Starting Over at Good Counsel

By Sheldon Shealer

Good Counsel 34, Mount St. Joseph 14.

After a career spanning 30 years among three public schools in Montgomery County, Bob Milloy collected his first victory in his first game as a private school head coach Saturday.

Milloy, the winningest active coach in Maryland, sent shock waves through the football community when he stepped down from perennial title contender Sherwood to take on the task of coaching a mediocre Good Counsel program. Yet, it didn't take long for the Falcons to raise eyebrows. Good Counsel dominated every aspect of Saturday's victory over Mount St. Joseph, the state's No. 25-ranked team.

"We haven't had a practice this good yet, I'm not kidding you," Milloy told The Washington Post. "To beat a team a great team like this, I'm shocked."

Milloy said he would place this victory among his all-time Top 10 -- a high honor from a coach whose teams have won eight state titles and 263 OTHER games.

Milloy said later, "You know, you go into a game with a list of "Ifs" and for the first time in my career they all came through."

Good Counsel, which did not score in a pair of scrimmages, racked up 34 points, its special teams blocked a pair of punts, a PAT attempt, recovered an onsides kick -- not to mention almost breaking a pair of returns for scores, and finally, the team's defense, held in check a Mount St. Joseph offense that racked up 600 yards a week earlier.

"In the first game, I'd take a 2-0 win and not complain ... but this?" Milloy said, still amazed at the result two days later.

However, Milloy was quick to caution, the early victory should not be viewed as Good Counsel being an overnight power. The team must face such local powers as DeMatha, Archbishop Carroll, Gonzaga, St. John's and a vastly improved Bishop McNamara team. Milloy said he team's goals are simple -- hopefully to be good enough to reach the four-team league playoffs.

Milloy had a short stint at Walt Whitman before later building Springbrook and Sherwood into state powers.

RECORD SETTERS

This one is a week old, but well worth mentioning. Mount St. Joseph junior quarterback Nick Tanis threw for 409 yards and five touchdowns in MSJ's season-opening 46-41 victory over Steubenville (Ohio) on Aug. 24. If the numbers are confirmed, Tanis would have set a new state record. Oddly Tanis was not expected to start this year. That task fell to Joe Peeler, but when Peeler chose to play fall baseball instead of football, Tanis inherited the starting spot.

TOP PERFORMANCES

Chris Peaks, Good Counsel, rushed for 211 yards and five touchdowns as the Falcons defeated No. 25 Mount St. Joseph, 34-14.

Elijah Brooks, DeMatha, rushed for 114 yards -- 100 in the first half with a touchdown -- as DeMatha defeated Gilman, 16-0.

IN CASE YOU WHERE WONDERING

Yes, the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference returned the favor this past weekend. DeMatha's victory over Gilman, Good Counsel's win over Mount St. Joseph and St. John's (D.C.) thrashing of Calvert Hall made the WCAC 3-0 against Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference rivals. Last year, the MIAA went 3-0 against the WCAC.

STREAK BUSTERS

No streaks of note were ended last week, but one was carried on. DeMatha's 16-0 victory over Gilman was the program's 12th straight victory.

AROUND THE STATE (Week 0 Notes)

St. James and Maryland School for the Deaf planned to get an early start, but now they will make use of a mid-season bye week. The two small schools planned to face off in the season opener Friday, but lightning halted the contest in the first quarter. The teams were not able to finish the game. Both teams had scheduled a bye week on Oct. 18, but it now appears the teams will make up the contest at that time, although it is not official yet. ... In the battle of Archbishops, Curley defeated Spalding, 28-0. They are the only football-playing schools in Maryland with "Archbishop" in their school name. ... Mount St. Joseph has allowed 30 or more points in seven of its last 12 games. However, the team is 7-5 during that stretch. ... DeMatha's 16-0 victory over Gilman marked the fourth time there has been a state No. 1 vs. No. 2 game in Maryland. In 1996, then No. 1 Seneca Valley defeated No. 2 Damascus, 21-14. In 1997, a pair of No. 2s posted wins over No. 1s in back-to-back rankings. In Week 10, No. 2 Seneca Valley defeated then No. 1 Sherwood to reverse the ranking order for the playoffs, and three weeks later, then No. 2 Sherwood defeated No. 1 Seneca Valley on the way to the 4A state title.

LOOKING AHEAD

The second-half of Gilman's stunning 1-2 season-opening punch will be contested Friday night as the Greyhounds, ranked No. 2 in the preseason, visit No. 6 Urbana for a 7 p.m. contest. Urbana is riding a state-best 38-game win streak. Gilman, oddly, has a three-game losing streak -- dropping the last two last season, which ended a 29-game win streak, and carrying into this season with a loss to DeMatha.

Fallston at Calvert, Friday, 7 p.m. Fallston faces the first of two state champions in back-to-back weeks. Calvert won the 3A title last year while Fallston's 8-2 mark was not enough to get the program into the playoffs. Next week, Fallston faces defending 1A champ Elkton.