Arundel's Markiewicz nears AACo. career coaching wins record

by Pat O'Malley
mailto:patomalleysports@aol.com%20

Every since he was a young boy selling programs at Arundel High school football games, Chuck Markiewicz wanted to be a football coach. And to be coach of the Wildcats would be his lifelong goal.
   
Mission accomplished and more as the coach is on the verge of becoming Anne Arundel County's all-time winningiest football coach. He will forever be remembered as the coach who revolutionized county football by bringing an innovative passing game, was the "run-and-shoot" then and is now the "no-huddle spread,"  to Anne Arundel.
   
After playing football at Arundel, Markiewicz became a football coach and in 2001, in what was his 15th year as a head coach after stops at Chesapeake, Meade and North County, he landed at his alma mater.
   
Then Arundel principal, Will Myers hired Markiewicz in what was a surprise move because of the huge success that the coach had at North County. Markiewicz led the Knights to a state title in 1994, one of only three that Anne Arundel has ever won, but the Wildcat job was open after Bill Zucco stepped down as coach and Markiewicz knew where he wanted to coach.
   
"It was what I always wanted to do," said Markiewicz, whose DigitalSports No. 8-ranked Wildcats are off to a 4-1 start in his 22nd season after going 13-1 in 2007, the only loss in the Class 4A State final to Quince Orchard at M&T Bank Stadium.
 
Now in his eighth season in Gambrills (58-26) , the 53-year old Markiewicz is about to become Anne Arundel County's all-time winningiest football coach. Markiewicz can tie the late, great Annapolis coach and Anne Arundel County Sports Hall of Famer Big Al Laramore, who won a state title in 1978,  Friday for the most career wins (156) with a win at home over, oddly enough the Annapolis Panthers (3-2).
   
"Big Al only ran four plays and dared you to stop them," said Markiewicz. "He was a great coach and one of the first clinics I ever went to was in New York City with Al and other county coaches.
   
"I've  never really thought about what the record would mean to me, but it's a great thing. I would like to win a few more games before I retire."
   
Markiewicz took over sole possession of second place on the county's all-time list in a wild 46-25 rout of Meade (2-3) last week after moving into a second place tie with retired South River coach Joe Papetti. The Arundel coach, who considers himself and his assistants ""kid coaches,'' not football coaches, notched his 154th career win to tie Papetti on the field named after the latter in Edgewater.
   
Yes, strangley enough, Markiewicz tied Papetti with a 34-7 Wildcat victory at South River (3-2).
   
After playing football at Arundel, Anne Arundel Community College and Salisbury University (1978 grad), Markiewicz got into coaching with his close friend and former high school and AACC teammate, Jeff Herrick. Herrick is in his 20th season as Broadneck's coach and is tied for fourth place on the all-time list with retired Severna Park coach Andy Borland with 145 wins each.
   
"Chuck and I both played for the late Jerry Mears at Arundel and Jerry hired me as a JV coach at Meade in 1977 (school's first year) and Buddy Hepfer hired us both at Arundel in 1978," said Herrick, who starred at Anne Arundel CC before becoming one of the best athletes in Towson State history.   
   
"We both ended up coaching against Jerry, who was our mentor."
   
Mears, who led Arundel High to the county's first state crown in football in 1975 on a team that featured Herrick's brother Neal and Chuck Hebron who will be inducted into the Anne Arundel County Sporst Hall of Fame, Oct. 15, is sixth on the all-time county list wiyth 129 wins. Mears, like Laramore was posthumously inducted into the county Hall of Fame, in 1994 and 1992 respectively.
   
"We were fortunate enough to go to clinics with Al, Jerry, Buddy, Joe Papetti and Andy Borland back then," said Herrick. "Chuck had the guts to try the run-and-shoot and has been very successful with it. I'm really proud of Chuck for what he has accomplished."
   
Markiewicz first went to the run-and-shoot at Meade in 1989 with All-County quarterback Billy ""The Kid'' Maxwell who completed 85 of 182 passes for 1,480 yards and 12 touchdowns to lead the Mustangs to a 7-3 record.
   
"I was introduced to the passing game by a guy named John Yaccino from Greensburg, Pa. and when I took over at North County in 1990, we put it in right away," Markiewicz recalled. "Brad (Wilson, now the Westminster coach) and I decided to go with it (passing game) at North County and we've never had a tight end in our offense since."       
   
North County would go 43-11 in its first five years under Markiewicz, including 11-2 in 1994 and a 23-6 victory over Largo of Prince George's at Annapolis High (U. of Maryland was being renovated) for the state championship. Earl Sewell was the Knights' quarterback in '94, one of a host of one-year quarterbacks for Markiewicz. Mike Evans (1995-96), who the coach says might have been his best, would be a rare two-year QB at North County.
   
One of the first standout players that Markiewicz had at North County was All-County and second-team All-Metro linebacker Vinnie Elliott, who is now defensive coordinator at Arundel.
    
"I played the first three years in North County history and when I was 15 years old, I was so influenced by Chuck that I knew I wanted to become a coach," said the 33-year old Elliott, who went from North County to AACC, Towson and Goucher for his Masters in special-education.
   
"Chuck is my mentor and when he asked me to go with him to Arundel, I had no second thoughts. His approach to the game with all the facets covered and nothing left to chance have made him so successful. We teach the game of life to our student-athletes."
   
Markiewicz credits his assistant coaches for his success. Their loyalty in staying together has been vital to his accomplishments.  
   
"He has organized a very good coaching staff that has stayed with him and that along with good players and his knowledge and innovativeness are the main reasons why he's been successful wherever he's been," said Herrick.
   
Markiewicz agrees and is not shy about heaping praise on his staff, like Elliott and offensive coordinator, Dave Doy, a former Salisbury quarterback who met Markiewicz at a clinic and later landed a social studies teaching positon at North County. Markiewicz immediately hired him and entrusted him as offensive coordinator.
   
"David calls our offensive plays and I think he has made me a better coach," said Markiewicz, who learned from Mears to coach the offensive linemen and leave the other duties to the staff, but retain veto power.
   
"Dave has revolutionized our passing game in our no-huddle. He deserves credit for that. He has refined it. We never lose any assistant coaches. They're like my sons and I've got a few on our staffs who deserve to be head coaches, so, I've got to put the record (career wins) out of their reach (in jest)."
   
Markiewicz says he may retire in two to three years and from a players perspective, Alec Lemon, the Wildcats' senior wide receiver, who is headed to Syracuse, says that will be a big loss to the school.
   
"He's a great coach," said Lemon, who scored five TDs in last week win at Meade. ""Every practice is fun to be with him and learn something new.
   
"Even in school when he's not coaching, he's just a great guy. Arundel's going to miss him once he leaves. We need to get as much out of him as we can in case he retires. I hope he stays for awhile because the program needs him."
   
And if he does retire?
   
"Who knows, me and Jeff might coach together somewhere," Markiewicz said.


ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY'S 100-CAREER FOOTBALL WINS CLUB

Coach                          School(s)              Seasons         Record      Pct.
Al Laramore                        AN                        23            156-68-2     .696
*Chuck Markiewicz       CH, ME, NC, AR            22             155-77      .668
Joe Papetti                       GB, SR                    24            154-81-3     .655
Andy Borland                      SP                        25             145-108     .573
*Jeff Herrick                       BN                        20              145-71      .671
Jerry Mears                         AR                        19            129-68-2    .654
Roy Brown                         AN                        14              103-47      .687
Dave Summey                  BP, SR                      21             100-111    .473
Buck Gardner                     SO                         22             100-113    .469

* - still active, Markiewicz off to 4-1 start in 2008, Herrik off to 3-2 start; Markiewicz 13 wins in 2007, a county record that surpassed the previous record of 12 by Herrick in 2003.