Week 4 Howard County Football
Oakland Mills (3-0) @ Urbana (2-1). (Friday night) I have a lot of respect for Frederick County Football. In my opinion, it’s the Big 10 of Maryland. They play physical football with plenty of good athletes and quality coaches. They have more competitive programs than most counties in MD. Plus there’s a lot of corn out there. In my time at River Hill we went 2-1 vs. Fredco-all high level games. We beat TJ for the state title in ‘11, beat Urbana in a state semi in ‘12 and then lost to Linganore in a state semi in ‘13. As a program Urbana has won 5 state titles including 4 straight from ‘98 to ‘01. OM won a championship in ‘98, with current HC Tom Brown as a wiry WR. (Resi OC TJ Welsh was the QB of that squad). This win for OM could be huge if they can pull it off. Kudos to them for scheduling these type of opponents. Scorpions by a score.
Wilde Lake (2-1) @ Atholton (2-1). (Friday night) Coin toss game here. I’ve seen Atholton twice, but I don’t know much about the Lake other than their SOS is suspect. The lake scraped past a bad LR team by 4, abused Centennial 70-0 then loses to MR. If the lake show wins this one they rocket up in the rankings, but I don’t see it. Atholton got embarrassed by that Delaware team and they should be pissed off this week. Raiders by one score.
Reservoir (1-2) @ Glenelg (2-1). (Friday night)Reservoir has struggled a bit this year, their second under new leadership. The only gators win has come against 0-3 Mount Hebron. Talent level is high, but something is missing in Fulton. Glenelg has looked solid while amassing 2 wins. Glads by 2 scores.
Guilford Park (3-0) @ Marriotts Ridge (2-1). (Friday night) Welcome to bigger boy football GP. MR started the season low in my preseason rankings, but a big win over MtH and an upset of WL have raised my opinion of them. GP will hold their own here, but I don’t expect a 4th straight victory. MR by a score.
Hammond (0-3) @ Mount Hebron (0-3). (Saturday 1:00) I don’t know-Hammond hung around with Glenelg a little bit last week. Could this be the week they get a victory? Perfect opportunity with Hebron absolutely reeling right now, although they were within 7 of undefeated Howard. I’m giving the Vikings the benefit of the doubt as defending HOCO champs-Hebron by a score.
River Hill (1-2) @ Centennial (0-3). (Saturday noon)The hawks have a great opportunity to get to .500 here. Centennial does some things offensively that are…questionable. However, there are a few athletes there and a little more beef up front than I’ve seen on previous Eagle squads. RH by 2 scores.
Howard (3-0) @ Long Reach (0-3). (Saturday 1:00) I remember a player who started at LR, transferred to Howard for a season, then went BACK to LR. These 2 schools are very closely intertwined, what with so many players coming from Elkridge , but they have gone their separate ways in 2024. Howard is undefeated while LR is struggling. Howard by 2 scores.