Five MPSSAA Football Games to Watch: Week 3

Meade (2-0) at Old Mill (1-1)

An unbeaten Meade side travels to take on traditional powerhouse Old Mill in an early season contest that could impact the postseason come November.

Meade is looking to make reach the postseason for the first time since 2013. The Mustangs are on their way to doing that in 2017 by shutting out South River and beating Arundel, usually one of Anne Arundel County's top teams, in Week 2 by a final score of 47-26. The victory against Arundel had to be particularly sweet for the Mustangs as it avenged a 42-14 loss in 2016, which started a three game losing streak that cost the group a playoff spot.

In Old Mill, Meade will face another group it lost to in 2016. The Patriots went through the regular season undefeated, before losing to Broadneck in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight season. 2017 has been up and down for Old Mill so far- the group was blown out by North Point 42-0 in Week 1 before beating Annapolis, last year's MPSSAA 4A East regional champion, 35-8. Old Mill has qualified for the state playoffs every season since 1998.

Kickoff for this contest is scheduled for Friday at 6:30 PM.

Edmondson/Westside (2-0) at Digital Harbor (1-1)

Edmondson looks to avenge a 2016 shutout defeat when it drives 15 minutes east to face Digital Harbor.

The Red Storm suffered a 14-0 loss at home against Digital Harbor last season in Week 2, which gave the group an 0-2 mark to start the season. Edmondson regrouped to reach the playoffs where the team promptly won two straight contests to win the MPSSAA 1A South crown. If the Red Storm finish as strongly as they did in 2016, this year could be a special one- Edmondson enters this contest 2-0, outscoring South Carroll and Caravel Academy from Delaware 77-15 in the process.

Digital Harbor's victory over Edmondson gave the group a 2-0 start to 2016, but the team managed just one win the rest of the way. That doesn't mean the Rams weren't in close games- four of the team's losses were by 10 points or less. The group suffered a blowout loss in Week 1 against Oakdale but picked up a 6-0 road win against Douglass-BC this past weekend.

Digital Harbor hosts Edmondson at Swann Park in Baltimore City this Friday at 3:45 PM.

Boonsboro (1-1) at Brunswick (1-1)

Upstart Brunswick looks to make it two wins in a row when the Railroaders host Boonsboro in 1A West action.

Brunswick topped Clear Spring 40-8 in Week 2 to halt a 22-game losing streak for the program. The Railroaders last win came against North Hagerstown on Halloween of 2014. The program is seeing changes under first year coach Jerry Smith- the team lost all but one game last year by double digits. Beating Clear Spring after suffering a close 6-0 contest to Northern Garrett in Week 1 shows that this is clearly a program going in the right direction.

Boonsboro put together a dynamite regular season in 2016, going 9-1 and reaching the state playoffs. The Warriors season ended in heartbreak though, as the team lost 21-20 in overtime of their first round contest with Allegany. This season, the Warriors dropped a close one in their opener to Catoctin 28-21 before bouncing back with a win against Silver Oak Academy 52-12.

Boonsboro makes the trip to Frederick County to take on Boonsboro this Friday at 7 PM.

Southern Garrett (2-0) at Catoctin (2-0)

Another all 1A West match-up gets mentioned this week as Catoctin hosts Southern Garrett in a battle of undefeated teams that appear to be in bounce back seasons.

Catoctin finished started 2016 2-2 but slowed as the season wore on, finishing with a 4-6 record. The Cougars are in search of getting back to the playoffs for the first time since 2013, and are even off to a better start than that year's team. The team followed up its Week 1 victory over Boonsboro by running away with the 42-14 win in Week 2 against Frederick.

Southern Garrett also finished 4-6 last year, but suffered from a brutal 0-4 start the group could not overcome. The Rams have carried over the momentum from a strong second half in 2016 by winning their first two games by a combined score of 73-15. That includes a particularly dominant display against Moorefield from West Virginia last week that finished 40-0.

Southern Garrett travels to Catoctin this Friday at 7 PM.

Sussex Central (1-0) at Queen Anne's (2-0)

Queen Anne's puts its unblemished mark on the line when it faces Sussex Central from Delaware this weekend.

The Lions hold a 2-0 record after dismantling Cambridge-South Dorchester and Easton by a combined score of 55-10. The winning start makes it look like another playoff appearance could be in the works for Queen Anne's, which has established itself as one of the premier programs in the Bayside Conference. Queen Anne's has qualified for the last four postseasons, but has not been able to convert that into deep pushes. The program has not won a playoff game during that span.

This week the Lions face the only team to beat them during the regular season in 2016. Sussex Central won last year's contest 29-14, and finished 2016 with a 7-3 record. The Golden Knights started with a 20-7 victory over Hodgson Vo-Tech in their opener last week.

Kickoff for this contest is scheduled for 7:30 PM.
September 11th, 2017By: Wick Eisenberg

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