BALTIMORE - From the time his team went up four touchdowns in the first half to the time he doused his coach in Gatorade to the time he hoisted the championship trophy, Calvert Hall defensive tackle Dan Yarborough couldn't stop smiling. In his final high school game, Yarborough and his teammates did something no other team in Calvert Hall's proud history had ever accomplished: they won a Metro Interscholastic Athletic Association A-Conference title. It was their first championship of any kind since the Hall won the now-defunct Maryland Scholastic Association title in 1982.

What's more, the No. 2 Cardinals (11-1) earned that MIAA crown with an emphatic 41-13 thumping of archrival Loyola (6-5) in front of 10,967 in the 91st annual Turkey Bowl at M&T Bank Stadium. It's Calvert Hall's second straight victory over the Dons after losing the previous six meetings.

"It doesn't get much better than this," said Yarborough, a two-time all-conference selection. "We came is as jayvee champions and now we're leaving as varsity champions. So many people doubted us; so many people didn't think Calvert Hall could get to this point. We just shut everyone up. This is bragging rights for the rest of our lives."

They did it with a glut of underclassmen who played the entire season like seniors. They did it with a no-name defense that gave up just 123 points in a conference where more than half the teams average over 30 a night. They did it with an offense that thrived under the leadership of a transfer quarterback who couldn't crack the starting lineup at his old school. And yet never once did they ever stop believing.

"I'm just so proud of this group," said Calvert Hall coach Don Davis. "It didn't just happen for us - it took a lot of hard work. It's the time and dedication of our staff and our kids. It was a lot of people checking their egos and putting the team first."

Though the final score indicated a blowout, the Cardinals were back on their heels early on against a Loyola team pining for an upset. After the Dons scored on the game's opening possession, Davis charged onto the field and lit into his team. That ignited a fire that roared for the next 45 minutes.

"I told them before the game this Loyola team is capable of big plays," Davis said. "I told them, 'Don't let one play beat you. Do not panic. Weather the storm and just keep playing our game and we'll be successful.'"

Calvert Hall certainly played their game after that spiel. They reeled off 34 straight points in the next 9:50, while the Dons couldn't summon any of their opening-drive heroics. In the first half alone, Calvert Hall racked up 287 yards, picked off Loyola's Mike Fafaul (4-for-16 for 63 yards) two times - returning one for a touchdown - sacked him twice more and held Loyola's high-powered spread attack to just 100 yards. By halftime the Hall led 34-6 and the game was essentially over.

"We got a couple big plays and we were just feeding off each other," said Cardinals junior running back CJ Williams (35 yards, 1 touchdown), who returned from a serious leg injury suffered back in October. "It pumped everyone up. We were just clicking."

After Deemer Class (98 yards) gave Loyola a 6-0 lead with a 1-yard touchdown run, Calvert Hall responded less than two minutes later. Quarterback Thomas Stuart (6-for-11 for 111 yards) found Brandon Neverdon for a 50-yard gain before running back Stephen Kelly

(82 yards) finished the drive by outrunning the Loyola secondary on a 27-yard end-around. The extra point gave the Cardinals a 7-6 lead midway through the first quarter.

Calvert Hall's defense then asserted its will. Defensive end Stefan Janik recorded his second sack of the game on third-and-long, dropping Fafaul for a 15-yard loss. On the ensuing punt, Loyola's kicker, Mike Campanella, inexplicably attempted a fake punt from his own 24-yard line. He gained just two yards, setting up the Hall inside the Dons' 30.

Four plays later, Stuart snuck in from a yard out on fourth and goal. Loyola blocked the extra point, but Calvert Hall had a 13-6 advantage.

The Cardinals' third touchdown came right before the quarter ended. Stuart faked a jump pass before handing off to Neverdon. The junior track star hit the seam and sprinted 58 yards to pay dirt.

"When we get the ball, watch out," said Neverdon, who won player of the game honors after totaling 111 yards and scoring a touchdown. "We're coming. We're coming straight downhill."

With the offense scoring at will, the Calvert Hall defense decided to get into the act. Fafaul tried to avoid a sack by shoveling a pass to Jordan Floyd, but Calvert Hall's Trevor Williams stepped in front of the throw, picked it off and took it back 41 yards for a touchdown. The two-point conversion gave the Hall a 27-6 lead.

"Our defense is the best in the state - simple as that," Yarborough said. "We've played the best offenses and made them look like pedestrians. We had two bad plays early and then came back and dominated. That's what we do."

The Dons couldn't stop the bleeding. After yet another three-and-out, Calvert Hall needed just three plays to score again. Daquan Davis ran for 15, Adrian Amos followed with a 28 yarder and CJ Williams capped it with a 14-yard touchdown run.

Calvert Hall let off the gas in the second half, although they added one final touchdown on Garret Keene's 6-yard run. Class then scored for Loyola in the game's closing seconds, setting the score at 41-13.

The Cardinals forced four turnovers, averaged almost seven yards per rush and out-gained Loyola 389-215. But if there is any consolation for the Blakefield faithful, Loyola still owns the all-time series record against Calvert Hall, 48-35-8. Plus, most of their best players will be returning next season.

"We have a young team. I thought we battled Calvert Hall well in the second half, but we made some mistakes and it steamrolled," said Loyola coach Brian Abbott. "But I'm proud of our guys; they showed heart. I'm jacked up for next year."

So is Calvert Hall. Yarborough and his fellow seniors may be graduating, but they're leaving the Cardinals in good hands. Upwards of 15 starters from this year's championship team will return in 2011.

"There's a new power in the MIAA," Yarborough said. "We [seniors] are leaving, but there will not be a drop. Calvert Hall is here to stay."