D8 EZ SU THE WASHINGTON POST. T
10. Wise (10-2) LR: 14The Pumas were ousted in the
Maryland 4A semifinals last season,
ending their streak of three straight
championships. But they remain the
team to beat in Prince George’s
County, thanks in part to playmaking
junior Jalil Farooq.Next: Sept. 6 at Eleanor Roosevelt- Freedom-Woodbridge (13-2)
LR: 9
The Eagles are coming off the first
state championship game
appearance in program history and
lost plenty of talent to graduation.
Quarterback Quest Powell and wide
receiver Jason Hawkins are among
the key returners.Next: Fr iday vs. Hayfield- North Point (13-1) LR: 13
The Maryland 4A finalist lost All-Met
Defensive Player of the Year Malik
Lawrence to graduation but return
quarterback Asa Williams from a
team that went undefeated until the
season’s final weekend.Next: Sept. 6 at Arundel- Friendship Collegiate (10-3)
LR: 18
The defending D.C. State Athletic
Association champion will play a
difficult, diverse schedule.Next: Saturday at Wilson- Landon (9-1) LR: 12
The Bears have lost just two games
over the past two seasons. They will
be in the hunt for a 23rd IAC title.Next: Sept. 7 vs. Delbarton (N.J.)- National Christian (7-3) LR: NR
The Eagles have Division I talent and
have steadily improved in recent
years.Next: Saturday vs. St. James16. H.D. Woodson (9-4) LR: 19The defending Turkey Bowl champion
shut down the D.C. Interscholastic
Athletic Association last season and
return a strong defense, featuring
defensive lineman Keyshawn Hunter
(Old Dominion) and defensive back
Ke’Von Hunter.Next: Fr iday at Martinsburg (W.Va.)- Northwest (9-3) LR: NR
The only Montgomery County team
that defeated the Jaguars last year
was eventual state champion Quince
Orchard. Defensive end Dominique
Perry is the player who could help
them get revenge this year.Next: Sept. 6 vs. Whitman- Broad Run (11-2) LR: 20
The Spartans lost running back Tim
Baldwin Jr., who transferred to
Patriot, but senior quarterback Mitch
Griffis is talented enough to have the
Class 5 program optimistic heading
into the season.Next: Thursday vs. Tuscarora19. Flint Hill (11-0) LR: 6The Huskies lost a lot of their roster
after a second straight undefeated
season and Virginia Independent
Schools Athletic Association title.
Star running back Jordan Houston
graduated, and coach Tom Verbanic
stepped down after seven years.Next: Sept. 6 at Paul VI- Lake Braddock (7-4) LR: NR
The Bruins steadily improved last
year, running off a six-game winning
streak in the second half of the
season. Junior quarterback Billy
Edwards and senior tight end Matt
Hibner could help that growing
process continue.Next: Thursday vs. West PotomacOn the bubble: St. Mary’s Ryken,
Ballou, C.H. Flowers, Woodbridge- St. John’s (Last year’s record:
9-1) Last year’s final ranking: 2
The Cadets are playing one of the
toughest schedules in the country for
a reason: Their roster is loaded with
Division I talent, including senior
quarterback Sol-Jay Maiava (BYU
commit), senior wide receiver Rakim
Jarrett (LSU) and senior linebacker
Mekhail Sherman (Georgia). They
beat Southridge (Fla.), 48-0, on
Saturday.
Next: Saturday vs. Deerfield Beach
(Fla.)
- Gonzaga (9-3) LR: 1
The defending Washington Catholic
Athletic Conference champion has
every reason to be hopeful for a
repeat with junior Caleb Williams
back under center. Last year’s
championship-winning Hail Mary
could be the start of an era for the
Eagles.
Next: Fr iday vs. American Heritage
(Fla.)
- Quince Orchard (13-1) LR: 4
The Cougars didn’t graduate much
talent from a team that dominated
Montgomery County and won the
Maryland 4A title. Running back
Marquez Cooper should carry the
offense, and defensive back Charles
Bell and defensive end Demeioun
Robinson are impact players on the
other side of the ball.
Next: Sept. 6 at Wootton
- DeMatha (8-3) LR: 3
The WCAC finalists brought back
longtime coach Bill McGregor after
Elijah Brooks left for a job at
Maryland. The team’s success could
rest on senior running back
MarShawn Lloyd, a South Carolina
commit. The Stags opened the
season with a 35-7 loss at St. John
Bosco (Calif.), one of the nation’s top
teams.
Next: Fr iday vs. Imhotep Charter
(Pa.), at Catholic University
- Good Counsel (6-4) LR: 5
The Falcons started last season
strong before struggling to stay afloat
in the WCAC. A strong offensive line
and talented defense could help
them find consistency.
Next: Fr iday vs. Charlotte Catholic
(N.C.)
- Westfield (13-1) LR: 11
The perennial Northern Virginia
powerhouse’s winning streak of
37 games, including three state
titles, ended in the state semifinals
last season.
Next: Fr iday vs. Battlefield
- Georgetown Prep (8-1) LR: 7
The defending Interstate Athletic
Conference champion has an early-
season rivalry game against
Gonzaga, which will be a chance to
prove they can do more than just
dominate their conference. Senior
Jalen Hampton is one of the most
dangerous running backs in the area.
Next: Saturday at Woodberry Forest
- Damascus (11-1) LR: 16
The Hornets had a tumultuous end to
last season as their 53-game winning
streak was snapped in the playoffs,
and the offseason was spent dealing
with controversy. But their talent is
unquestionable, particularly
defensive lineman Bryan Bresee.
Next: Sept. 13 at Quince Orchard
- Stone Bridge (12-3) LR: 10
Coach Mickey Thompson enters his
19th season with the Bulldogs with
plenty of offensive weapons at his
disposal. Running backs Jared Cole
and Zakias Moore and wide receiver
Tai Felton will try to get Stone Bridge
back to the Class 5 championship.
Next: Fr iday at Centreville
High school football season has arrived. A few teams started their seasons
last weekend, but many are still preparing for the new year. Some are gearing
up for a title defense. Gonzaga, Quince Orchard, Georgetown Prep, Fr iendship
Collegiate, H.D. Woodson and Flint Hill are among the local teams that won
championships last season. Everyone else will be looking to put their name on
that list. Here’s a look at where things stand heading into the season:
Week 6: Fairfax at T
Oct. 5, 3 p.m.This game is worth a
location alone. T. C. Wi
most storied programs
play its home games
indoor sports performance
Springfield. The field
upgrade to the school’
and the Titans may ha
make this season aw
more special. They will
Rebels in their homecominOption B: Howard at GleWeek 5: St. John’s vs. Mater Dei
(Calif.) (at Catholic University) —
Sept. 27 , 8:30 p.m.St. John’s has the toughest schedule in
the area on paper, a slate that includes
several dates with national powers. A
matchup with California’s Mater Dei
comes in the middle of an arduous early-
season stretch. If the Cadets survive that,
they will be rewarded with the constant
competition and parity of the Washington
Catholic Athletic Conference.Option B: Fr iendship Collegiate at Good
Counsel — Sept. 27, 7 p.m.Week 4: National Christian at
Riverdale Baptist — Sept. 20, 7 p.m.National Christian has steadily improved
under Coach Andre Kates, and it enters
this year with plenty of talent. Senior
defensive back Joshuah Moten, a Te xas
A&M commit, and sought-after junior
lineman Monkell Goodwine are
headliners for the Eagles. Each team will
play a tough schedule, but this rivalry
meeting is the one to watch.Option B: St. Ignatius (Ohio) at DeMatha —
Sept. 21, 1 p.m.Week 3: Damascus at Quince Orchard
— Sept. 13, 6:30 p.m.This is a big game, especially this early in
the season, as Quince Orchard gets set
to host the Swarmin’ Hornets. Despite
their different classifications, these
teams are consistently the best in
Montgomery County, but they don’t often
meet. Quince Orchard is coming off a
state title, while Damascus has been
rocked by scandal.Option B: Fr iendship Collegiate at H.D.
Woodson — Sept. 14, 5 p.m.Week 2: Wise at Eleanor Roosevelt —
Sept. 6, 7 p.m.Last season was difficult for Wise, the
longtime king of Prince George’s County.
After three straight Maryland 4A
championships, the Pumas fell to Quince
Orchard in the state semifinals. The first
notable matchup of what they hope will
be a bounce-back season is against rival
Eleanor Roosevelt, which will aim to
score a signature victory.Option B: St. Mary’s Ryken vs. Calvert Hall
(at Georgetown University) — Sept. 7, 7 p.m.Week 1: Stone Bridge at Centreville —
Friday, 7 p.m.
Most Virginia public schools begin a
week earlier than those in Maryland. This
game is a good way to start. Perennial
Class 5 power Stone Bridge, coming off
its seventh appearance in the state
championship game, will open against
Class 6 contender Centreville, in its first
game under Coach Jon Shields. Chris
Haddock retired in May following nine
seasons at the helm.
Option B: American Heritage (Fla.) at
Gonzaga — Friday, 6:30 p.m.
GAMES TO
TOP 20
high school football
So teams such as the Bruins are relying on
players who can cut quickly and snatch the
ball out of the air thanks to their length and
agility — not only at defensive back, where
those attributes have long been desired, but
also at linebacker and defensive end.
At public schools, c oaches often a sk basket-
ball players to become dual-sport athletes.
Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn’t.
“It is changing d rastically.... T he one thing
that is kind of alarming is the basketball
players not taking advantage of this,” Wood-
bridge assistant coach Gary Wortham Jr. said.
“There needs t o be a push.”
High school football in the Washington area
is still adjusting to the influx of spread offens-
es. In states such as Te xas, which has seen the
spread incorporated over the past 10 to
15 y ears, defenses h ave had m ore time to tinker
with the ideal system and become blueprints
for other t eams.
Cody Alexander, a defensive backs coach at
Midlothian High in suburban Dallas, has writ-
ten two books on defending modern offenses.
“Now the arms race is: ‘Can I get a kid that
can play in space?’ ” he said, explaining the
prevailing strategy. “It used to be that every-DEFENSE FROM D1 one kind of had a home... but now you are
getting smaller so that you can compete with
the space because obviously if you are faster
you can cover more space and probably are a
little b it more of a fluid athlete.”
From high school up to the NFL, offenses
are frequently spreading the field with three
or more wide receivers to force defenses into
mismatches. Those formations, which start-
ed at the college level, put stress on defenses
to contain players the entire width of the
field, and the evolution has made athletic
linebackers and slot cornerbacks more valu-
able.
And high school players — particularly elite
ones — are getting more comfortable in these
types of situations because of the rise in
popularity of seven-on-seven offseason foot-
ball a nd passing camps.
“It has c hanged the game,” s aid Nick Codut-
ti, offensive coordinator at Tomball High near
Houston. “It’s become more of a basketball
mentality of ‘ I’m going to get my k ids in space,
I’m going to isolate you, and I hope your
athletes are as good as mine.’ ”
That r aises an obvious question: If defenses
are going small, w ill offenses beef u p again a nd
pound them with the run?
Coaches are always thinking ahead, andAs offenses become prolific, defenses
“Our guys are flying all over the field,” said
above, whose defensive players possess leaneLake Braddock, taking on Battlefield during a recent scrimmage, is focusing more on fluid athletes who can cut quickly and get to the ball fas