Poly’s Donovan Riley is already known as one of the best players in Baltimore City high school football. But Riley may have made his claim as perhaps the very best cornerback in the city after his career performance in Poly’s 12-0 win over Edmondson-Westside Sept. 24.
According to The Baltimore Sun, Riley missed three days of practice heading into the matchup due to what he described as a “24-hour bug.” But he showed no signs of illness at game time, intercepting three passes in Poly’s shutout victory.
Riley’s first interception came midway through the third quarter. The senior then took the field with the offense and caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from Darrel Milburn, giving Poly a 6-0 lead. Riley was joined on defense by teammates Jonathan Melton and Nigel Benjamin, who both also intercepted passes. Melton also had a game-high 15 tackles.
“Prime time players make prime time plays, and we made prime time plays tonight,” Riley told The Sun after the game. “My team is stingy with the ball. Wherever the ball is, my defensive teammates are around. Wherever the ball is, we come to get it.”
Edmondson also played outstanding defense, holding Poly’s offense out of the end zone, but couldn’t overcome their offense throwing five interceptions.
“I loved how disciplined they were,” Edmondson coach Dante Jones told The Sun of his defensive players. “Everything threw at them, they were in position to make the plays. The defense played excellent. We knew that if we could get in the end zone one time it would make all the difference in the world. It just didn’t happen for us tonight.”
Edmonson (3-1 overall, 2-1 Baltimore City) will try to bounce back when they take on Southwestern High on Sept. 30. Poly (4-0 overall, 3-0 Baltimore City) prepares for Douglass the same date.
In other Baltimore City high school football action from the weekend:
–Dunbar defeated Mergenthaler Vo-Tech, 28-8
–City College defeated Carver Vo-Tech, 20-6
–Digital Harbor defeated Southwestern, 22-0
–Lake Clifton defeated Southside Academy, 14-6
