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This weekend, the customary purple and black that adorns the Baltimore Ravens faithful at M&T Bank Stadium will give way to other colors, as the complex plays host to four state championship high school football games.

Frederick County is well represented, with Class 2A No. 1-seeded Middletown High School set to face No. 3-seeded McDonough High School of Owings Mills at 3:30 p.m., on Saturday. Class 4A No. 3-seeded Urbana is set to face No. 1-seeded Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. High School of Upper Marlboro at 7:30 p.m., Friday.

Tickets for the games are $8 and are available at the stadium or online at http://mpssaa.ticketleap.com/. Children younger than 7 do not need tickets.

The games will also be broadcast on television, on The CW.

Fox 45 Sports anchor Bruce Cunningham will be doing play-by-play along with color commentary from former Raven Wally Williams, according to the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association website.

Middletown

The Middletown Knights are in the hunt for the school's first-ever championship in football, but third-year coach Kevin Lynott said the student-athletes and coaching staff aren't nervous about the special attention a championship would bring.

"I don't think there's any pressure with this game," he said. "First of all, when you get to this type of game, you've had a really good season. This is icing on the cake. We don't have to worry about motivating anybody."

Lynott said the team members has had this goal in their minds since the first days of offseason training in the spring and into the summer, printing their mantra "Finish 14" on T-shirts, meaning the 14 games needed to win a state championship.

"That was our goal starting in the summer," he said. "That's what we dreamed of. To see it actualized and realized is something great to have happen. ... We got half of it, we got the 14; we just have to finish it."

He said the community has been tremendous in supporting the football team during their 12-1 season, but that he wasn't surprised by the reaction, as the community goes to great lengths to support all of the high school's athletics.

"That's the great thing about our school," he said. "Two weeks ago at the girls' soccer [championship] game, half the community was at that soccer game: football players, lacrosse, basketball. It's more than just a sport. It's a community that loves to support their young people. You see parents who have had kids graduate 10 years ago are coming back to support the current kids. They want to support the upcoming generation. As far as community support goes it's through the roof."

Assistant Principal Michael Watson said the school's athletic success this year — the girls' soccer team won a state championship this fall — is a great showcase for the school's athletes.

"It's just kind of a sense of pride and all the hard work's paying off," Watson said. "We just have great student athletes — it's nice to see them succeed."

Watson said the success "invigorates" students and staff. "It reiterates this is what's best for kids, to see all their hard work paying off. It brings the community together; it gets us all excited about the same thing."

Lynott said the school wasn't holding a pep rally or other special events for the team, but instead is treating it like a normal week of school and practice.

"Our tone this week is it's just another game," he said. "And we're going to approach it just like all the other games. We're going to take on the McDonough Rams. There will be enough excitement once you get into the stadium."

Urbana

Urbana High School has a long tradition of football success; in the 15 years since the school was founded, its football team has reached the pinnacle of success in the state's playoffs four times.

But success for this year's team wasn't guaranteed, as a new head coach, Ryan Hines, took over. Hines had previously coached at Walkersville High School. Despite the coaching change, the team reeled off an undefeated season and earned the chance for another state title Friday night.

Jeffrey Marker, an assistant principal at Urbana High School, said the school is organizing a pep bus to root for the team, and that the school's athletic success brings a special feeling for students.

"This really brings a great atmosphere," he said. "The fact that the kids have something to be super proud of; the fact that we can really have something to celebrate and hang our hats on."

He said the school was proud of all of its athletic success this fall. "I think in general we've had a pretty darn successful fall," Marker said, rattling off some of the accomplishments of the school's teams, including a state championship in golf. "... I don't think we had a single team that didn't make the playoffs. Our cross country team, the boys won the region. We're really proud of how successful our athletic programs are."

tlaino@gazette.net

If you go

Frederick County is well represented, with Class 2A No. 1-seeded Middletown High School set to face No. 3-seeded McDonough High School of Owings Mills at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Class 4A No. 3-seeded Urbana is set to face No. 1-seeded Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. High School of Upper Marlboro at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Tickets for the games are $8 and are available at the stadium or online at http://mpssaa

.ticketleap.com/. Children younger than 7 do not need tickets.