BALTIMORE — It was all Dunbar today, as the Poets beat the Cambridge-South Dorchester High School Vikings, 45-3, in the Class 1A semi-finals. The Poets will play the Catoctin Cougars next Saturday at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis, kick-off at 3:30 p.m.

The Vikings defied early-season predictions of only a moderately successful season, as they finished their 2019 campaign with a record of 11-3.

In the semi-final contest, the Vikings’ only points came from the foot of sophomore kicker James Frazier, who booted a 31-yard field goal near the end of the second quarter, to make the score 14-3.

With Dunbar beginning to dominate on the line of scrimmage and their defensive speed taking away C-SD’s usual advantage in the running game, it was looking like it would be a tough game when that kick sailed through the uprights, but still a manageable challenge. But when Dunbar got the ball back and drove down field for a 22-3 lead with less than a minute left in the second quarter, the Vikings found themselves down three scores with a lot of work to do in the second half.

The usually opportunistic C-SD defense was not able to generate any turnovers in this game, something that would have helped to even the balance. The Poets took away another of the Vikings’ weapons by closely covering ace receiver Logan Middleton, who didn’t pull in his first reception until the third quarter was underway.

The knock-out blow might have come at the 4:40 mark in the third period, when, on fourth and 14 from the C-SD 15, Dunbar quarterback Karon Moore threw for a touchdown. A 2-point conversion — the Poets had a few of these — made it 30-3 as the quarter came to an end.