Harford Tech football plays for 1st time since coach firings amid investigation

Chase Baldwin’s touchdown on the final play of Friday’s game did not alter the result of Harford Tech’s lopsided 47-7 loss to Edgewood, but it did wonders for the home sideline and a group that’s faced mountains of uncertainty.

For the first time in weeks, the Cobras had something to celebrate.

“With everything that’s going on, it has been extremely tough for us in this program,” interim coach Ryan Hunt said. “The kids, by them coming out on the field tonight, they saved the reputation and the culture of Harford Tech football.”

The school fired coach Brad Hunt, Ryan’s father, after nine seasons with the team and three other assistant coaches last Friday amid a police investigation into hazing allegations, which were prompted by an incident involving students on the team. Harford County Public Schools, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office and the Maryland Department of Human Services, which is assisting the school with the investigation, have declined to share details of the probe, other than that it is ongoing and limited to the football program.

Harford Tech cancelled its game last week against Elkton and practices leading up to the contest. The team returned to practice Monday. Friday was the Cobras’ first action in two weeks.

“I was made the scapegoat by the school after 9 years,” Brad Hunt said in a text message to The Aegis on Wednesday. “I’ll bite my tongue and take the high road.”

Ryan Hunt, the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach on his father’s staff for the past four seasons, will take over the head position for the remainder of the season. His first test couldn’t have been more difficult: Edgewood has been nearly unstoppable for two seasons. The Cobras were also without senior quarterback and team captain Stephen Kelley, who was one of six players listed on the Harford Tech roster not in uniform Friday. Hunt declined to answer a question regarding the reason for the absences.

Friday, the Cobras proved little resistance for the dominant Rams. Still, Hunt saw resolve.

“I can’t be more proud of them and the effort they showed tonight,” he said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game tonight coming in on a short week of practice and the tough situation that we’ve been in the past two weeks. But I can’t be more proud of the fight that they showed.”

Hunt, a 2020 Harford Tech graduate, is not much older than some of his players. “People are gonna see the pictures of me and think, ‘Man, this guy looks young,’” he joked.

And he kept his ousted father with him internally Friday. “He’s a hero to me, and he’s a hero to a lot of kids on this team,” he said.

The new coach’s past week has consisted of throwing a game plan together and dealing with the attention. That started with Baldwin, normally a slot receiver and running back hybrid who learned how to handle quarterback duties on the fly.

“For a kid who I don’t think he’s ever taken a snap at quarterback, he did a pretty damn good job tonight,” Hunt said.

Friday also included a moment of silence pregame for Blake Elliott, the 16-year-old C. Milton Wright student killed in a bus accident Thursday. Harford Tech and Edgewood players and coaches came together at midfield after the handshake line for a joint prayer.

In the middle was Hunt, the young coach doing all of this for the first time. He hopes that finally playing a game erases the difficult previous weeks.

“I feel like the team is — the morale is higher and we’re much more connected,” captain Brennan Appleby said. “We feel like we have something to prove. I feel like we’ve come together a lot.”

Edgewood keeps rolling

With an interim coach and several players missing, Harford Tech was never a test for an Edgewood team that keeps showing why it should be the county’s most feared.

The Rams are 3-0 after Friday’s 40-point win over the Cobras, which followed an eight-point victory over Aberdeen and a 24-point win against Bel Air. Quarterback Michael Robinson threw four touchdown passes — two to his brother Malachi Robinson — and ran for a score.

Edgewood’s biggest challenge so far comes next week at home against undefeated Perryville, a state semifinalist last season that is being investigated by the MPSSAA, according to a Cecil County Public Schools spokesperson who did not share further details.

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