Mount Carmel dominates in PIE Classic debut

As the Partners In Excellence scholarship program celebrated 30 years of helping students from families with limited financial means access a Catholic education, two of its beneficiary schools took the spotlight Oct. 24 at Baltimore’s Under Armour Stadium. And when the inaugural PIE Homecoming Classic ended, Our Lady of Mount Carmel School had delivered a statement performance, defeating Archbishop Curley High School 30-7.

Some two hours after kickoff, the Cougars celebrated their first win in five tries against the Friars, turning a 14-0 halftime advantage into a commanding 30-7 victory that essentially locked up a spot in the upcoming MIAA B Conference playoffs.

Archbishop Curley Coach Rich Stichel (left) and Mount Carmel Coach Josh Ward (right) during the PIE Homecoming Classic Saturday, Oct. 24 2026 at Under Armour Headquarters Stadium. (John Strohsacker/Special to the Review)

“Our team came out; we made some plays. We’ve got a heck of a team,” said Mount Carmel coach Josh Ward, whose Essex squad improved to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the league with regular season games against Pallotti (1-6, 1-4) and Annapolis Area Christian School (0-8, 0-6) remaining. “I would think we’re in the playoffs. We’ve got to finish; we’ve got two more games. We want to get home field (advantage) for the playoffs.”

The Cougars started quickly, opening up a 7-0 lead on their opening drive when quarterback Blake Caccamo (142 passing yards) scrambled to his right where he found a wide open Jahleel Gant along the Mount Carmel sideline. Gant then raced 65 yards for a touchdown, juking a defender around the 10 to reach the end zone. The score came on third down and 15 yards to go following a sack on first down.

Mount Carmel pushed the lead to 14-0 with 5:26 left in the first quarter on a bruising 7-yard run up the middle by Jamauri Miller to complete a 6-play, 48-yard drive set up by Thomas Jones’s 17-yard punt return.

“Today, we just dominated,” said Miller, who found the end zone twice Saturday. “We came out with the mindset to dominate every play. We had to do it out on the field. No more talking. I appreciate the chance to be on the field with my guys in this environment.”

Curley responded with a punishing ground attack on its next possession that ultimately reached Mount Carmel’s 6-yard line, but penalties derailed the Baltimore team’s drive that ended with a missed field goal. Numerous miscues in terms of fumbles and penalties, as well as the loss of top running back Michael Cutchember (28 carries, 157 yards) to cramps in the second half, plagued the Friars (4-5, 3-2 MIAA B) for much of the contest.

Mount Carmel quarterback Blake Caccamo sets up for a throw during the PIE Homecoming Classic Oct. 24 at Baltimore’s Under Armour Stadium. (John Strohsacker/Special to the Review)

“We just couldn’t push it in,” Friars coach Rich Stichel said. “At the end of the (first) half, we tried to make it a one-score game. We shot ourselves in the foot. They got a big play on us on third (down) and long and that’s kind of been our Achilles heel so far this year. We’ve got a young team. There’s things to look forward to.”

The Cougars maintained that 14-point advantage as the defenses largely dominated play until Dean Totushek booted home a 34-yard field goal with 11:52 left in the game to complete a lengthy drive for a three-score lead.

Curley responded with a 41-yard pass play from quarterback Adam Cook to Brittingham Jemell down the middle of the field. Cook (6-for-12, 80 yards) was hit by Neph Soto McCown as he released the ball, and Jemell collided with a defender and teammate in the middle of the field on the catch but hauled the football in and went untouched to the end zone with 8:09 left in the game to trim the deficit to 17-7.

Undaunted, Mount Carmel drove the ball 65 yards for a 23-7 lead with 6:07 remaining in the game on a 4-yard touchdown run up the middle by Miller. The ensuing point-after attempt failed. After turning Curley over on downs on its next possession, Caccamo found a wide-open Da’Mani Lawson down the middle of the field for a 35-yard touchdown to seal the win at 30-7 with 2:42 left in the contest.

Archbishop Curley quarterback Adam Cook mid-throw at the PIE Homecoming Classic Oct. 24 at Baltimore’s Under Armour Stadium. (John Strohsacker/Special to the Review)

“My outside receivers were doing great all game, my running backs, and O-line, and they left the middle of the field open clearly,” Caccamo said. “I’m fortunate to be the one to help beat them. This environment is great. I wouldn’t want to do it anywhere else.”

The regularly scheduled league contest was moved to Under Armour Stadium, which was splashed all afternoon with plentiful sunshine beneath a nearly cloudless sky, to highlight the 30 years of tireless work done by Partners In Excellence, which funds the education of underprivileged students in and outside Baltimore City who want to experience a Catholic education.

“What a facility,” said Edward Fortunato, president of the PIE board. “We wanted to celebrate 30 years of PIE and we had a breakfast about a month ago, and it went very well, and Roxanne (Fiddler, the program’s director) wanted to do more, and she came up with this plan. We’re all football fans, so let’s celebrate with football. Let’s get the word out about PIE. We want to raise money.

“PIE’s always had the reputation of being the best kept secret in Baltimore. We don’t want it to be a secret anymore. We got lucky with the weather (and) this facility is amazing.”

Mount Carmel coaches watch their team from the sidelines during the PIE Homecoming Classic Oct. 24 at Baltimore’s Under Armour Stadium. (John Strohsacker/Special to the Review)

Greg Farno, the chancellor of education for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, echoed Fortunato’s hopes of highlighting the Partners In Excellence mission in the community. Since its inception, PIE has awarded more than 30,000 scholarships totaling more than $40 million. Overall, PIE scholarships cover about 30 percent of tuition, so parents must contribute, and some schools find additional support as well.

“Partners in Excellence was started 30 years ago by a group of business people who were visionaries who said, ‘We have to make education, in this case Catholic education, available to students in Baltimore City,’” said Farno, who was sporting a Mount Carmel hat and Curley shirt to support both squads. “Thirty years later, it’s thriving and provides tuition assistance for hundreds of students in the city and outside of the city a little bit as well.”

The contest, which was attended by a boisterous crowd that largely filled the stadium’s spacious stands and was announced by former WJZ and WBAL sports journalist and current Catholic Review columnist and radio host Mark Viviano, could possibly be the beginning of an annual event, according to a cautiously optimistic Fiddler.

“It’s been an amazing outpouring of support for both schools and from the whole community that I am hoping this is the first annual PIE Homecoming Classic,” Fiddler said. “I would love to have it as these two teams, but I don’t want to put the cart before the horse if there are other Catholic schools we could support.”

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