By Sheldon Shealer
The longest week of high school football finally ended about 4:45 Tuesday evening,
five full days after it began.
Lightning and a Jewish holiday played a major factor in a five-day high school football
barrage.
To avoid conflicts with a Jewish holiday, Frederick and Montgomery counties were
among the first to start Week 2 with Thursday night games on Sept. 9. However, lightning
storms over much of the state halted many games in progress, while others didn't
get started.
Games were played Friday and Saturday as scheduled, and Sunday was a state-wide off
day.
While many of the Thursday postponements were completed Friday afternoon, a handful
were pushed to Monday night.
Finally, Tuesday afternoon, Suitland and Bishop McNamara completed the final quarter
of their suspended game from Week 1.
In summary, while 98 percent of Maryland high school football games are played between
Friday afternoon and Saturday night (a time frame of 31 hours), it took five days
covering 120 hours to complete Week 2.
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TAKE NOTE:
... Chesapeake-BC, Bishop Walsh and Frederick, teams whose combined losing streak
stood at 53 games, all won last week. Dante Lee and Davon Telp combined for 283 rushing
yards and five TDs as Chesapeake-BC ended a 22-game drought with a 44-6 thrashing
of Sparrows Point. Frederick rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat Old Mill, 31-27,
ending a 13-game losing streak. Bishop Walsh won for the first time under coach John
Wilson, 22-16 over Turkeyfoot (Pa.). Bishop Walsh had an 18-game losing streak.
... Allegany and Sidwell Friends (D.C.) played a game known as meet-you-half-way.
Allegany was leading Sidwell, 7-6, when lightning halted their contest in D.C. The
Campers, from Cumberland, didn't want to travel all the way back, so the teams completed
the game at St. James School in Hagerstown on Monday. Hagerstown is about an 90-minute
drive from Sidwell and a 60-minute drive from Allegany.
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STAT STARS:
... North County QB Mike Pfisterer completed 26-of-38 passes for 373 yards and three
touchdowns. The junior also rushed for a one-yard score and had a two-point conversion
run in the Knights' 33-14 victory over Meade.
... Milford Mill QB Richard Johnson rushed for 165 yards, returned a kickoff 91
yards for a score and completed 5-of-8 passes for 88 yards and three TDs in the team's
36-6 win over Perry Hall. Johnson has had a hand in nine touchdowns in two games.
... North Carroll RB Steve Suter rushed 20 times for 200 yards and had a 94-yard
punt return for a score in the Panthers' 28-6 win over South River. Suter, who has
committed to the University of Maryland, has 482 rushing yards in two games this
year.
... Catonsville RB Steve Matthews rushed for 217 yards and two TDs in the Comets'
42-22 win over Western Tech.
... Oxon Hill DB David Driggers returned a interception 99 yards as the Clippers
upset state-ranked Northwestern-PG, 20-14.
... Oakland Mills DL Nick Fambro returned a punt 77 yards with less than a minute
left and the PAT kick was converted as the defending 1A state champions stunned upstart
Glenelg.
... Potomac QB DuJuan Crockett had 181 yards passing and two touchdowns and rushed
for 93 yards and two more scores, helping Potomac rout Edgewood, 56-26. Potomac trailed
at halftime, before a 44-point second-half outburst.
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STATISTICALLY SPEAKING:
... Seneca Valley, Gaithersburg and Gilman, ranked Nos. 1, 3 and 4 respectively,
have not allowed a point in their games. The three schools, in six contests, have
combined to outscore the opposition 271-0.
... Potomac, with a 44-point second half, record the highest points output of
the week, defeating Edgewood, 56-26. However, Beall delivered the most lopsided contest
of the week, handling undermanned Hancock, 55-0.
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MAJOR MATCHUPS:
Northwestern-PG at Largo, Friday, 7:30 p.m. ó Largo recovered from a loss to
Urbana by handling Parkdale. Northwestern-PG was upset by Oxon Hill, 20-14, last
week. The winner of this matchup remains in the P.G. County 4A title race.
Westminster at C.M. Wright, Friday, 7:30 p.m. ó Westminster continued its non-league
roll, knocking off Loyola, 14-7. The Owls have won their last five non-league games.
C.M. Wright, a state Top 20 team, used special teams and defense to upend South Carroll.
Douglass-PG at Linganore, Saturday, 7 p.m. ó These two programs have their sights
set on playoff berths, but only the winner will have a realistic chance.
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DID YOU NOTICE?
Liberty, North Carroll and Westminster are all 2-0. No one seems to recall the last
time at least three of the five Carroll County schools started 2-0 in the same year.
Remember, this was a county that had a grand total of eight out-of-county wins during
the 1997 season (8-28, to be specific). Over the past decade, Carroll County schools
are 81-243 outside the county, which includes three straight 5-31 seasons in the
early 1990s.