Week 1 is supposed to be about optimism. Everyone is undefeated, every roster has a reason to believe it is better than the one that finished last season, and every coach has spent an offseason explaining why the work his players put in will matter when the lights come on. Then the games begin.
Blake at Northwest: Around Montgomery County, the opening week offers several useful tests, but few may reveal more than Blake’s trip to Northwest. The two teams arrive with strengths that point in opposite directions. Northwest still expects its defense to be the foundation. Blake has a more established answer on the other side of the ball, with Wilt Cameron leading a passing attack that should be the Bengals biggest known quantity.
That makes this less a question of which team has the better strength than which team can answer the questions surrounding its weakness. Northwest will be young on offense. The players have had a full offseason to prepare, but preparation and Friday night rhythm are not the same thing. Blake, meanwhile, has produced stout defenses for much of the past five years, but this version will need new playmakers to emerge.
If neither offense finds much room, this could become the kind of game where one mistake, one field-position swing or one successful third-down conversion changes everything. The edge goes to Blake. Prediction: Blake 20, Northwest 13
Churchill at BCC: BCC looked like itself in the Seneca Valley scrimmage: physical, stubborn and comfortable making opponents earn every yard. The Barons’ run game and tenacious defense should give Churchill enough resistance to make this rivalry opener uncomfortable.
The question is whether they can make it uncomfortable for four quarters. Churchill has traditionally needed a few games before its offense finds its best rhythm. This year, however, the Bulldogs have experience at quarterback in Hunter Humphries, which could help accelerate that process.
BCC is capable of turning this into a dogfight. Churchill is still the team with the greater margin for error. Prediction: Churchill 28, BCC 13
Blair at Wheaton: Few Week 1 matchups come with this much recent baggage. A year ago, Blair looked lost at the beginning of the season and Wheaton took full advantage, blasting the Blazers 32-0. Ten weeks later, the script had been completely rewritten. Blair returned the favor with a 36-14 rout that was never particularly close.
That is enough history to make overlooking this game difficult. Both teams return important pieces and enter 2026 expecting to improve. The most interesting matchup may be at quarterback, where both programs bring back their starters.
Blair’s Malachi Rice showed enough arm talent last season to suggest he could have a substantial year. Wheaton’s James Destine is a younger and less certain commodity, but the potential is obvious. The Wildcats’ offense should be more seasoned than the one that opened last season, although their playoff result was a reminder that there is still ground to cover before they can consistently run with the county’s best teams. Blair has the clearer answer at quarterback, that may be enough. Prediction: Blair 36, Wheaton 21
Damascus at Richard Montgomery: If Damascus is going to make noise this season, this is the sort of opener that can establish the tone. MJ Sullivan nearly turned last year’s meeting with Richard Montgomery into his personal highlight reel, producing a performance that approached the historic. The Hornets would be happy to see something similar this time around.
Richard Montgomery is harder to read. The Rockets lost several important pieces from last year’s offense, although there has been enough talk about the next group to suggest the cupboard is not bare.
That makes this an intriguing early measuring stick for both programs. Damascus should have the advantage, but Richard Montgomery may tell us as much about itself in a loss as it would in a win. Prediction: Damascus 30, Richard Montgomery 21
Sherwood at Magruder: The quarterback storyline here is impossible to miss. Preston Hamrick, a two-year starter at Sherwood, is now in Derwood for his senior season. His arrival, combined with the return of Caleb Smallwood, gives Magruder a significantly more dangerous offense than it might otherwise have had.
Unfortunately for the Colonels, Sherwood appears to have done plenty of work of its own. Hamrick’s arrival adds intrigue, but it does not erase the larger gap between the teams. Prediction: Sherwood 45, Magruder 14
Clarksburg at Seneca Valley: Both teams have reasons to believe their offenses are moving in the right direction, which should make this an interesting early test of that progress.
Clarksburg may have a surprise or two waiting. Seneca Valley, though, appears to have the greater collection of weapons at the moment. The question is not whether the Coyotes can make some plays. It is whether they can make enough of them to stay in the game once Seneca Valley starts creating separation. Prediction: Seneca Valley 28, Clarksburg 7
Gaithersburg at Walter Johnson: Both teams are breaking in important new pieces offensively, but Walter Johnson appears to enter with the clearer advantage in athleticism and depth.
That is a dangerous combination for Gaithersburg in an opener. The Wildcats should have too many answers once the game settles in. Anything short of a comfortable WJ victory would qualify as a surprise. Prediction: Walter Johnson 34, Gaithersburg 8
Rockville at Wootton: The new-look Rams get an immediate test against a Wootton defense that should not give them much room to operate. This has the makings of a long night for Rockville’s offense. Prediction: Wootton 21, Rockville 7
Kennedy at Whitman: Whitman does not need anyone to remind it what happened the last time these teams met. Kennedy’s 2025 season was historic, but the Vikings’ 2025 loss to the Cavaliers in Week 10 was still one of the more embarrassing results of the season. That makes this year’s meeting more than a routine opener for Whitman.
The circumstances have changed. Kennedy is expected to be worse on paper, while Whitman has an opportunity to demonstrate that last year’s result was an aberration rather than the beginning of a new order.
If the Vikings cannot handle a diminished Kennedy team, the questions around Whitman will become considerably louder. Prediction: Whitman 14, Kennedy 7
Watkins Mill at Northwood: At least this one should have some tension. Both teams have plenty of reason to treat Week 1 as an opportunity. Watkins Mill beat Northwood last year, but the trajectories afterward were very different. The Gladiators found ways to win games. The Wolverines never did.
That makes the opener an important chance for Watkins Mill to reverse that direction and for Northwood to make sure last year’s late-season success was not a temporary blip. Expect both teams to come out with plenty of energy. Northwood gets the nod to start the season on the right foot.
And, assuming all the information holds, this game also gets the distinction of opening the new Woodward field. Prediction: Northwood 21, Watkins Mill 7
Springbrook at Einstein: There are not many certainties here. This is another meeting between two programs looking for a way out of the bottom tier, and there are enough unknowns to make a confident projection difficult. Einstein’s new staff has a substantial challenge: maintain what has worked while finding a way to make a defense that struggled last season at least somewhat better. Springbrook has not won since 2024. Prediction: Einstein 24, Springbrook 7
Winters Mill at Poolesville: The expectation around Carroll County is that Winters Mill should be better than it was a year ago. Poolesville, meanwhile, appears likely to remain in the lower half of the area hierarchy. The Falcons from Carroll County should have too much for the Falcons from Montgomery County. Prediction: Winters Mill 31, Poolesville 14
The Game of the Week: Paint Branch @ Quince Orchard has its own preview that can be found here.
