MPSSAA Top 50 / October 12th

1 Northwest (6-0) – 250-23; v Quince Orchard 10/22

2 Wise (5-0) – 172-26**; v Suitland 10/15, v E Roos’ 10/29

3 Quince Orchard (6-0) – 267-58; @ Northwest 10/22

4 Paint Branch (5-1) – 203-53; @ Sherwood 10/22

5 Franklin (5-1) – 191-105; @ Dundalk 10/15

6 Flowers (5-1) – 184-40; @ Suitland 10/22

7 Linganore (6-0) – 224-78; v Frederick 10/15

8 Milford Mill (5-1) – 200-45; @ Kenwood^ 10/22

9 Broadneck (5-1) – 220-78; v Severna Park 10/15, v Old Mill 10/22

10 Sherwood (5-1) – 199-91; @ Blair 10/15, v Paint Branch 10/22

11 Fort Hill (6-0) – 223-67; v Allegany^ (Homecoming)10/30

12 Dunbar (6-0) – 282-54; no games remaining v Top 80

13 Mervo (3-1) – 155-54**; no games remaining v Top 80

14 Northern (6-0) – 217-34; @ Huntingtown 10/15, v North Point 10/22

15 Old Mill (5-1) – 249-44; @ Broadneck 10/22, v Severna Park 10/29

16 Long Reach (6-0) – 176-44; @ Wilde Lake^ 10/22, v Atholton 10/22, @ Oakland Mills 10/29

17 Douglass PG (5-1) – 216-20; v Potomac 10/15, v Fairmont Heights^ 10/22

18 Dundalk (6-0) – 198-23; v Franklin 10/15

19 Blair (5-1) – 146-89; v Sherwood 10/15, @ Bethesda Chevy Chase^ 10/29

20 Laurel (4-2) – 141-117; v DuVal 10/30

21 Frederick (5-1) – 245-100*; @ Linganore 10/15, v Oakdale 10/22

22 New Town (5-1) – 159-63*; v Owings Mills^ 10/23

23 Potomac (3-1) – 128-25**; @ Douglass 10/15, v Largo 10/23, @ Fairmont Heights^ 10/29

24 Oakdale (3-3) – 197-148; @ Urbana^ 10/15, @ Frederick 10/22

25 Atholton (5-1) – 154-90; @ Long Reach 10/22, v Mt Hebron^ 10/29

Key; * 5 games, ** 4 games, ^ Top 80

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26 Glenelg (5-1) – 208-82; v River Hill 10/15

27 Bowie (4-2) – 204-96; v DuVal 10/23

28 Middletown (4-2) – 189-125; v Brunswick 10/15, @ Walkersville 10/29

29 South Carroll (6-0) – 193-40; no Top 80 games remaining

30 Eleanor Roosevelt (4-2) – 190-88; v DuVal 10/15, v Wise 10/29

31 Walkersville (4-2) – 137-109*; @ Brunswick 10/22, v Middletown 10/29

32 Kent Island (6-0) – 186-57*; v North Caroline^ 10/15, @ Queen Anne’s^ 10/29

33 Oakland Mills (5-1) – 153-93; @ River Hill 10/22, v Long Reach 10/29

34 Damascus (4-2) – 116-88*; @ Rockville 10/15, @ Seneca Valley^ 10/29

35 Mountain Ridge (5-1) – 289-62; v Northern Garrett^ 10/15

36 Walter Johnson (4-2) – 157-183; @ Richard Montgomery^ 10/15, v Seneca Valley^ 10/22

37 Churchill (5-1) – 117-24; v Poolesville^ 10/15, v Richard Montgomery^ 10/22

38 River Hill (4-2) – 99-41; @ Glenelg 10/15, v Oakland Mills 10/22

39 Suitland (3-2) – 117-64*; @ Wise 10/15, v Flowers 10/22

40 Harford Tech (5-0) – 178-48*; no Top 80 games remaining

41 Rockville (5-1) – 193-108; v Damascus 10/15, @!Richard Montgomery^ 10/29

42 Severna Park (5-1) – 189-36; @ Broadneck 10/15, @ Old Mill 10/29

43 Havre de Grace (5-1) – 131-18*; no top 80 games remaining

44 Wicomico (5-1) – 223-132; @ Queen Anne’s^ 10/22

45 Largo (5-1) – 183-76; @ Potomac 10/23

46 North Point (3-2) – 125-73*; @ St Charles^ 10/15, @ Northern 10/22

47 DuVal (4-1) – 127-62*; @ E Roos’ 10/15, @ Bowie 10/23, @ Laurel 10/30

48 Brunswick (5-1) – 198-91; v Middletown 10/15, v Walkersville 10/22

49 Chesapeake AA (4-2) – 205-91; v Arundel^ 10/22

50 Huntingtown (5-1) – 152-67; v Northern 10/15

Key; * 5 games, ** 4 games, ^ Top 80

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(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

Next;

Owings Mills (5-1) – 211-107; @ New Town 10/23

Bethesda Chevy Chase (4-2) – 116-80; v Clarksburg^ 10/15, v Blair 10/29

Fairmont Heights (4-2) – 159-56; @ Douglass PG 10/23, v Potomac 10/29

Leonardtown (3-2) – 63-59*; @ Lackey^ 10/22

City College (5-1) – 142-52; v Mervo 10-14, v Poly^ 10/30

St Charles (3-2) – 133-97*; v North Point 10/15

Mt Hebron (3-3) – 106-79; @ Atholton 10/29

Kenwood (3-3) – 164-106; v Milford Mill 10/22

Fallston (5-0) – 210-103*; no Top 80 games remaining

Wilde Lake (3-3) – 154-91; v Long Reach 10/15

Blake (2-4) – 54-89; v Springbrook^ 10/29

Northern Garrett (3-3) – 141-104; @ Mountain Ridge 10/15

Poolesville (4-2) – 148-74; @ Churchill 10/15 

Urbana (2-4) – 157-156; v Oakdale 10/15, v Linganore 10/29

South River (3-3) – 109-103; v Annapolis^ 10/29

Top 80; Decatur (4-2), Richard Montgomery (2-4), Seneca Valley 4-2), Arundel (4-2), Poly (4-2), Lackey (5-1), Queen Anne’s (4-2), Clarksburg (2-4), Einstein (3-3), North Caroline (3-2), Springbrook (3-3), Annapolis (3-2), Westminster (2-4), Francis Scott Key (5-1), Allegany (5-1)

Key; * 5 games, ** 4 games, ^ Top 80

Wise escaped with its 61st straight victory over fellow Prince Georges County public schools, edging Flowers, 20-19, after the Jaguars potential game-winning two point conversion was foiled with 11 seconds to play. The 61st was Pumas Coach DaLawn Parrish’s 161st career victory.

The Jaguars held the Pumas scoreless in the first half, and led 7-0 at intermission. It was just the third time in their last 73 games that the Pumas had trailed at halftime, and just the second time in 73 games they were held scoreless in the first half. The Pumas trailed Quince Orchard, 17-6, in the 2018 4A state championship game, before falling to the Cougars, 31-6. The only other blank slate through two quarters the Pumas experienced during their 71-2 run since 2015 was in ‘17, when they trailed Eleanor Roosevelt, 6-0, before turning back the Raiders, 21-14, in the regular season tilt. 

Saturday, senior Nicolas MacMillian scored a pair of second half touchdowns, including what would be the game-winner, on an 8 yard out, to put the Pumas up, 20-13. After the Jaguars scored in the final minute, they went for the two point conversion and the win, but fell short. Coach Dameon Powell’s Jags have gone 34-5 on the field over the last three-plus years, and 34-2 versus anyone not named Wise. The Jaguars finished 10-0 in back-to-back regular seasons in ‘17 and ‘18, before losing to Eleanor Roosevelt and Wise, respectfully, in the regional playoffs. 

The Pumas last loss to a county foe came in 2014, in the 4A South regional semifinal, to DuVal, 21-14. The Tigers were led by Antoine Brooks, who would go on to Maryland, and become a 6th round (198th pick overall) pick in the NFL Draft, chosen by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Brooks is currently on the Los Angelas Rams practice squad.

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The ‘Broadneck Bomber’ did it. Joshua Erlich threw three touchdown passes in Broadneck’s 42-0 victory over Annapolis on Friday night, surpassing Joe Haden (Friendly) and Deontay Twyman (Sherwood) for sole possession of second place on the MPSSAA career passing touchdowns list, with 81, trailing only Arundel’s Billy Cosh’s astounding mark of 112. Erlich is 59 passing yards away of becoming just the 13th quarterback in MPSSAA history to pass for 6,000 yards in their career, and is a reasonable 1,059 passing yards away from becoming the sixth player in MPSSAA history to pass for 7,000 yards. Erlich hit on 15 of 19 passes for 221 yards in the win over the Panthers, and surpassed Westminster’s Kevin Clancy and Dunbar’s Jared Lewis to move into 9th place on the MPSSAA’s all-time career completions list, with 434. Erlich is 66 completions away from becoming just the fourth quarterback in MPSSAA history to throw for 500 career completions. 

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The Jaguars of Northwest are on a roll, coming off a 4A state runner-up finish in 2019, the last full season before the pandemic. Friday night, it was Sherwood who the Jags ran over, scoring 30 first half points, and settling for a 37-14 win over the #10 Warriors. Two weeks after catapulting arch rival Quince Orchard for the #2 spot in the MPSSAA Top 50, the Jaguars leapfrog Wise for the top spot in the (Mary) land. The win was the first victory over the Warriors in their program’s 33 year history, having gone 0-8 in the series coming in.  The Jaguars have outscored their opponents 250-23 through six games, which includes three wins over ‘Top 50’ teams – Sherwood, Walter Johnson, Damascus. The ‘big one’ comes in two weeks, when the Jaguars hosts Quince Orchard in the ‘Black Hole’ in Germantown.  The rivalry between the Jaguars and Cougars ranks among the best three public school rivalries in the state, along with City and Poly, a rivalry that’s more than 130 years old, and Fort Hill and Allegany, a rivalry recognized around the country as one of the best there is. Of the three, the Jags-Cougs thing, at this juncture, is by far the highest quality series of the three. The atmosphere at any of the three is on a different level. 

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There was talk of a new sheriff coming to town in the Cumberland region, but all that talk was just that, as Fort Hill shit down Mountain Ridge, 37-7, in a battle of the two best teams in the western region of Maryland. The Sentinels defended their fort and blasted the Miners, rushing for 302 yards and five touchdowns. The Sentinels out-gained the Miners 337-132, and limited their foes who came in averaging 56.4 points per game to just one score. Sentinels quarterback Bryce Schadt and Shane Welsh both ran for two scores, and Cater Hess added two sacks in the other side of the ball. The Sentinels were without the services of All-Region athlete Brevin Stubbs, due to Covid. 

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A capsule of the twelve regions in the state – MoCo, PG, Baltimore County, Baltimore City, Anne Arundel, Frederick, Carroll, the SMAC (Southern Maryland), the Bayside Conference (the Eastern Shore), Carroll, the UCBAC (Harford and Cecil counties), and Western Maryland. Let’s go around the horn.

Baltimore City

Dunbar’s Lawrence Smith is one win away from his 150th career victory, following the Poets 60-0 shutout of Lewis. Smith has a career record of 149-24, and his .861 win percentage ranks third in Maryland public school history, trailing only Fort Hill’s Todd Appel (‘08-19 142-15 .904) and Allegany’s William Hahn (‘38-46 110-13 .894). The Poets are led by quarterback Devin Roche, who has accounted for more than 200 yards per game and 21 touchdowns.

Baltimore County

Dundalk is out to its best season since 2015, a year the Owls went 12-2 and landed in the 3A state title game, before succumbing to Jake Funk and the Swarmin’ Hornets of Damascus. The Owls are 6-0 and playing their best ball of the season, after putting away Towson, 56-0, in week five, and trouncing a 3-2 Catonsville squad, 42-7, this past weekend. The Owls face their first real test this week, when they host #5 Franklin. In 2015, the Owls lost to Franklin 37-18 in week ten, suffering their first loss of the season, before stunning the Indians 20-14 in the regional final. The Owls went on to beat Potomac 41-34 in the state semifinal to gain the title game berth. The Owls have won 26 of their last 33 games.

Milford Mill’s Tasheen Howard accounted for all of the Millers four touchdowns in their 27-13 win over New Town. Howard ran for two touchdowns, threw for two touchdowns, and picked off three passes on defense. The Millers were without the services of their leading rusher Chris Butler, who was hurt on their first series and didn’t return. Butler came into the game averaging 112.4 rushing yards per game,  10.6 yards per carry, and 10 touchdowns. Howard threw for 207 yards and rushed for 59 yards, while receiver Desmond Sampson caught both of Howard’s touchdown passes, on 49 and 89!yard strikes. 

Bayside Conference 

Parkside suffered a forfeit to league-leader Kent Island last week, preventing Rams running back Terrez Worthy from likely passing the 1,000 yard mark in his fifth game. Through four games, Worthy was averaging 218.8 rushing yards per game, on 9.6 yards per carry, and 10 touchdowns. In his last three games, all 200 yard games, Worthy is averaging 238 rushing yards per game. 

Decatur topped one loss North Caroline, 29-22, Friday night, as Zameir Handy scored three touchdowns, one on the ground, and caught two through the air. Handy, who came in with just nine carries through five games, rushed for 136 yards on 14 carries. Seahawks quarterback Ashten Snelsire threw 13 completions on 17 attempts and two scores, and has thrown for 3,535 yards and 45 touchdowns in his 21 game Seahawk career. 

Kent Island, the top team on ‘the Shore’, is off to their best start since 2017, when they began 6-0, before losing a week seven tilt with Oakdale. In 2016, the Hawks went 9-0 before losing to Queen Anne’s in week 10, then suffering a defeat the following week in the regional semifinal, to North Caroline, 14-7. 

Howard 

Glenelg’s Bisi Owens accounted for four touchdowns in the Gladiators 35-21 victory over Howard in the 64th Elgard Bowl, the longest running rivalry in Howard County history. Owens has ran for 16 touchdowns and thrown for six scores, accounting for 22 touchdowns through six games this season. With the Gladiators projected to play six more games, it’s conceivable that Owens can become just the third player in county history to account for 40 touchdowns in a season, joining Oakland Mills’ quarterback David Pindell, who accounted for 44 touchdowns in 2014, and Bisi’s older brother, Wande, who accounted for 43 touchdowns in 2018. In addition, the younger Owens can join his brother as the only players in county history to rush for 30 touchdowns in a season. The elder Owens, now a starting cornerback at Yale, finished his Gladiators career as the MPSSAA’s second all-time leading rusher, with 6,354 yards, trailing only Dunbar’s Tavon Austin. 

Here are the top five rushing touchdown performances in a season in county history.

40 Wande Owens (Glenelg ‘18)

29 Rafael Wall (Wilde Lake ‘90)

29 Mike Campanaro (River Hill ‘08)

28 Rob Hauff (Centennial ‘94)

28 Wande Owens (Glenelg ‘16)

Long Reach’s Julius Saunders rushed for three touchdowns in the Lightning’s 28-0 win over Centennial. Saunders, currently with with 14 rushing touchdowns for the undefeated ‘Bolts’, needs just two scores on the ground to match Kadarrian Booker’s program mark set in 2017. Saunders should snap the mark before post-season play. 

Three teams remain a game back of Long Reach in the county standings, with Atholton, Glenelg, and Oakland Mills all sitting at 5-1. Atholton stopped River Hill on Friday night, 14-7, with a kickoff returned to the house to open the second half sparking the win. The Lightning, who have one shared county title (‘05) in its 25 year history, hosts Atholton on the 22nd, and travels to Oakland Mills on the 29th. 

SMAC

North Point humbled Huntingtown and handed the Hurricanes their first loss of the season in a 36-20 win. The Eagles forced the Canes quarterback Koy Greenwell into five interceptions, and captured a 22-7 lead by intermission.

Northern is the lone unbeaten team in the SMAC, and the Patriots are 6-0 for the first time since 2017, when Reese Crounse was slinging the rock. The Patriots are looking for their first league title in more than 30 years. 

UCBAC

Harford Tech’s Kelvin Mendez rushed for 236 yards and five touchdowns in the Cobras 62-7 win over Patterson Mill. In four games, Mendez has averaged 220 rushing yards per game, and has scored 13 touchdowns. 

Frederick

The Cadets from Frederick are 5-1 and the highest scoring team in the MPSSAA, averaging 49 points per game. Friday night, the Cadets travel to Linganore to take on the #7 Lancers. The Lancers have averaged scoring 51.5 points per game on the Cadets over their last eight meetings, dating back to 2009, with a +41.3 point differential. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the Cadets just snapped a 10 game losing streak to Walkersville on Friday night, as sophomore Tae Anderson rushed for 207 yards and five touchdowns in the Cadets 49-28 win over the Lions. The Lions came into the game having won ten straight games over the Cadets, averaging 56.1 points per game versus the Cadets in the eight matchups in the ‘10s, with a point differential of +41.6 over their county foe. The Cadets program has bounced back, after winning just six of 50 games from ‘13 through ‘17. 

Meanwhile, Middletown 6’2 200 junior running back Carson Smith is on pace to become just the second player in Middletown’s program’s history to rush for 2,000 yards, joining Josh Keeney, should the Knights advance to the quarterfinal round. Through six games, Smith has amassed 1,086 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns on 143 attempts. Friday, Smith rushed for 194 yards and two touchdowns on 25 attempts, and also added a 33 yard touchdown reception in the Knights 42-27 victory over Urbana. 

Carroll

Westminster handed Francis Scott Key their first loss on Friday night, edging the Eagles 28-27 in overtime. South Carroll, who topped Westminster, 16-7, in week three, faces the Eagles in week nine, possibly for their first league title since 2015. The Owls, who stopped a potential game-winning two point conversion, didn’t take their first lead until the overtime period. 

Prince George’s 

See about Wise’s 61st straight win over PG county competition above, as well as Flowers rise over the last four seasons.

Bowie shocked Eleanor Roosevelt, 42-21, Saturday, propelling the Bulldogs to 4-2. The Dawgs are projected to finish with a 7-2 regular season, which would be their best season since they won their only state championship in 2001. The 2001 season is the only season the Bulldogs have advanced as far as the quarterfinal round since 1987.

Laurel, who has cracked the Top 25 and is 4-2, hasn’t advanced as far as the quarterfinal round since 1992. The Spartans gained a playoff berth in the expanded 2019 post-season, their first since the ‘92 season. 

Montgomery

See about Northwest’s dominance, and it’s first win over Sherwood in their program’s history above.

Paint Branch, who has stood in the background of Quince Orchard, Northwest, Damascus and others in county play over the last decade, has gone 37-8 since 2017, and 37-3 versus those not named Quince Orchard or Northwest. Coach Mike Nesmith’s Panthers are 5-1 and ranked #4 in the MPSSAA. The Panthers fell just short of #3 Quince Orchard in week two, 20-13. The Panthers should win their final three regular season games and advance out of the 4A North region, which would guarantee their fourth straight 10-win season. 

Anne Arundel 

See about Joshua Erlich, Broadneck’s gun-slinger, above.

Western Maryland

Talk of Fort Hill’s demise proved to be premature. See above. 

Top MPSSAA Games of Week 7

5 Franklin @ 18 Dundalk

21 Frederick @ 7 Linganore

10 Sherwood @ 19 Blair

23 Potomac @ 17 Douglass

42 Severna Park @ 9 Broadneck

14 Northern @ 50 Huntingtown 

38 River Hill @ 26 Glenelg

34 Damascus @ 41 Rockville

28 Middletown @ 48 Brunswick

Northern – Garrett @ 35 Mountain Ridge

39 Suitland @ 2 Wise

47 DuVal @ 30 Eleanor Roosevelt 

46 North Point @ St Charles

North Caroline @ 32 Kent Island

Urbana @ 24 Oakdale

Top 15 Points per Game

1 49.0 Frederick

2 48.2 Mountain Ridge

3 48.0 Fort Hill

4 47.0 Dunbar

5 44.5 Quince Orchard

6 43.0 Wise

7 42.7 Potomac

8 42.0 Fallston

9 41.7 Northwest

10 41.5 Old Mill

11 39.8 Mervo

12 39.7 Decatur

12 39.7 Queen Anne’s 

14 37.3 Linganore 

15 37.2 Kent Island

15 37.2 Wicomico

Top 15 Points Allowed

1 3.3 Douglass

2 3.6 Havre de Grace

3 3.8 Northwest

4 4.0 Churchill

5 5.5 Dundalk

6 5.7 Northern

7 6.0 Severna Park

8 6.5 Wise

9 6.7 Flowers

9 6.7 South Carroll

11 6.8 River Hill

12 7.3 Long Reach

12 7.3 Old Mill

14 7.5 Milford Mill

15 8.3 Potomac

Top 15 Point Differential

1 38.0 Dunbar

2 37.8 Mountain Ridge

2 37.8 Northwest

4 36.5 Wise

5 34.8 Quince Orchard

6 34.3 Potomac

7 34.2 Old Mill

8 32.8 Douglass

9 30.5 Northern

10 29.0 Frederick 

11 27.5 Dundalk

12 26.8 Fort Hill

13 25.8 Milford Mill

14 25.5 South Carroll

15 25.0 Paint Branch