Quince Orchard High School’s football program has made its first-ever appearance in the High School Football America 300, a national ranking of high school football teams powered by NFL Play Football. Quince Orchard was ranked No. 300.
High School Football America (HSFA) is a national digital media platform and ranking organization covering high school football across the United States. Founded by sports journalist Jeff Fisher in 2004, HSFA produces weekly national rankings using a proprietary computer algorithm rather than a traditional human-voted poll.
The algorithm, introduced in 2012, takes into account factors including strength of schedule, head-to-head results, margin of victory and the depth of competition within a team’s region. The HSFA national rankings are presented in partnership with NFL Play Football, the NFL’s youth and high school football initiative.
Quince Orchard’s debut in the HSFA 300 comes amid an extended run of success under head coach John Kelley. The Cougars have won five Maryland state championships since 2018, capturing titles in 2018, 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025.
The national recognition is particularly notable for Quince Orchard as a Maryland public school competing in the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA). The Cougars are based in Gaithersburg and have established themselves as one of Maryland’s most successful public school football programs in recent years.
