THE GAZETTE
Wednesday, November 13, 2013 b
Page B-3
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL HOW THEY RANK The 10 best football teams in Montgomery County this week as ranked by The Gazette’s sports staff.
Rank
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 9.
School
Record Points
6-5 9-1 9-1 9-1 9-1 8-2 8-2 7-3 7-3 7-3
Good Counsel Falcons Quince Orchard Cougars Bullis Bulldogs Damascus Swarmin’ Hornets Paint Branch Panthers Northwest Jaguars Gaithersburg Trojans Seneca Valley Screaming Eagles Clarksburg Coyotes Sherwood Warriors
60 54 47 43 36 30 24 18 9 9
Also receiving votes: None.
LEADERS Top rushers Isaac Boyd, Avalon Khalil Wilson, Einstein Charles Lyles, Poolesville Devonte Williams, Bullis Zac Morton, Whitman Dage Davis, Geo. Prep Chris Dawson, G. Counsel Amankwah-Ayeh, B-CC E. Spottswood, Sherwood Kevin Joppy, QO
Top passers Chuck Reese, Rockville Sam Ellis, Wootton G. Cooper, P. Branch Mike Murtaugh, QO Nick DeCarlo, G’burg C. Reighard, Seneca Renzo Farfan, R. Mont. Marvin Galdamez, Ken. Dwayne Haskins, Bullis C. Hennessey, N’wood
Carries 142 184 219 198 247 193 185 184 150 110
Yards 1673 1599 1549 1535 1499 1432 1038 1136 951 769
Cmp-Att. 356-415 194-375 158-269 95-159 82-146 99-189 118-217 99-178 72-128 99-204
Top receivers
Avg. 11.8 8.7 7.1 7.8 6.1 7.4 5.6 6.2 6.3 7.0
Yards 2932 2870 2261 1556 1467 1355 1324 1208 1130 1099
Catches Yards Trevon Diggs, Wootton 77 1102 Jibri Woods, Wootton 67 1007 Javonn Curry, P. Branch 57 907 Joey Cornwell, Rockville 59 736 Louison Biama, Rockville 45 758 Michael Scott, Kennedy 48 684 Phil Osborn, R. Mont. 54 645 Ryan Stango, P. Branch 40 640 Steven Kelly, B-CC 27 615 Anthony Albert, Rockville 57 604
TDs 29 15 15 23 17 19 13 12 14 14
Int. 15 15 7 4 5 6 6 9 5 10
TDs 37 24 29 21 12 15 14 6 14 6
Avg. 14.3 15.0 15.9 12.5 16.8 14.3 11.9 16.0 22.7 10.6
TDs 13 7 16 7 6 1 11 8 7 11
THREE
Continued from Page B-1 Sessionswasrelativelyhealthy this football season, playing on the offensive and defensive line. In September, he recorded four sacks in a 24-0 win against Bethesda-Chevy Chase. Whitman football coach Jim Kuhn said Sessions’ commitment to the sport has provided a positive example for his teammates. “It’s just a labor of love,” Kuhn said. “Most people would have probably given it up.” Kuhn said Sessions — playing on one healthy leg this season — has led on and off the field. Even when lined up in the trenches, he called out coverage assignments for the secondary. “He’s like that coach on the field that you need,” Kuhn said. “He’s the leader. The heart and soul of the field that he’s on.” The senior wrapped up his varsity football career Nov. 8 with
CLARKSBURG
Continued from Page B-1 appearance since back-to-back playoff runs in 2007-08 when the current Class 4A program competed in 2A. Clarksburg will face Quince Orchard, a two-time defending state finalist and the 4A West Region’s No. 1 seed in Friday’s region semifinals, a tough task but one Hurd and Fenslau agreed the team is looking forward to. Clarksburg lost to the Cougars, 35-7, in Week 1. “They’re the king of the hill,” Hurd said of the Cougars. “We’re excited to see how much we’ve improved from Week 1. When you get to playoffs. ... I’ve coached all the sports and in [all sports but football] you start on day one and everyone knows they’re making playoffs no matter what their record is. In football, you have to earn the right to be there. We earned the right to be here, we’re one of 16
Damascus hopes to turn tide against Urbana Region playoffs begin Friday throughout state
King of the hill
n
A year ago, Urbana High School’s football team shocked top-seeded Damascus with a 24-23 overtime victory in the Class 3A West Region semifinals, spoiling the Hornets’ perfect season. The Hawks (8-2) will have the opportunity to repeat his-
FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK BY ERIC GOLDWEIN tory 7 p.m. Friday at Damascus (9-1), but don’t expect the Swarmin’ Hornets to be caught off guard this time. “Everybody wants this one bad,” Damascus coach Eric Wallich said. “The fact that it’s the team that knocked us out last year, it’d make it icing on the cake.” Damascus comes into the game having won its last seven games while Urbana dropped its regular season finale 20-7 against Linganore (9-1). Wallich said the Hornets will need to shut down the Hawks’ star running back, Raekwon Gray, who rushed for 26 touchdowns and almost 2,000 yards this season. To do that, their offensive and defensive lines will have to step up.
FILE PHOTO
Urbana High School running back Raekwon Gray helped the Hawks defeat Damascus 24-23 in overtime in last year’s playoffs. Urbana coach Ryan Hines said he expects Damascus to come prepared. “If I was in their place, I’d want to play a little extra hard,” Hines said.
mon Vault, who was described as “doubtful” by Gaithersburg coach Kreg Kephart. Northwest has won five of its past six games since losing to Gaithersburg 26-6 Sept. 28.
Trojans’ Vault doubtful
Paint Branch hot
Gaithersburg (8-2) returns to the playoffs after going 3-7 last season, but the team will have its hands full against Northwest (8-2) at 7 p.m. Friday in Germantown. The Trojans dropped the final game of their regular season — a 35-34 loss to Paint Branch — and may be without injured running back Solo-
Paint Branch (9-1) capped off its regular season with back-to-back victories against playoff teams and is riding a four-game winning streak into the postseason. It plays host to Sherwood (8-3) at 7 p.m. Friday. The Panthers defeated the Warriors 55-21 in the regularseason meeting.
Clarksburg (6-3) hasn’t reached the playoffs since 2008, but coach Larry Hurd said the last two months might as well have been postseason play. The Coyotes capped off their season winning five must-win games, including a 14-13 road victory against Northwest, to get the final spot in the 4A West Region. They are scheduled to play top-seeded Quince Orchard (10-1) at 7 p.m. Friday in Gaithersburg. The Cougars defeated the Coyotes 35-7 in the first week of the regular season. “They’re the king of the hill,” Hurd said.
Underdog Poolesville Poolesville (7-3) is in the postseason for the second straight year after clinching a spot with a 41-18 victory over Rockville last week. But they’ll need a lot to go right in order to pull off the upset against undefeated Middletown (10-0) at 7 p.m. Friday. “We’re going to enjoy the moment and enjoy the opportunity to play with one of the best teams in the state,” Poolesville coach William Gant said. egoldwein@gazette.net
FEARLESS FORECASTS The Gazette sports staff picks the winners for this week’s games involving Montgomery football teams. Here are this week’s selections:
Montgomery County record All games
Clarksburg at Quince Orchard Gaithersburg at Northwest Sherwood at Paint Branch Urbana at Damascus Poolesville at Middletown Flowers at Suitland Wise at DuVal Douglass at Gwynn Park FAET at Surrattsville Sparrows Point at Forestville St. John’s College vs. DeMatha
Ken Sain
Dan Feldman
Jennifer Beekman
Nick Cammarota
Travis Mewhirter
Kent Zakour
149-27 294-52
147-29 290-56
146-30 288-58
145-31 288-58
141-35 284-62
139-37 276-70
Q. Orchard Gaithersburg Paint Branch Damascus Middletown Suitland Wise Douglass Surrattsville Forestville DeMatha
Q. Orchard Gaithersburg Paint Branch Urbana Middletown Suitland DuVal Douglass Surrattsville Forestville DeMatha
Q. Orchard Northwest Paint Branch Urbana Middletown Suitland DuVal Gwynn Park Surrattsville Forestville DeMatha
Q. Orchard Northwest Paint Branch Urbana Middletown Suitland DuVal Gwynn Park Surrattsville Forestville DeMatha
Q. Orchard Northwest Paint Branch Urbana Middletown Suitland DuVal Gwynn Park Surrattsville Forestville DeMatha
Q. Orchard Gaithersburg Paint Branch Damascus Middletown Suitland Wise Douglass Surrattsville Forestville DeMatha
a 17-13 win against Montgomery Blair. Now, he is looking forward to wrestling season. Last year, he was among the team’s leaders in wins and came within one match from qualifying for states. A re-torn meniscus forced him out of the lineup temporarily and prevented him from wrestling at full strength, spoiling part of that promising season. “He’s dealt with it amazingly. He’s never made any excuses — never complained,” wrestling coach Derek Manon said. The prior season, Sessions broke his ankle during the finals of a tournament in Southern Maryland, and completed the match. “He’s worked as hard as I can askhimtowiththosetypesofinjuries,” Manon said. Manon also hopes to have a healthy Sessions back in the lineup this season. Sessions is also a starter on the baseball team. He hit higher than .400 the past two seasons despite suffering injuries and ailments.
“The fact he can still hit for us and be a three-year starter, it’s pretty impressive,” baseball coach Joe Cassidy said. Cassidy calls him “old school” because of his toughness and versatility. “He’s very good at three sports which is rare in this day and age,” Cassidy said. Sessions said balancing time between the three sports and school work can be challenging, but he has grown accustomed to the commitment. “I wouldn’t change it for anything. It’s just kind of routine,” Sessions said. He said he wants to enroll at a school that lets him play football and baseball. “[Injuries] kind of helped me realize, you might not have the stats and everything, but your teammates they still look up to you,” Sessions said.
teams and we worked hard to get here.” It’s taken a long time to get back “here” after having such success in the program’s second and third years of existence and it’s not something that seemed overly possible after what Hurd called an embarrassing 2-8 campaign a year ago. Public school programs are at the mercy of whatever athletes their district provides them and Clarksburg was fortunate to have drawn some tremendous NCAA Division I-caliber football players that set an early precedent. The last few years Clarksburg has struggled in several departments, Hurd said. But there was a different feel at the start of 2013, an inkling that something special was on the horizon. In addition to having the personnel to compete with the county’s best, the Coyotes brought a deepened passion into this season and have truly
bought into the fact that they’re playing for the name on the front of their jerseys and not their own individual statistics, Hurd said. Hurd praised his players for their trust in one another and their ability to focus on playing for a 1-0 record each and every week. For the first time in a while Hurd said his players have learned to focus on their individual responsibilities and how they fit into the big picture. The powerful Fenslau (122 carries for 701 yards) — Hurd said he literally carried six Richard Montgomery defenders on his back for 20 yards Friday — splits time in the backfield with elusive junior back Tavis Holland (132-767, three TDs). They run behind a monster offensive line anchored by Daequan Brooks and Zachary Thompson and Carlos Vanzego leads a defense that has only given up an average of two touchdowns per game.
egoldwein@gazette.net
STANDINGS Montgomery 4A South Division Team
Whitman Wootton* B-Chevy Chase R. Montgomery Walter Johnson* Churchill
All Div.
7-3 5-5 4-6 2-8 1-9 1-9
4-1 4-1 3-2 2-3 1-4 1-4
PF PA
214 155 265 219 162 277 218 263 52 292 53 304
Montgomery 4A East Division Team
Paint Branch Sherwood Springbrook* Blair Kennedy Blake
All Div.
9-1 7-3 5-5 5-5 3-7 1-9
5-0 4-1 3-2 2-3 1-4 0-5
PF PA
414 134 240 201 204 129 190 162 142 176 50 292
Montgomery 4A West Division Team
Quince Orchard Gaithersburg Northwest Clarksburg* Magruder
All Div.
9-1 8-2 8-2 7-3 1-9
3-1 3-1 2-2 2-2 0-4
PF PA
385 61 259 119 344 152 207 111 89 404
Montgomery 3A Division Team
Damascus Seneca Valley Rockville Einstein Watkins Mill Northwood Wheaton
All Div.
9-1 7-3 5-5 4-5 4-6 2-8 1-9
6-0 5-1 3-3 3-3 3-3 1-5 0-6
Montgomery 2A Independent Team
Poolesville
All
PF
PA
All
PF
PA
7-3 256 180
Private schools Team
PF PA
324 88 324 97 354 345 210 278 151 264 92 370 124 352
Bullis 9-1 344 117 Good Counsel 6-5 254 150 Avalon 5-5 272 212 Georgetown Prep 4-6 346 238 Landon 4-5 174 174 * Includes forfeit result
Last week’s scores
Poolesville 41, Rockville 18 Northwood 26, Wheaton 14 Watkins Mill 24, Einstein 20 Quince Orchard 40, Wootton 0 B.-Chevy Chase 22, W. Johnson 9 Clarksburg 33, R. Montgomery 7 Damascus 29, Churchill 0 Northwest 35, Springbrook 18 Sherwood 20, Kennedy 6 Seneca Valley 42, Blake 0 Whitman 17, Blair 13 Bullis 35, Georgetown Prep 7 Paint Branch 35, Gaithersburg 34 Landon 19, St. Albans 13 OT Randallstown 32, Magruder 0 DeMatha 29, Good Counsel 28 OT
BEST BET Urbana at Damascus, 7 p.m. Friday. Frederick County teams have won the 3A West Region for two straight years and Urbana ended Damascus’ unbeaten season in last year’s region semifinals. The Hornets are trying to return to the state semifinals for the first time since 2010. Urbana is coming off a big loss to Linganore that cost them the top seed.