The MoCoShow 2023 MCPS High School Football Week 7 Preview & Predictions

Northwest (6-0) at Churchill (5-1): Huge seeding battle in the 4A West and the teams involved should also pay mind to the Gburg-SV game. If Gaithersburg wins, the Trojans should be favored to win out the rest of the season finishing 8-1. Thus, assuming NW loses to QO next week, the loser of this game has a very real shot of falling down to the 4 seed and likely meeting QO Week 11. If Churchill pulls this off, suddenly the path to returning to the state reseeding just got a lot easier (obviously them beating NW would mean they have a clear path to advancing no matter what, but never bank on beating the Jags twice). Northwest hasn’t quite looked like their dominant selves the last couple weeks, they did start well against PB but cooled off and PB made it too close for comfort before the Jags got an insurance score. But Churchill hasn’t exactly fully played their best ball either the last couple weeks, and will need to come out swinging to pull this one off. This doesn’t look like a great matchup for the Dawgs as NW’s D-Line should limit Avit and Churchill’s pass defense is not great. Churchill will need to execute near-flawless in the passing game. Overall we think the Bulldogs keep it very close, but the Jags stay one step  ahead in a classic. Prediction: Northwest by 8

Paint Branch (3-3) at Blake (6-0): Once Blake beat Sherwood, without a whole lot of quality opponents on the Bengals’ schedule many immediately turned their eyes to this matchup. Blake has only beaten PB 3 times in the last 20 years, and are on a 10-year losing streak. If there was any time to get back in the win column, it’s now as PB is reeling having not been able to put it all together against their quality foes. However, our gut doesn’t like Blake in this one. Chalk it up to the Panthers being more battle tested and showing signs of improvement against Northwest. Prediction: Paint Branch by 6 

Gaithersburg (5-1) at Seneca Valley (3-3): The classic old rivalry. This is looking to be the most competitive matchup in the series in a very long time, and with huge seeding implications as mentioned above. If Gburg can win out, they should get the 3 or even 2 seed and avoid QO who gave them their lone loss. SV will need to win out to stay in the hunt for a home game Week 10. Although SV has the worse record, they’ve indubitably had the much harder schedule and have had some valiant performances. Their defense has been excellent, giving both David Avit and Iverson Howard a difficult time. Can they put a cap on another top RB in Ituka? We think SV being battle tested will prove to be the difference in this one, Prediction: SV by 12

Quince Orchard (6-0) at Richard Montgomery (3-3): QO’s offense took a step back last week in terms of execution. Luckily for them, they should be primed for a bounceback against RM’s defense. RM does get on the scoreboard though with their QB play. Prediction: QO by 49

Walter Johnson (6-0) at Wheaton (1-5): WJ cruises to what has to be a record 7-0 start. They will look to sharpen up for two big games to end the regular season. Prediction: WJ by 42

BCC (3-3) at Blair (2-4): This season has been tough for Blair, who still has PB and Blake on the schedule. The Blazers offense got terrorized by WJ’s D in the second half, and with BCC having some solid performances on that side of the ball, We think the Barons can make a statement here. Prediction: BCC by 21

Poolesville (0-6) at Sherwood (4-2): Fun fact, this is the first ever meeting between the two schools in MPSSAA history, quite impressive considering both schools have been around for over a century. West meets east, and Sherwood looks to have the decisive advantage as the Warriors need to stack up as many wins as possible for playoff seeding. The good news for Poolesville is that they’ll have the opportunity to get in the win column the final two weeks against Clarksburg and WM. Prediction: Sherwood by 32

Damascus (4-2) at Clarksburg (2-4): A hard dose of reality for Damascus last week, but the Hornets still have a lot to play for and ultimately a lot of good should come out of that tight game. Michael Cooley is back and the Hornets will be primed to bounce back big against a less talented Clarksburg. Prediction: Damascus by 33

Rockville (2-4) at Magruder (3-3): This should be a competitive game between two feisty teams. Rockville needs to pick up all the wins it can to have a shot at avoiding Oakdale/Linganore, which have defeated them the last 3 years, in Week 10. In matchups of this caliber, though, We have typically found Magruder to be the safe bet. Prediction: Magruder by 4

Wootton (3-3) at Watkins Mill (1-5): Big time win for Wootton last week. The Patriots should do more of the same this week.Prediction: Wootton by 32

Kennedy (0-6) at Whitman (3-3): With this game as well as Springbrook still on the schedule, Whitman has a real shot of finishing with a winning record. Which is a huge feat for a team that started this season having lost 23 in a row. Prediction: Whitman by 48

Northwood (0-6) at Einstein (3-3): Northwood squandered what was looking like a real good shot to break their losing streak. Now they will likely have to wait until next year as Einstein should have little trouble. Prediction: Einstein by 49

Springbrook (1-5) at Winters Mill (6-0): Fun fact, this is the first time ever that Winters Mill has started 6-0. They should be good enough to handle a Springbrook team that has yet to win a game on the field. Prediction: Winters Mill by 20