By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.com
Sherwood football coach Al Thomas officially announced his retirement to his players Tuesday morning, ending a long tenure as one of Maryland’s greatest high school coaches.
Thomas guided Sherwood to the Maryland 4A state title this season with a 21-3 victory over Linganore in the championship game. It was Sherwood’s first state championship since 1996.
With the state title, Thomas became the first coach in Maryland High School history to win state championships at three different schools.
He tied Good Counsel coach Bob Milloy with eight titles overall, winning five at Seneca Valley and two at Damascus before this, his first at Sherwood.
Thomas’ first title came in 1976 with Seneca Valley, in which his team went undefeated in Class B. He also won state titles at Seneca Valley in 1977 (undefeated), 1979, 1980 (undefeated) and 1987. His two championships at Damascus came in 1992 and 1993.
Thomas, 69, came to Sherwood in 2004 and heightened the program’s dominance after a trail-off following state titles in 1995 and 1996 under current Good Counsel Coach Bob Milloy.
Sherwood reached the state finals in 2005 and 2006 and was a region finalist last year before breaking through with an undersized, but experienced team this season.
CLICK HERE FOR COVERAGE FROM THIS YEAR’S STATE TITLE GAME
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