THE GAZETTE
Wednesday, September 25, 2013 o
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
School
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Quince Orchard Cougars Good Counsel Falcons Damascus Swarmin’ Hornets Northwest Jaguars Gaithersburg Trojans Bullis Bulldogs Seneca Valley Screaming Eagles Wootton Patriots Paint Branch Panthers Walt Whitman Vikings
Record Points
3-0 60 3-2 54 2-1 47 3-0 43 3-0 33 2-1 30 2-1 25 3-0 20 3-0 12 2-1 5
Also receiving votes: Sherwood 1 point.
LEADERS Top rushers
Carries Dage Davis, Geo. Prep 59 Charles Lyles, Poolesville 65 Chris Dawson, G. Counsel 65 Khalil Wilson, Einstein 27 Perry Stefanelli, G. Counsel 74 Liam Duffy, R. Mont. 55 Zac Morton, Whitman 63 Kevin Joppy, Q. Orchard 47 Devonte Williams, Bullis 55 Solomon Vault, G’burg 39
Top passers
Cmp-Att. Sam Ellis, Wootton 66-101 Chuck Reese, Rockville 87-142 Mike Murtaugh, Q. Orch. 35-55 Renzo Farfan, R. Mont. 33-59 Nick DeCarlo, G’burg 23-38 Gaston Cooper, P. Branch 39-80 Raymond Burtnick, Blair 29-62 Evan Smith, Whitman 31-52 C. Hennessey, N’wood 41-77 S. Morningstear, Pooles. 29-46
Top receivers Jibri Woods, Wootton Joey Cornwell, Rockville Trevon Diggs, Wootton Anthony Albert, Rockville Louison Biama, Rockville Keon Paye, G. Counsel Darrell Blue, Blair William Tearney, G’burg Elliott Davis, Q. Orchard Javonn Curry, P. Branch
Catches 23 27 21 20 12 5 13 5 7 13
Yards 519 476 412 409 403 372 344 332 332 315
Avg. TDs 8.8 7 7.3 4 6.3 6 15.1 5 5.4 2 6.8 2 5.5 3 7.1 4 6.0 4 8.1 7
Yards 989 944 539 464 449 444 440 387 364 338 Yards 330 302 294 253 207 205 189 182 158 157
Int. TDs 2 9 4 10 1 7 2 6 1 0 3 3 5 5 3 2 2 2 4 2
Avg. TDs 14.3 2 11.2 3 14.0 5 12.7 3 17.3 1 41.0 3 14.5 2 36.4 0 22.3 2 12.1 2
Unbeatens collide on Saturday n
Northwest, Gaithersburg enter 3-0, outcome may determine postseason seeds
With Solomon Vault, arguably the state’s top running back, out for at least the rest of the game with an injury, Gaithersburg High School football coach Kreg Kephart addressed his team at halftime of Friday’s game against Clarksburg.
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Gaithersburg High School quarterback Nick DeCarlo looks for a receiver against Watkins Mill in the Sept. 16 football game.
FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK BY DAN FELDMAN
ter his X-rays were negative and Gaithersburg would not change its gameplan if Vault can’t play. The coach praised backup running backs Xaviyer Mosley and Mark Spencer, saying they would start on many area teams. Northwest is slightly more established. Its 20-13 win over Seneca Valley Friday is the only win over a currently ranked team this season by either team. In the process, Northwest learned more about its young quarterback.
“Everybody says this is a one-man team,” Kephart said. “This will be your chance to show that we’re more than just the Solomon Vault Trojans.” A 24-7 win reinforces the point, but the challenge gets tougher this week. No. 5 Gaithersburg plays No. 4 Northwest at 2 p.m. Saturday at Richard Montgomery High School in a matchup of 3-0 teams. Gaithersburg and Northwest haven’t both made the playoffs since 2006, each foiling the other’s plans at different times since. With both teams again firmly in the playoff mix this season, Saturday’s game will be crucial to postseason possibilities. Kephart said Vault is day-to-day af-
Super sophomore On Friday, Northwest coach Mike Neubeiser and his team had a great op-
Parity reigns supreme in Montgomery County boys’ soccer
For the past two seasons, the same frustrating occurrence has befallen Richard Montgomery High School’s girls’ soccer team when it matters most. In the playoffs, the Rockets have bowed out against a team they beat earlier in the regular season.
SOCCER NOTEBOOK BY NICK CAMMAROTA In 2012, Monica Tarzy’s club defeated Winston Churchill before losing to them, 3-0, in the first round of Class 4A West Region tournament. In 2011, the same thing happened, only that time it was a 3-1 loss against Clarksburg. This year, the Rockets are again off to a superb start — 4-0 in their first four matches — and Tarzy is hopeful her 2013 group will be the one to buck the trend. “I went to RM as a student and it seems like every year we usually get the worst draw when it comes to playoffs,” Tarzy said. “Usually the draw we get, we beat the team in the season but can’t when it really matters. It’s partly because I think the girls in the past have started to get drained and lose energy and focus. I think this year could be different.” Inspiring that sort of hope is a talented pair of captains. Tarzy was complimentary when speaking about both four-year varsity midfielder Jackie Page and three-year varsity midfielder Kayla Sukri. Tarzy said their leadership — everything from motivating their teammates, to organizing team events via Facebook and Twitter, to simply
Travis Mewhirter contributed.
Ken Sain
Nick Cammarota
Travis Mewhirter
Jennifer Beekman
Kent Zakour
45-11 95-21
44-12 92-24
43-13 90-26
39-17 88-28
44-12 88-28
43-13 86-30
Seneca Valley Einstein Damascus Wootton Poolesville Sherwood Q. Orchard Blair Paint Branch Clarksburg DeMatha Bullis Wilson Annap. AC Avalon Wheaton Northwest
Seneca Valley Einstein Damscus Wootton Poolesville Sherwood Q. Orchard Blair Paint Branch Clarksburg DeMatha Bullis Wilson Landon Avalon Rockville Northwest
Seneca Valley Einstein Damascus Wootton Poolesville R. Mont. Q. Orchard Blair Paint Branch Clarksburg DeMatha Bullis Wilson Landon Avalon Wheaton Northwest
Seneca Valley Einstein Damascus Wootton Poolesville Sherwood Q. Orchard Springbrook Churchill Clarksburg DeMatha Bullis Wilson Landon Avalon Rockville Northwest
Seneca Valley Einstein Damascus Wootton Poolesville Sherwood Q. Orchard Blair Paint Branch Clarksburg DeMatha Bullis Wilson Landon Avalon Rockville Northwest
Seneca Valley Einstein Damascus Wootton Poolesville Sherwood Q. Orchard Blair Paint Branch Clarksburg DeMatha Bullis Wilson Landon Chavez Rockville Northwest
HOW THEY RANK Boys
Girls
n 1. Landon
n 1. Good Counsel
n 2. Good Counsel
n 2. Holy Cross
n 3. Walter Johnson
n 3. Bethesda-Chevy Chase
n 4. Northwest
n 4. Walt Whitman
n 5. Thomas S. Wootton
n 5. Winston Churchill
Boys’ soccer This was already pretty much a foregone conclusion before the year began, but boys’ soccer in Montgomery County is going to be wild. As the results pour in day after day, it consistently becomes apparent that nearly every team is capable of beating every other. It makes for a fantastic league for fans and many sleepless nights for
Whitman Wootton* Walter Johnson* B-Chevy Chase Churchill Kennedy
All Div.
2-1 2-1 1-2 1-2 1-2 0-3
1-0 2-1 1-1 1-2 1-2 0-0
PF PA
52 106 22 39 36 18
Montgomery 4A East Division Team
Paint Branch Sherwood Blair Blake Springbrook*
All Div.
3-0 2-1 2-1 1-2 0-3
2-0 2-0 0-1 0-1 0-2
42 14 93 63 72 75
PF PA
105 56 75 20 42
25 69 33 84 50
Montgomery 4A West Division Team
Northwest Gaithersburg Quince Orchard R. Montgomery Magruder Clarksburg*
All Div.
3-0 3-0 3-0 1-2 0-3 1-2
2-0 1-0 1-0 0-1 0-1 0-2
PF PA
115 26 84 14 84 13 82 90 38 114 38 56
Montgomery 3A Division Team
Damascus Seneca Valley Watkins Mill Einstein Rockville Wheaton Northwood
All Div.
2-1 2-1 2-1 1-1 1-2 1-2 0-3
PF PA
2-0 2-0 1-0 1-1 0-2 0-2 0-1
98 37 82 35 71 48 70 84 83 127 40 110 20 114
Montgomery 2A Independent Team
All
Poolesville
Team
Den Feldman
Montgomery County record All games
inspiring hard work every day at training — has made a world of difference. “They’re really friendly and close with everyone on the team,” Tarzy said of her captains. “They’ve made it so that everyone feels like one unit as opposed to separate groups. Everyone is friends because of them. They’re the first ones out to practice, they hurry them along to get started and they always come mentally prepared.” Among the other early standout performers on the roster, junior Rowan Glass is picking up right where she left off last season and has five goals in four matches — games during which RM has outscored its opponents, 14-4. “We had the girls working hard on their own over the summer, which has made a huge difference in the attitude,” Tarzy said. “It’s really been a team effort so far this year.”
Team
2-1
All
PF
PA
PF
PA
63 48
Good Counsel 3-2 130 59 Bullis 2-1 55 62 Avalon 1-3 62 85 Georgetown Prep 1-3 76 133 Landon 0-2 14 38 * Includes forfeit result
Last week’s scores
The Gazette sports staff picks the winners for this week’s games involving Montgomery football teams. Here are this week’s selections:
Bethesda-Chevy Chase at Seneca Valley Einstein at Northwood Watkins Mill at Damascus Whitman at Wootton Poolesville at Walter Johnson Sherwood at Richard Montgomery Magruder at Quince Orchard Blair at Springbrook Churchill at Paint Branch Clarksburg at Blake Good Counsel at DeMatha John Carroll at Bullis Kennedy at Woodrow Wilson (D.C.) Landon at Annapolis Area Christian Chavez vs. Avalon Rockville vs. Wheaton Northwest vs. Gaithersburg
Montgomery 4A South Division
Private schools
dfeldman@gazette.net
FEARLESS FORECASTS
RM girls start year off strong n
portunity. With 8 minutes, 53 seconds remaining and possession of the ball with the game tied, the Jagaurs had a chance to end a losing streak to Seneca Valley that dated back to 2006. There was not a single student in the school who had seen the King’s Trophy glimmering from their own trophy case. With dual-threat quarterback Josh Gills in the fold, Neubeiser elected to hand the offense to sophomore quarterback Mark Pierce, entrusting him with the most important drive of Northwest’s season to date. Well, Pierce would get the job done. Over the next 15 plays, he threw eight passes, completed seven for 74 yards and drove his team the length of the field. He then completed the game-winning, 21yard touchdown pass to E.J. Lee. “It’s the biggest game of my life,” said Pierce, who finished 13-for-23 with 144 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and did not take a sack. “Our O-line did awesome. They allowed me to scramble, allowed people to get open, and that’s what happened with the big plays. We allowed receivers to get open and it was just a wonderful drive.”
STANDINGS
coaches. Through the season’s opening two weeks, only three clubs remain undefeated as of Sunday night: Gaithersburg, Northwest and Walter Johnson. Matches have (surprise) been tight, particularly in the 4A South Division where none of the six teams have scored or allowed more than 10 goals. First-year Sherwood coach Michael Kogok, whose team is 2-2-0 yet at the bottom of the 4A North standings, has witnessed the parity first-hand. “All the matches except for our [4-1] win against Seneca Valley have been tight contests,” Kogok said. “I’m encouraged. And I think the boys are starting to realize that we can play with anyone, but we can also lose to anyone.” Three of the Warriors’ four matches thus far have been 1-0 results, with Sherwood losing to Northwest and Bethesda-Chevy Chase by that score. Kogok said he’s been particularly impressed with the early play of juniors Ethan Carey and Sheriff Secka. “We’re not a team of superstars,” Kogok said. “It’s more a bunch of boys where I can go seven or eight deep and not worry about the pace changing. It’s a great group.” ncammarota@gazette.net
St. Paul’s 28, Landon 14 Watkins Mill 42, Wheaton 0 Einstein 48, Rockville 35 Quince Orchard 7, Damascus 6 R. Montgomery 31, W. Johnson 16 Wootton 41, Churchill 0 Northwest 20, Seneca Valley 13 Blake 20, Magruder 14 Gaithersburg 24, Clarksburg 7 Sherwood 22, Springbrook 15 Paint Branch 43, Kennedy 12 McDonogh 41, Geo. Prep 10 S. Hagerstown 36, Poolesville 13 Bullis 21, Spalding 14 Gonzaga 30, Good Counsel 20 Whitman 24, B.-Chevy Chase 0 Blair 28, Northwood 6 John Carroll 13, Avalon 8
BEST BET Good Counsel vs. DeMatha, 7 p.m. Friday at PG Sports & Learning in Landover. The last time the Falcons (3-2) lost three games in a season was 2005. The last time GC lost to rival DeMatha (4-1) was 2009. DeMatha is favored to end both streaks this week because of many three-year starters.