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Frederick High head football coach Vince Ahearn has been around plenty of talent as a coach across the state.

However this past Saturday, the veteran Cadets' field general was impressed even more at the amount of ability placed on the field at Towson University's Johnny Unitas Stadium this past Saturday.

As a part of the Baltimore coaching staff, Ahearn was able to witness first-hand the speed, power, smarts and skills shown by his team as well as the Washington D.C. squad in the Inaugural Crab Bowl.

Although Baltimore, which had six Frederick County standouts on its roster suffered a 32-21 defeat, he, along with the players, appreciated playing and coaching amongst the best the state has to offer.

"I've been involved in a lot of All-Star games, the Baltimore Touchdown Club and a bunch of others, and the talent here is amazing," said Ahearn on Saturday.

"You know, as a coach, you're not really coaching these guys in a game like this. It's great to see these guys in practice that you don't normally see, you just hear about."

The inaugural Maryland Crab Bowl was a banner day for high school football in the entire state. It was even sweeter for the University of Maryland.

Good Counsel of Montgomery County halfback Caleb Porzel won the Most Valuable Player award on the strength of three rushing touchdowns, while Forestville (Prince George's) defensive end DeOnte Arnette was named the game's Most Valuable Lineman.

Porzel, who finished the game with 68 total yards, scored on two 2-yard runs and a 9-yard run for D.C., showcasing pro-level speed with some surprising power for a 180-pound back.

The team's other touchdown came courtesy of Westlake's Devon Smith, a Penn State commit, who took the second half kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown.

The talent was off the charts across the board, as the game was rated one of the top five all-star games in the country by recruiting database www.rivals.com.

Crab Bowl president and co-founder Chuck Harmon estimated that in his 25 years covering football in the state, Maryland's never had "anything close" to the number of college prospects as the 2008-09 class.

According to the game's Web site, 35 of its players had already committed to Division I schools, while many more are expected to follow.

Tuscarora's Dominic Clarke and Jackarie Jackson, along with Thomas Johnson's D.J. Scott, Linganore defensive lineman Caanan Metz, and Urbana offensive linenan Lex Utt were all a part of the Baltimore squad.

Maryland School for the Deaf's Andy Bonheyo was also named to the squad, but sat out due to injury.

Scott, headed to play at Central Michigan of the Mid-America Conference, sensed he was a part of a special group of athletes.

"Just the practices leading up to this, I mean everyone out here is a Division I player, basically," Scott said.

"Because it's like — I mean not that there aren't good players where we are, but you know, going against Montgomery County, [Prince George's], Baltimore and all of them.

"It's just kind of good to see how you compare to everyone else. This was like [a] college [game]. This was my first college] game."