By Sheldon Shealer
A changing of the guard is taking place in The Associated Press Maryland high school football Top 20.
Sherwood and Douglass-P.G. are gone.
Edmondson, Calvert and Hereford are in.
Sherwood, following a 35-14 loss to No. 8 Watkins Mill, fell out of the rankings for the first time since 1994. The Warriors had a streak of 56 straight weeks in the state Top 20, the third-longest run in history.
Douglass-P.G., a hard-luck non-playoff team last year, dropped its second straight game Friday, a 32-28 loss to Potomac. Douglass-P.G. fell from the Top 20 on Tuesday for the first time in 15 rankings.
Taking the place of Sherwood, Douglass-P.G. and the other two teams that fell out of the rankings this week are Edmondson, making its first appearance ever, Calvert, making its second appearance, Hereford and Potomac.
Calvert spent one week at No. 20 during the 1994 season. The Cavaliers are 4-1 with their only loss in overtime to No. 7 Westlake. Calvert coach Jerry Franks becomes only the third coach to guide two programs to state Top 20 rankings, joining Dave Carruthers (Linganore and Urbana) and Bob Milloy (Springbrook and Sherwood). Franks coached Northern-Calvert in 1990, which spent nine weeks in the rankings.
Edmondson, behind running back Raytron Leak, is riding an 11-game win streak, including a 5-0 start this year. Edmondson is coached by Pete Pompey, who guided Dunbarís basketball team to a mythical national championship in 1992. Now coaching only football at Edmondson, Pompeyís team is winning games by an average margin of 27 points.
Hereford creeps back into the Top 20 this week for the first time since 1997. The Bullsí last ranking came in the final poll of 1997 after they won the Class 1A state title.
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TAKE NOTE
Northeast-AA defeated Col. Richardson, 47-27, in a meeting between the schools with the two longest losing streaks. Col. Richardson has now lost 28 straight games. Northeastís victory ended a 24-game slide.
Kennedy ended a 22-game losing streak with a 20-7 victory over Walter Johnson on Friday. The win was the first for Kennedy since the 1997 season, and the first for new coach Tim McNeil, who took over two weeks ago. McNeil became the Cavaliers' interim coach after Joe Johnson suddenly resigned after Week 3.
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STATE STARS
Catonsville QB Doug Johnson was 5-of-7 in the first half, all going for touchdowns in Catonsville's 63-30 victory over Overlea.
West Nottingham RB Marvin McLain rushed for 264 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. Had a receiving TD and 15 tackles.
Patterson RB Rashidi Scott rushed for 225 of his team's 409 yards with five touchdowns in the Clippers' 40-0 victory over Northern-Balt.
Terry Caulley, a sophomore RB, rushed for 246 yards and scored six touchdowns,
leading Patuxent to a 49-20 victory over La Plata.
Jerrod Brown, a sophomore RB, had 243 rushing yards and four touchdowns as Frederick
defeated North Carroll, 48-12. Brown scored the first three times he touched the
ball on runs of 47,
31 and 84 yards.
City College RB Jawan Yancey rushed for 225 and three touchdowns, and returned an
interception for a score in the Knights' 41-12 win over Mergenthaler Vo-Tech (Baltimore).
Smithsburg RB Darryl Clopper rushed for a school-record six touchdowns as the
Leopards defeated Catoctin, 40-13.
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MAJOR MATCHUPS
Mount St. Joseph (4-1) at Gilman (5-0), Friday, 3:45 p.m. ó Mount St. Joseph is riding a four-game win streak as it visits Gilman, winners of 16 straight.
Annapolis (5-0) at Severna Park (5-0), Friday, 7:15 p.m. ó Annapolis puts its 13-game regular-season win streak on the line.
DeMatha (4-0-1) at Bishop McNamara (3-2), Saturday, 1:30 p.m. ó DeMatha plays its first game against a Maryland state-ranked team since facing Good Counsel last year.
Suitland (4-1) at Eleanor Roosevelt (5-0), Saturday, 3 p.m. ó Suitland is the two-time defending P.G. 4A champ and Roosevelt is the only undefeated team in the league.
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DID YOU NOTICE?
The top eight teams in this week's MPSSAA Class 2A points standings are not scheduled to face each other during the regular season. It's looking very possible that some teams with one loss might be left out of the 2A playoffs.