Elwood Townsend, varsity head coach of the Douglass (Baltimore, Md.) Ducks football team, has been named the 2013 Ravens High School Coach of the Year. Townsend is the 17th recipient of the annual award.
Under Townsend, Douglass has experienced a drastic turnaround in the five years since he took over the football program. In 2013, the Ducks advanced to the Maryland Class 1A state championship game for the first time in school history, where they fell last Saturday (12/7) in a bout with Fort Hill (Cumberland, Md.) at M&T Bank Stadium. Having previously gone undefeated throughout the season, Douglass finished with a 13-1 overall record.
Townsend has continuously developed the football program and implemented his philosophy at Douglass since being named head coach in 2009. "It was a struggle the first few seasons," Townsend, a Baltimore native, explained. "But I ask for three things out of our players – hard work, dedication and performance in the classroom. The boys have bought into that philosophy over the last few years, and we've been able to find success."
Each week during the season, the Ravens honored a high school coach who made a significant impact on his athletes. Each winner was present at the Ravens vs. Vikings home game on Dec. 8 for the naming of the Ravens' High School Coach of the Year. Comcast SportsNet also featured a weekly segment to honor the selected coach.
Each 2013 Ravens High School Coach of the Week recipient received:
- A $2,000 donation to the school's football program
- An award certificate signed by Ravens head coach John Harbaugh
- A specially-designed Coach of the Week hat
As the 2013 Ravens High School Coach of the Year, Townsend will receive an additional $4,000 donation toward Douglass' football program.
The Ravens High School Coach of the Year Award has been a fixture in youth athletics since 1997. Previous recipients include: Augie Waibel of Poly (1997), Nick Arminio of Eastern Technical (1998), Pete Pompey of Edmondson-Westside (1999), Dominic Damico of McDonogh (2000), Steve Turnbaugh of Hereford (2001), Dave Eubank of Dundalk (2002), Gene Brown of South Carroll (2003), Ben Eaton of Dunbar (2004), Brad Wilson of Westminster (2005), Dante Jones of Edmondson-Westside (2006), Lawrence Smith of Dunbar (2007), Tony Shermeyer of Century (2008), Rick Conner of Linganore (2009), Damon Bomar of Forest Park (2010), Roger Wrenn of Poly (2011) and Reggie White of Milford Mill (2012).* *
2013 Ravens High School Coach of the Week Recipients:
Week 1 Paul Bernstorf St. Paul's School
Week 2 Matt Martello North Carroll High School
Week 3 Sean Murphy Archbishop Curley High School
Week 4 Andrew Goldbeck Kenwood High School
Week 5 Butch Shaffer Glenelg High School
Week 6 Elwood Townsend Douglass High School
Week 7 Justin Carey Hammond High School
Week 8 Brendon Ireton Kent County High School
Week 9 Corey Johnson Edmonson-Westside High School
Week 10 Chuck Markiewicz Arundel High School
