Update: In a message sent to the Watkins Mill community principal Vilma Najera at 7:41pm Wednesday evening, the threat was deemed not credible by Montgomery County Police. The full message can be seen below:

Good evening Watkins Mill families and staff,


This week’s matchups offer a blend of history and rivalries!

Quince Orchard (7-0) at Northwest (6-1): Battle of Rivals- Friday night lights will blaze as the undefeated Quince Orchard Cougars prepare to face the once-mighty Northwest Jaguars, now looking rather vulnerable. Last week’s stumble against Churchill showcased Northwest’s weaknesses, leaving them in a precarious position. However, in the world of high school football, history often repeats itself. A decade ago, an underdog Northwest team, fresh off a narrow defeat to Clarksburg, ambushed the then-undefeated Cougars to steal their championship dreams. Could history favor the Jaguars again?


1. Quince Orchard Cougars (Last Week: 1) – Undefeated at 7-0: The Cougars showcased their dominance once again, storming past Richard Montgomery with a commanding 43-7 victory. Running Back Iverson Howard was the standout player of the evening, amassing an impressive 111 yards of total offense and punching in three touchdowns. The undefeated Quince Orchard squad is now gearing up for a colossal showdown against archrivals Northwest in the highly anticipated Black Hole, Germantown this Friday night.

2. Walter Johnson Wildcats (Last Week: 3) – Unblemished at 7-0: The Wildcats continued their unbeaten streak in style, leaving Wheaton in the dust with a resounding 46-6 triumph. Next, they’ll take their unblemished record to Olney, where they’ll clash with a formidable Sherwood team in what promises to be a thrilling matchup.


Thomas Edison High School of Technology (12501 Dalewood Dr. Silver Spring) is hosting its Open House for this school year on October 19th from 6-8PM. All MCPS families are welcome to come learn about Edison’s programs and meet their career and technology teachers and community partners.


Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is scheduled to begin the Schematic Design Phase for an approved capital project at Damascus High School. Prior to beginning the design process and community engagements, a kick-off meeting for community members and all stakeholders is scheduled on Wednesday, October 18, 2023, at 6:30 pm to share the project information. The in-person meeting will be held in the Cafeteria/All-Purpose room. Doors open at 6:00 pm, presentation begins at 6:30 pm. It is unclear if the meeting will discuss any boundary changes between Damascus and nearby schools like Clarksburg High School.

A major capital project was approved to address various building systems and programmatic needs for Damascus High School, located at 25921 Ridge Road. The Board of Education, in the requested FY 2021–2026 CIP, included expenditures in FY 2022 to continue the planning and design of this major capital project with a completion date of August 2025, but the County Council delayed the expenditures by one year. An FY 2023 appropriation was approved to begin the design of this Major Capital project. An FY 2024 appropriation is recommended for construction funds. This project is scheduled to be completed August 2026. Once completed in 2026, school capacity is expected to increase from 1,543 (where it’s at currently) to 2,250.


Montgomery Blair sent the following message to the Blair community at 2:19pm: “All students will dismiss at 2:30 today using their regularly scheduled transportation. Students with a 9th period will dismiss to our stadium and shuttles will take them to Eastern MS. They will board buses with middle school magnet students to go home. All athletic programs, clubs, and RecZone are canceled until further notice. Athletic games will be reevaluated at 4:30.” We will provide an update if additional information becomes available.

To maintain a safe environment, we made the decision to dismiss all students at 2:30 p.m. Ninth period students were directed to the stadium until they could be safely transported to Eastern Middle School where they will board buses to go home. As a result of this threat, all after-school activities and athletics have been canceled this evening until further notice. We are working closely with the authorities to investigate the threat and take appropriate measures to ensure the ongoing safety of our school community.


In an email to staff on Friday, MCPS superintendent Dr. Monifa McKnight shared additional changes in personnel for the school system. Dr. McKnight previously emailed administrative and supervisory staff on Wednesday to inform them of changes that included announcing that deputy superintendent Dr. Patrick Murphy was no longer employed by the district and that two members of the MCPS Office of School Support and Well-Being (OSSWB), Dr. Donna Redmond Jones and Dr. Eugenia (Jeanie) Dawson are currently on leave. The additional changes shared can be seen below:

    •    Effective Monday, October 16, 2023, Dr. Betty J. Collins will serve as acting deputy superintendent. Dr. Collins, an MCPS graduate, enjoyed a distinguished 49-year career in the district as a teacher, principal, and director of Instructional Leadership, before her retirement in 2018.


Below you’ll see the most recent updates or final scores of the 2023 week 7 MCPS football games. The scores will be updated as we receive them. If a score isn’t listed, it’s because we haven’t yet received a report from the game that we can confirm. An ‘F’ signifies the score is confirmed as being final.

Thursday’s Games:


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