score.

The first play is a run for nothing much. The second play is a pass that is nearly picked off by Wilde Lake. But the running back, Venable, breaks free on third down, bringing the ball to the 18 for a first down.

9:04 – The commentators say Franklin has to play its own style of ball, not to worry about the points gap. But unless the Wilde Lake defense suddenly gives up a big play on a Franklin run, this running isn't doing anything but taking time off the clock.

Another wildcat (as in the wildcat offense, not as in the Wilde Lake Wildecats) snap on a shotgun formation gives Franklin a first down. They are getting some yards. Can they put together a scoring drive? 

One snap rolls on the ground to a running back. Another snap sees the running back stopped in the backfield. The third snap is a pass, nearly picked off, but the Franklin receiver makes the catch. Fourth and two. Gotta go for it.

And the quarterback keeper is short! Wilde Lake gets the ball back on downs. Now they can run the clock out, first down by first down.

9:10 – Wilde Lake doesn't get even one first down, though. Runs some time off the clock, though. 4:10 left in the half. Wilde Lake pooches the punt down to Franklin's 17.

9:11 – Heckuva first play for Franklin. A big pass down to Wilde Lake's 49. That's exactly what Franklin needed. The quarterback can't find anything on the next play, however, and runs out of bounds for a loss. Another pass is good, though, and Franklin has it on Wilde Lake's 20.

9:13 – Franklin's quarterback throws for the end zone and it is nearly intercepted by Wilde Lake. And then on the next play, the Franklin QB can't find anyone, scrambles in the back field, nearly gets sacked, throws an ill-advised pass and it goes directly to a Wilde Lake player – who juggles it and then drops what would've been the game-ending interception.

Franklin turns it over on downs. 3:10 left. Wilde Lake has it on the 21. Barring anything amazing, this looks like a Wilde Lake championship win.

9:18 – Two short runs for Wilde Lake, two timeouts for Franklin. 2:57 left. Wilde Lake fumbles it on a pitch play but recovers it. I think head coach Mike Harrison just had his heart in his throat. Wilde Lake's going to punt. Franklin takes a time out. 2:54 on the clock. The punt: Venable catches it at the 47 and brings it back to Wilde Lake's 35.

9:21 – Franklin scores on a touchdown pass! The extra point is good. It's 21-14 Wilde Lake, 2:18 left.

9:25 – No timeouts left for Franklin, though. They set up for an onside kick and desperately need to recover it. The kick... and it's recovered by Wilde Lake at the 45. First play for Wilde Lake is a run that's stuffed, but Franklin gets called for a facemask penalty – 15 yards forward for Wilde Lake and a first down.

Nothing on Wilde Lake's run. Not that they need much but time off the clock. 1:10 left. Another run up the middle. Little gained. 27 seconds. Wilde Lake runs one more play for nothing, and Coach Harrison gets the Gatorade dumped on him.

Your 2010 champions... Wilde Lake.

8:18 p.m. – An interesting parallel as we wait for the second half to begin – Wilde Lake's last state championship, in 1997, also had a halfback pass for a touchdown. Running back Brandon Finney threw the ball to Derrick Jordan.

8:35 – Wilde Lake kicked off to start the second half at about 8:32. Franklin caught the ball at the eight and brought it out to the 31. Wilde Lake stuffs a third-down run in the backfield. Franklin punts it and downs the ball at Wilde Lake's 35.

8:40 – Wilde Lake starts its possession with an Alvin Harris run for 15 yards to midfield. Then Khalil Viera adds a run of 12 yards for another first down – except not, as a holding call brings the play back. Then E.J. Gilman gets a bunch of that back on a 15-yard run. Another Gilman run, followed by a quarterback keeper gets Wilde Lake the first down.

8:43 – A handoff followed by a reverse to Khalil Viera goes for 36 yards and a touchdown. Wilde Lake goes for two, and Kelly bootlegs, rolls out and runs it in. 21-7 Wilde Lake.

8:50 – Wilde Lake pooches its kickoff to the 23. Franklin brings it to the 31. 5:39 left in the third quarter. Two runs. And then a wildcat snap from the shotgun formation gives Franklin the first down. Franklin fails to get another first down, though, and punts it to Wilde Lake's 29. 2:16 left in the third quarter.

8:53 – Wilde Lake brings it near midfield. One more score could put this game out of reach for Franklin. Meanwhile, Wilde Lake fans everywhere hope I didn't just jinx them by typing those words. Time runs out in the quarter. 21-7 Wilde Lake.

7:42 p.m. – Wilde Lake starts this second quarter up 7-0, but Franklin has the ball near on the Wilde Lake 9 and is threatening to score.

The first Franklin pass of the quarter goes over a wide receiver's head. It's third and five for Franklin. Score, or first down? They hand the ball off and it is close to the first-down marker. But is it a first down? Nope. Franklin is going for it, though, on fourth and inches. Franklin gets the first down, with the running back getting some extra oomph via his blockers.

Franklin has a first and goal on the two. The first run goes about a yard. A quarterback draw gets stuffed, with the ball pushed back to the four. The quarterback steps back to pass, throws left and has a receiver open for the touchdown. The extra point is good. 7-7.

7:48 – Viera takes the kickoff from the 7, runs it out to the 29. Three run plays just barely gets Wilde Lake a first down at the 39. Two more runs bring Wilde Lake another first down, this one at Franklin's 49. Three runs bring it short to Franklin's 43. Fourth and three. Joe Kelly's both the quarterback and the punter. Looks like Kelly's in for offense, not special teams.

Or is he? Timeout Wilde Lake. 5:14 left in the half.

7:51 – Wilde Lake elects to punt it. Or so it seems. But it's a fake punt, and a fake punt that fails. Franklin snuffs it out and now has great field position at midfield.

7:53 – Franklin, starting from the 45, has a deep pass broken up and then a run broken up in the backfield. Wilde Lake blitz on third and 12, hits the quarterback just after he throws, and Joe Kelly intercepts the pass at the 37 and runs it back across midfield to the Franklin 47 or so.

7:56 – Wilde Lake picks up a good gain on run for about 18 yards. Its next three runs fall short, however. It is fourth and three from Franklin's 25. Wilde Lake goes for it, pitches it, loses yards and turns it over on downs.

8:00 – Less than two minutes left in the half. Franklin starting from about the 29. Gets the first down on a quarterback keeper on a third and short. Hurry-up offense for Franklin, and hurrying up isn't good. The quarterback throws deep and Wilde Lake intercepts it and brings it back to Franklin's 16.

8:05 – A Wilde Lake run gets little. Time out. 46 seconds to go. Second and seven from the 13 yard line. Viera gets five more. Wilde Lake calls its final time out. Third and two with 39 seconds to go.

"There's not going to be any razzle dazzle," says one commentator. No kidding. There's more running in this broadcast than there was in the last presentation of Prefontaine (look it up, kids).

Kelly gives it to Viera, and Viera passes for a touchdown! What was that about razzle dazzle?

The extra point is very, very short. 13-7, Wilde Lake.

8:10 – Wilde Lake's kickoff is a squib kick. Franklin gets it at the 40 and gets hit immediately. About half a minute left for Franklin in this half. The first pass is incomplete. Quarterback has nothing on the second drop back, runs out of bounds. And a run falls short. The time is running out on the half, through Franklin calls a timeout just before the clock hits zero. No idea why.

Franklin pulls back for one more pass, and it is dropped. 13-7 Wilde Lake at the half.

7:02 p.m. – The broadcast has started with the two head coaches introducing themselves. Franklin's head coach says his team will utilize its running game and its passing game (which, well, is the definition of football). Wilde Lake head coach Mike Harrison says his team is excited to play for the championship and to play in Ravens Stadium.

"We look forward to putting on a show this evening," Harrison said.

7:07 – Wilde Lake won the coin flip and has chosen to receive the kickoff. Khalil Viera receives the kickoff and takes the ball out to the 37-yard line.

7:13 – Wilde Lake pushes down the field with four straight runs, an offsides penalty, and then three more runs. Khalil Viera is carrying the offense, and while quarterback Joe Kelly isn't doing a lot of passing, he's run the ball once and done plenty of blocking for Viera. Franklin calls a timeout with the ball on its 21-yard line. 8:26 to go in the first quarter.

7:14 – Viera brings the ball into the red zone with a 14-yard run. It's a first and goal for the Wildecats, and then Franklin allows Wilde Lake even closer with an offsides penalty. Wilde Lake has the ball on the three-and-a-half. Viera gets stuffed in the next run, however.

7:15 – Edward Gilman runs the ball into the end zone. Touchdown for Wilde Lake. Quarterback Joe Kelly is also the kicker. He makes the extra point, which gives Wilde Lake the 7-0 lead with 7:30 left in the first quarter.

7:21 – Franklin brings the kickoff to the 26. Its first play is a pass – the first pass of the game – which gets them about five yards. The next play is a big run into Wilde Lake territory, to the 48-yard-line, but a flag for holding brings the ball back.

7:23 – Franklin is back on its 34-yard-line. On a crucial third-and-four, a run play comes up short. Wilde Lake makes the crucial stop and forces the punt. And the punt doesn't go far, at all. Franklin downs it at the Wilde Lake 41.

7:25 – Viera's first run on this possession brings it into Franklin territory for a first down. But the next play is a false start that brings the ball back. First and 15. Another run. Another flag. Holding. That makes it first and 25. They're now back on their 35. 

7:33 p.m. –After a couple of failed plays, Kelly, on his second pass of the game, lobs a long one, which Viera is unable to pull in. The Wilde Lake punt – also done by Kelly – goes to the Franklin 38. Franklin runs twice, both for that proverbial few yards and a cloud of dust. And the third run gets the team a first down at midfield. 

A pass following a dropped snap nets Franklin another first down, to the Wilde Lake 40. Following a handoff for a yard or two, another pass gets another first down, this one at the 28.

7:36 – A 14-yard run from Franklin gets another first down. Now comes a 5-yard run. Both teams on this cold night are keeping it on the ground. Time runs out in the first quarter. Wilde Lake is up 7-0, but Franklin is threatening to score.