MoCoShow High School Football Week 5 Preview & Predictions (MCPS)

Sherwood (3-1) at Gaithersburg (3-1): In-county, this looks to be the most competitive high-level match. After playing each other every year from 2002 to 2014, these two teams square off once again after a 9 year hiatus. It will be a matchup of two top MoCo running backs in Gideon Ituka vs. Van Mahoney. Whoever can generate the most offense outside of their bellcow will likely walk away the winner. Don’t underestimate Gburg, aside from an expected blowout loss to QO they’ve taken care of business against opponents you’d expect a good team to easily handle, and are surely hungry for a statement win. I see this being a pretty tight affair with lots of scoring, but right now I think Sherwood gets the edge based on their earlier schedule being tougher, more proven defense and desire to bounce back from the Blake loss. Prediction: Sherwood by 13

Richard Montgomery (2-2) at Seneca Valley (2-2): A somewhat intriguing matchup that pits strength against strength: RM’s high-flying offense vs. SV’s ferocious defense. SV has some ballhawks that we expect will generate several turnovers and possibly rival the offense in terms of scoring output. Prediction: Seneca Valley by 17

Quince Orchard (4-0) at Blair (2-2): Last week showed that Blair’s offense has taken a step back from last year. Against QO’s defense, it won’t be pretty.  Prediction: QO by 45

BCC (2-2) at Northwest (4-0): Can Carson Griffey and co. test NW’s defense? The Barons will definitely look to catch the Jags off guard the way RM did, but something tells me NW won’t be so accommodating this go around.  Prediction:  Northwest by 35

Walter Johnson (4-0) at Wootton (2-2): Wootton has come back down to Earth after starting 2-0; they’re a lot better than past years for sure. Unfortunately for them, WJ has proven itself. Barring lapses in play from the high of beating Paint Branch, the Wildcats should beat the Patriots.  Prediction:  WJ by 29

Magruder (3-1) at Damascus (3-1): Magruder’s 3-1 record is a testament to Coach Fowle’s ability to field a regularly competitive squad. Damascus will be a stiff challenge to the Colonels, but perhaps not as stiff as years past given the Hornets’ lack of depth. Damascus is more talented though and we like them to win comfortably, but could see Magruder hanging around for a bit.  Prediction: Damascus by 28

Blake (4-0) at Springbrook (0-4): What a win for the Bengals to vault into the Top 5. They reached their first 4-0 record ever, and we know they will be hungry to extend history to 5-0.  Prediction: Blake by 22

Paint Branch (2-2) at Wheaton (1-3): Last week showed that PB’s offensive issues against Sherwood were unfortunately not a fluke and that the Panthers need to figure a lot of things out on offense if they want to make any noise. With Northwest coming to town next week, the situation is all the more dire. They should get back on track this week vs the Knights.  Prediction: Paint Branch by 48

Whitman (2-2) at Einstein (2-2): Both schools had huge wins last week and will be looking to keep the train rolling. We are expecting a hard-nosed, competitive bout this week. Could definitely see Whitman pulling this off but Einstein we feel has the better resume.  Prediction: Einstein by 5

Poolesville (0-4) at Rockville (1-3): Poolesville has had a bit more of a pulse the last couple weeks, they did manage to get the first score against Damascus before the Hornets took over from there. Rockville had a tough win over Springbrook last week, so now’s the chance to see if the Falcons can pose a threat to them. Even if they do, though, Rockville should be good enough to handle it.  Prediction: Rockville by 13

Clarksburg (1-3) at Watkins Mill (1-3): Both programs have improved this year after going winless in ’22. Clarksburg has improved more though, almost pulling off the win over Magruder last week, so this should be the Coyotes’ to lose.  Prediction: Clarksburg by 29.

Kennedy (0-4) at Northwood (0-4): With Whitman and WM having broken their streaks, Northwood is the last remaining team to have not won a game since the pandemic, having last won in the Spring ’21 showcase. This is by far their best chance to break the streak this season, Kennedy is back to square one after years of steady improvement under Brandon Driver and the Cavs haven’t scored a point yet this season. Additionally, the Gladiators have been showing more of a pulse since losing PB in the opener.We think they pull it off and the last of the big losing streaks will be broken!  Prediction:  Northwood by 8.