Blake Boys Basketball Earns County Championship Title 2-Years in a Row

The game, which was held at Richard Montgomery HS, was back-and-forth in the 2nd half before the Bengals pulled away in the 4th quarter, ultimately winning by 12, 67-55.  Before the County Championship, Whitman had only lost to two teams this year, by a total of two points. 

Seniors Armani Fowlkes, Christian Kennard, and Tahj Martin paved the way for the Bengals with strong performances. Armain led the Bengals with a robust 20 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals, filling up the stat sheet. Christian posted 17 points and was elite from beyond the arc. The Bengals offense flowed with pace and efficiency, led by combo guard Thaj, who had a momentum-changing 9 points. 

First-year varsity basketball head coach Mr. Brandon Howell has been a great contributor to the Blake program. From scheduling high-level scrimmages in the pre-season and throughout winter break, Coach Howel and the Bengals are unquestionably ready for the “money-run” as the team has been quoting on social media.  

The Blake community showed up and showed out at RM. The Blake Roaring Bengals pep band, cheerleaders, students, staff, and families were there to support the team. 

In an interview at the team’s practice after the big game, Coach Howell shared with The Blake Beat information about the team’s mindset moving forward. The Bengals hope to “get better, and continue to work on the areas in which we need to improve for our weaknesses.” The program looks to be “patient defensively and then on top of that rebounding the ball, pushing the ball in transition so we can get easy baskets instead of setting up our offense,” Coach Howell added.  

The boys’ basketball team has had an excellent season so far. Their record currently stands at 20-1 with a first-round bye in the playoffs. The Bengals are undefeated in 2026, making them the number one-ranked team in the county by organization Moco Hoops. Blake is set to play on Monday night (3/2) at home, tipping off at 7:00. The Bengals will go up against the winner of the Springbrook vs Wheaton game tonight (February 27th, 2026) Tournament Bracket and Results.

Individual player photos in this article were taken by MCPS photographer @shotbyaidn