Five Football Games to Watch: Week 5
Blair at Paint Branch
Blair puts its unblemished record on the line when it travels to 3-1 Paint Branch this weekend in a big Montgomery County battle.
The Blazers, who have qualified for two straight postseasons, have enjoyed a dream first half of the season thus far. Blair is 4-0, which includes three lopsided wins over Northwood, B-CC and Churchill, as well as a close 40-36 win over perennial state title contender Northwest. The Blazers' offense has been close to unstoppable, scoring at least 35 points in each game.
Paint Branch suffered an opening week loss to Whitman, but has gotten its season back on track with three straight wins. The key for the Panthers has been their defense, which has recorded shutouts in the team's three wins over Blake, Gaithersburg and Kennedy.
Paint Branch has enjoyed a lot of recent success against Blair, including a 12-7 win in last year's match up, and a 25-14 victory in 2014.
Paint Branch hosts Blair this Friday at 6:30 PM.
Sherwood at Northwest
Our second all Montgomery County game features undefeated Sherwood traveling to Northwest, which has suffered just one loss this season.
The Warriors are yet to be tested this season, recording all of its wins by at least 17 points. Sherwood has been particularly tough on the offensive side of the ball, going north of 40 points three times this season, including twice going over 50 against Clarksburg and Magruder.
Northwest bounced back from its Week 3 loss to Blair by topping Whitman 42-13. Facing Sherwood rounds out a brutal first half of the season for Northwest in terms of scheduling- none of the teams Northwest has played currently holds a losing record.
It was a low scoring affair last year, which Sherwood won 16-13.
Sherwood travels to Northwest this Friday for a 7:00 PM scheduled kickoff.
Lackey at Patuxent
The defending MPSSAA 2A state champions, Patuxent, host 3-1 Lackey this week in a game featuring two top teams from the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference.
Patuxent has gotten its state title defense off to a good start by claiming lopsided wins in its first four games of 2016. The Panthers have scored more than 40 points in its past three games, including last week when they topped La Plata 55-7. The team's defense has also played well, not allowing more than a touchdown in any game this year.
Lackey has also enjoyed a strong first half thus far, with its only loss coming to North Point in Week 2. The team's defense allowed 35 points in that loss, but has been strong since, only giving up 15 points in the team's two recent wins against St. Charles and Thomas Stone. The offense has been steady, scoring at least 20 points three times this season.
The offenses struggled in last year's contest, which Patuxent won 10-7.
Lackey travels to Calvert County to face Patuxent this Friday at 7:00 PM.
Queen Anne's at Parkside
Two 3-1 sides square off in a critical match up that could end up having postseason implications for the 2A East region when Parkside hosts Queen Anne's this weekend.
Parkside took a tough loss in Week 2 to Easton, but has been in fine form the rest of the season. The Rams have recorded two shut outs this season, including last week in a 42-0 win over Colonel Richardson. Parkside also topped Wicomico County rival, Wicomico High School, in comfortable fashion in Week 3, winning 28-8.
Queen Anne's had a great start to 2016 by winning its first three games by a combined score of 146-24. The Lions suffered a setback last week though when they were beaten by Sussex Central from Delaware, 29-14. Queen Anne's will look to get its season back on track by beating Parkside as it did last season when the Lions beat the Rams 45-14.
Kickoff for this game is scheduled for this Saturday at 1:00 PM.
Havre de Grace at Aberdeen
Havre de Grace, which made the MPSSAA 1A state finals last season, looks to win its second game in a row against a 3A opponent when it travels to Aberdeen this weekend.
Havre de Grace is 4-0 this season. Two of the Warriors' wins have come against teams from bigger classifications. The first of those was a 38-0 victory in the opening weekend against North East, which is a 2A school. Last weekend Havre de Grace beat an even bigger school, 3A's C. Milton Wright, in a close one, 14-10. This isn't the last time the Warriors will play teams with bigger student populations- the game against Aberdeen is followed by two more contests with 3A schools, North Harford and Edgewood.
Aberdeen currently stands at 2-2, but the team's two losses to Perry Hall and Thomas Johnson have been by a combined nine points. The Eagles were finally able to win a close contest last week when they outlasted Edgewood, winning 32-24 in overtime. Aberdeen will hope to get its first win streak of the season going by doing what it did last year, which is beating Havre de Grace. In the 2015 version of this contest, the Eagles topped Havre de Grace 32-12.
This game is scheduled for 7:00 PM this Friday.
Blair puts its unblemished record on the line when it travels to 3-1 Paint Branch this weekend in a big Montgomery County battle.
The Blazers, who have qualified for two straight postseasons, have enjoyed a dream first half of the season thus far. Blair is 4-0, which includes three lopsided wins over Northwood, B-CC and Churchill, as well as a close 40-36 win over perennial state title contender Northwest. The Blazers' offense has been close to unstoppable, scoring at least 35 points in each game.
Paint Branch suffered an opening week loss to Whitman, but has gotten its season back on track with three straight wins. The key for the Panthers has been their defense, which has recorded shutouts in the team's three wins over Blake, Gaithersburg and Kennedy.
Paint Branch has enjoyed a lot of recent success against Blair, including a 12-7 win in last year's match up, and a 25-14 victory in 2014.
Paint Branch hosts Blair this Friday at 6:30 PM.
Sherwood at Northwest
Our second all Montgomery County game features undefeated Sherwood traveling to Northwest, which has suffered just one loss this season.
The Warriors are yet to be tested this season, recording all of its wins by at least 17 points. Sherwood has been particularly tough on the offensive side of the ball, going north of 40 points three times this season, including twice going over 50 against Clarksburg and Magruder.
Northwest bounced back from its Week 3 loss to Blair by topping Whitman 42-13. Facing Sherwood rounds out a brutal first half of the season for Northwest in terms of scheduling- none of the teams Northwest has played currently holds a losing record.
It was a low scoring affair last year, which Sherwood won 16-13.
Sherwood travels to Northwest this Friday for a 7:00 PM scheduled kickoff.
Lackey at Patuxent
The defending MPSSAA 2A state champions, Patuxent, host 3-1 Lackey this week in a game featuring two top teams from the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference.
Patuxent has gotten its state title defense off to a good start by claiming lopsided wins in its first four games of 2016. The Panthers have scored more than 40 points in its past three games, including last week when they topped La Plata 55-7. The team's defense has also played well, not allowing more than a touchdown in any game this year.
Lackey has also enjoyed a strong first half thus far, with its only loss coming to North Point in Week 2. The team's defense allowed 35 points in that loss, but has been strong since, only giving up 15 points in the team's two recent wins against St. Charles and Thomas Stone. The offense has been steady, scoring at least 20 points three times this season.
The offenses struggled in last year's contest, which Patuxent won 10-7.
Lackey travels to Calvert County to face Patuxent this Friday at 7:00 PM.
Queen Anne's at Parkside
Two 3-1 sides square off in a critical match up that could end up having postseason implications for the 2A East region when Parkside hosts Queen Anne's this weekend.
Parkside took a tough loss in Week 2 to Easton, but has been in fine form the rest of the season. The Rams have recorded two shut outs this season, including last week in a 42-0 win over Colonel Richardson. Parkside also topped Wicomico County rival, Wicomico High School, in comfortable fashion in Week 3, winning 28-8.
Queen Anne's had a great start to 2016 by winning its first three games by a combined score of 146-24. The Lions suffered a setback last week though when they were beaten by Sussex Central from Delaware, 29-14. Queen Anne's will look to get its season back on track by beating Parkside as it did last season when the Lions beat the Rams 45-14.
Kickoff for this game is scheduled for this Saturday at 1:00 PM.
Havre de Grace at Aberdeen
Havre de Grace, which made the MPSSAA 1A state finals last season, looks to win its second game in a row against a 3A opponent when it travels to Aberdeen this weekend.
Havre de Grace is 4-0 this season. Two of the Warriors' wins have come against teams from bigger classifications. The first of those was a 38-0 victory in the opening weekend against North East, which is a 2A school. Last weekend Havre de Grace beat an even bigger school, 3A's C. Milton Wright, in a close one, 14-10. This isn't the last time the Warriors will play teams with bigger student populations- the game against Aberdeen is followed by two more contests with 3A schools, North Harford and Edgewood.
Aberdeen currently stands at 2-2, but the team's two losses to Perry Hall and Thomas Johnson have been by a combined nine points. The Eagles were finally able to win a close contest last week when they outlasted Edgewood, winning 32-24 in overtime. Aberdeen will hope to get its first win streak of the season going by doing what it did last year, which is beating Havre de Grace. In the 2015 version of this contest, the Eagles topped Havre de Grace 32-12.
This game is scheduled for 7:00 PM this Friday.
| September 29th, 2016 | By: Wick Eisenberg |