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[Tomgruneberg]

 Howard County 2025 Preseason Rankings

 

Like we tell our players when we post depth charts “If you don’t like where you are-do something about it.”

 

These rankings rely heavily on last year’s wins and will undoubtedly change drastically when the smoke clears.  You have to start somewhere though and here we are.  

 

1. Oakland Mills Scorpions.  (11-2) The proverbial “last man standing” of HOCO football in 2024.  Scorps need to replace the near consensus OPOY but from what I’ve seen on tape-they will be OK.  O and D lines look stout and a nifty misdirection/option run game will give opposing defenses fits.
2. Atholton Raiders (9-3).  Atown in recent years has the most wins vs. in county opponents,  but has yet to translate that into state playoff success.  Is this the year the Raiders and their superstar QB make a deep playoff run?
3. Howard Lions (9-2). The best returning skill player in the county automatically makes Howard a force to be reckoned with.  
4. Marriotts Ridge Mustangs (8-3). Things have been quiet this offseason in Marriottsville.  Can the Stangs put together a 9 or 10 win season?
5. Glenelg Gladiators (6-4). Numbers and expectations are high on Burntwoods.  Throw Schaffer in the mix and we may have fireworks.  
6. Guilford Park Panthers (5-5).  Several coaches I’ve talked to have this team ranked in the top 3.  Their JV team has been dominant and they enter this season with the first senior class.  It will be extremely interesting to see how this season turns out for the new kids on the block.  
7. River Hill Hawks (4-6). The Hawks return some weapons and appear to be improved in the trenches.  I see them trending upwards.  
8. Wilde Lake Wildecats (4-7). I’m not sure what to expect from the Cats this year.  Haven’t heard much chatter coming out of Trumpeter road.  I do know they played A LOT of young players last year.  
9. Reservoir Gators (3-7). This defense looks to be improved and I see these reptiles heading back to the top half of the county.  
10. Hammond Golden Bears (3-7). The bears were trending upwards last year, winning 3 of their last 4.  I look for that to continue in 2025.  
11. Mount Hebron Vikings (3-7). The Vikes went on a 3 game tear last year before dropping their last 4.  Improved line play should bolster that record.  
12. Long Reach Lightning (2-8). The Lightning look to put ‘24 behind them and increase the number in the W column.  They return several all county players.  
13. Centennial Eagles (0-10). The Eagles play a custom schedule with only 2 Howard County opponents this year.  Will it translate to some W’s?

 

Returning All County Players

Tyler Bell-QB-Atholton

Darius Moore-RB-Howard

Kristin Rogers-DB-Oakland Mills

Jaydin Gore-DB-Wilde Lake

Khalid Chen-Cokely-OL-Atholton

Keenan Hall-OL-Guilford Park

Archie Wethington-OL-Oakland Mills

Reece Thimote-RB-Long Reach

Kaleb Wells-WR-Oakland Mills

Jonathan Norwood-TE-River Hill

Cruz Tsabang-AP-Reservoir

Emmanuel Oluremi-DL-Oakland Mills

Markus Hollis-DL-Marriotts Ridge

Dolapo Oladokun-DL-Guilford Park

Khadea McDonald-LB-Guilford Park

Demarcus Howard-Brown-DB-Guilford Park

Ben Liechs-P-Mount Hebron

[Pedro Cerrano]

Eagles preseason favs

[Tomgruneberg]

Week 1 Howard County Football

 

11 different games involving our 13 varsity teams this week.  Very interesting matchups, as nearly everyone is playing a non-league opponent.  

 

St. Vincent Pallotti (MIAA B) @ Oakland Mills. Palotti was 8-3 last year playing in the B conference of the MIAA.  I still don’t think they’re ready for OM-scorps by a score.

 

Carver (Baltimore City) @ Atholton. Carver finished 5-5 last year and will not give the Raiders much resistance.  Atown by 2 scores. 

 

Howard @ Mt. Hebron.  Howard starts the season with a bang winning by 3 scores.

 

Catonsville (Baltimore County) @ Marriotts Ridge. The middle of the BalCo pack Comets head out to Marriottsville and leave with an L.  Mustangs by 2 scores.  

 

Glenelg @ South Carroll (Carroll county). SC finished 4-6 last year.  They don’t have the horses to run with the Glads-Big red by 2 scores.  

 

Frederick (Frederick County) @ Guilford Park.  A 7-5 team out of the Big 10 of MD (Fredneck county) will prove a tough out for GP.  Cadets by a score.  

 

Severn Run (Anne Arundel County) @ Wilde Lake. Severn Run didn’t win a game last year and I don’t see it happening in Columbia.  Cats by 2 scores.  

 

Woodlawn (Baltimore County) @ Reservoir. Another Hoco team vs. a winless opponent.  Gators by 3 scores.  

 

Arundel (Anne Arundel County) @ River Hill.  While others scheduled OOC teams with no wins last year, RH went ahead and scheduled the defending 3A state champions. (12-1). As much as I love my Hawks, I just don’t think they’re at Arundel’s level quite yet.  I see the Wildcats sneaking out of Clarksville with a one score victory.  

 

Long Reach @ Patterson (Baltimore City) A match up of 2 teams that finished 2-8 last year.  I’m going with the Lightning on this one—-LR by 2 scores.  

 

Centennial @ Hammond. Hammond was on an upswing at the end of 2024 and I expect it to continue here.  Bears by 3 scores

[Pedro Cerrano]

Eagles haven’t lost an opener since 1982 FYI

[Tomgruneberg]

 Week 1 Postmortem 

 

My apologies to Guilford Park-they were the only HOCO team I picked to lose who did in fact win.  Howard County football went 7-2 vs OOC opponents.    I went 9-2 on the week, so not a bad start.

 

Oakland Mills (1-0) throttles Palotti 40-6.

Atholton (1-0) smacks Carver by 20.

Howard (1-0) over Hebron (0-1) by 2 scores.

Marriotts Ridge (1-0) destroys Catonsville 47-7.

Glenelg (1-0) easily dispatches South Carroll.  

Guilford Park (1-0) with an impressive win over Frederick to start their season.  I’ve always said Fredco is the best football in MD top to bottom.  

Congrats to Severn Run for getting their first win in school history over Wilde Lake (0-1)

Reservoir (1-0) takes care of business by 3 scores over Woodlawn.

River Hill (0-1) hung with the 3A state Champs for a half before eventually falling to Arundel.  

Long Reach (1-0) blanks Patterson 36-0.  

Hammond (1-0) hangs 60 on  Centennial.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Failed to mention centennial scored 61

[Tomgruneberg]

Howard County Football Week 2

 

Perry Hall (0-1)(Baltimore County) @ Oakland Mills (1-0). Interestingly enough Perry Hall is the only other “Gators” mascot in MD with our own Resi.  Unfortunately for them they run into the only Scorpions in the state and they leave with a big L.  Might as well call them the gLators.  OM by 3 scores 

 

Howard (1-0) @ Reservoir (1-0).  This game will be close IF Resi can find a way to limit D Moore.  A lot of talent on the field for both teams but I have the Lions by 1 score.   

 

River Hill (0-1) @ Glenelg (1-0). The 3 certainties of life in MD, Death, (extremely high) taxes and the Hawks are ALWAYS up for the GlenelG game.  RH squeaks by here with a one score upset victory.  

 

Marriotts Ridge (1-0) @ Century (1-0) (Carroll County). This should be a good challenge for the Stangs.  Century won 5 games last year and won last week vs. South Hagerstown.  They would need a great pass defense to get the W this week.  I don’t see it happening though—-MR by 2 scores.  

 

Guilford Park (1-0) @ Hammond (1-0). The Golden bears look to improve on their 3 wins from a year ago.  Heck they already have one.  Unfortunately for them, GP is the real deal this year.  GP by 2 scores.  

 

Kenwood (1-0)(Baltimore County) @ Long Reach (1-0).  I believe Long Reach is on the upswing this year and they beat KWood by 2 scores.  

 

Atholton (1-0) @ Wilde Lake (0-1). Great to see Coach Henderson back coaching this year as well as the rest of the WL players pushing through some major adversity.  I just don’t think they have the answer to T Bell though.  All I know is IF they do get the upset I’ll get an immediate text. Raiders by 2 scores.  

 

Mount Hebron (0-1) @ Centennial (0-1). About 4.5 miles of separation between these 2 schools.  Time for one of them to get their first W of 2025.  I’m going with the Vikings by 2 scores.  

[Pedro Cerrano]

Centennial always always shows up for rivalry games. 38-1 eagles

[Tomgruneberg]

Week 2  Postmortem

 

Howard County is 10-2 vs. out of county teams so far in 2025.  I went 7-1 on the week with my picks so I’m 16-3 overall.  

 

Oakland Mills (2-0)  ROLLS Perry Hall 46-8.  

 

Howard (2-0) beats Reservoir (1-1) 40-14.  This game wasn’t as lopsided as the final score-Resi was in this one until late in the 3rd quarter.  D Moore continues to impress from his RB spot.  He scored another touchdown on a pick 6.  

 

Glenelg (2-0) pulls away from River Hill (0-2) 16-8.  

 

Marriotts Ridge (2-0) handles OOC foe Century 22-13.

 

Guilford Park (2-0) puts a 50 burger on Hammond (1-1) 56-20

 

Atholton (2-0) stays perfect over Wilde Lake (0-2)

 

Mount Hebron (1-1) gets their first win over Centennial (0-2) 35-8

 

Long Reach (2-0) takes care of business on a Monday night vs. Kenwood.  LR’s QB is the real deal, scored a bunch of TD’s in this one and was the fastest player on the field.  

[Tomgruneberg]

Howard County Football Week 3

 

7 of our 13 schools are currently 2-0.  We will have at least one less undefeated after this week’s action.  

 

 

Howard (2-0) @ Marriotts Ridge (2-0).  The matchup of week 3 for sure.  MR has been airing the ball out with their young gunslinger, while Howard has been ground and pound.  My gut tells me that Howard’s star will make some plays on the defensive side of the ball to influence this game.  Howard by a score.  

 

Reservoir (1-1) @ Atholton (2-0).  Reservoir is improved from last year and hung with Howard for most of the game last week.  They get their second top team in a row here and I think they will stay close,  but will be doomed by critical turnovers.  Atholton by a score.  

 

Guilford Park (2-0) @ River Hill (0-2) The hawks are scraping for a win here while GP has been rolling along behind the top rusher in the state.  RH is going to need to play fundamentally sound defense here to keep the game close.  Unfortunately for the hawks, GP is full of confidence in this, their first year with seniors.  GP by a score.  

 

Long Reach (2-0) @ Mt. Hebron (1-1).  The lightning are 2-0 and riding the legs of their track star QB.  The trend continues this week.  LR by 2 scores.  

 

Oakland Mills (2-0) @ Hammond (1-1).  OM has scored over 40 in each of their first 2 games and only given up 1 score in each.  The misdirection Offense combined with their speed and mobile OL make them quite formidable.  Hammond is improving, but not yet at the level of OM.  Scorpions by 3 scores.  

 

Glenelg (2-0) @ Wilde Lake (0-2). Wilde Lake would appear to be struggling, but the reality is they have lost 2 back and forth games.  Glenelg has been solid as they have gone back to the I formation power run game and solid defense of years past.  I gotta go with the team that’s 2-0 though-Glads by a score.  

 

Winters Mill (Carroll County) (2-0) @ Centennial (0-2). Winters Mill has scored over 30 points in each of their first 2 victories.  Hopefully the Eagles can keep it close.  Falcons by 4 scores.  

[Pedro Cerrano]

Yawn. Eagles by 37

[Tomgruneberg]

Week 3 Postmortem

 

I was 6-1 on the week with my picks for an overall record of 22-4 after 3 weeks of action.  

 

The shocker of the week is previously undefeated Atholton (2-1) losing to Reservoir!  (2-1). I haven’t seen this tape yet, but I’m assuming Resi took care of the ball and limited the costly turnovers that had plagued them.  29-27 Resi-big win for these Gators.  

 

5 teams remain undefeated-Howard, Oakland Mills, Guilford Park, Glenelg and Long Reach.  

 

The County is 10-3 vs out of league competition.  

 

Howard (3-0) took care of Marriotts Ridge (2-1) behind the legs of D Moore.  He had one run where it appeared 10 Mustangs had a shot at him and he made them all miss.  Unfortunately I’m hearing tape of the game doesn’t exist.  We are too reliant on the HUDL cameras and need to have a human filmer at these games.  MR is scrappy and Willingham looked good.  He had a short scoring run where he ran over a Howard defender, but it wasn’t enough. 30-18 Howard

 

Long Reach moves to 3-0 dropping Mt. Hebron (1-2) 27-6.  They already have 1 more win than they had all last year.  

 

Guilford Park (3-0) wins their third straight to open the season over River Hill (0-3). This Panther team is rolling,but the quality of their opponents ramps up the rest of the year.  Will be fascinating to see how if they can keep this win streak going.  

 

Oakland Mills (3-0) stays perfect with a win over Hammond (1-2)

 

Glenelg (3-0) with the big Saturday win over Wilde Lake (0-3)

 

Winters Mill rolls Centennial (0-3).  

[Pedro Cerrano]

Impressive victory for the Eagles

[Tomgruneberg]

Week 4 Howard County Football

 

Marriotts Ridge (2-1) @ Glenelg (3-0). Great matchup for our 2 Carroll county teams lol.  Glenelg has returned to its I formation power run game while Ridge rides its QB.  This one will be close but I see big red pulling away in the fourth quarter.  Glads by a score.  

 

Reservoir (2-1) @ Guilford Park (3-0). Early season gut check for these teams.  GP is battle tested but this Resi squad is scrappy and they’re brimming with confidence after they knocked off Atholton.  This one will come down to who makes the least mistakes.  I’m slowly but surely buying into the GP hype.  Panthers squeak by with a one score victory.  

 

Hammond (1-2) @ Howard (3-0).  Howard is rolling with a freshman QB a superstar RB and an opportunstic defense.  Howard by 3 scores.  

 

Mount Hebron (1-2) @ Atholton (2-1).  Atholton is coming off an upset loss at the hands of Resi.  Unfortunately for the Vikings that anger will be unleashed on them.  ATown by 2 scores.  

 

Wilde Lake (0-3) @ Oakland Mills (3-0). This was THE matchup in HOCO back in the day, but seems a little lopsided now.  The scorpions are wielding a 2 QB run game that has yet to be slowed down, while the Cats have been in some competitive games but remain winless.  Scorps by 2 scores.  

 

Poolesville (0-3) (Montgomery County) @ Centennial (0-3).  Poolesville is winless in their first 3 games having lost to Winters Mill, Rockville and Wheaton.  That’s not like saying they played QO, Wise and Dunbar.  There is a real chance for Centennial to get their first win here and I for one support that notion.  Let’s go Eagles!

 

River Hill (0-3) @ Long Reach (3-0).  Ahhh the 96ers…these schools opened together in 1996 and their football lives have differed greatly in those 30 years.  RH has 4 state championships to LR’s zero, but it seems times have changed and LR is riding a 3 game win streak.  Their QB can flat out fly and the hawks will have to contain him if they want to keep this game competitive.  Interesting fact-RH has not played an opponent with a loss in these first 4 weeks (Arundel, Guilford Park, Glenelg and Long Reach are all undefeated ). Lightning by a score.  

[Pedro Cerrano]

Centennial will not be denied an undefeated season!

[Tomgruneberg]

Week 4 Postmortem

 

4 teams remain undefeated in the league-Oakland Mills, Howard, Guilford Park and Glenelg all sit at 4-0.  

 

Picked every Friday game correctly, but was wrong on both Saturday games to go 5-2 on the week and 27-4 overall.  I’ve also now seen 10 of our 13 teams in person.  

 

Glenelg (4-0) with a statement drubbing of Marriotts Ridge (2-2) 42-14!  This Gladiator run game is really starting to click.  I love it when the newspaper article goes ahead and names all 5 lineman-beautiful.  

 

WILD game at Guilford Park (4-0) as the lead changed back and forth several times before the Panthers finally put the Gators (2-2) away.  Lee was the catalyst for GP as he ran for big yards on several long drives.  42-37

 

Howard (4-0) remains unbeaten with a shutout win over Hammond (1-3).   41-0

 

Atholton (3-1) said “bombs away” as Bell threw at least 4 passes of 50+ yards in the first quarter alone on the way to a rout of  Mount Hebron (1-3) 47-3.

 

Oakland Mills (4-0) stays perfect, putting up 50 on Wilde Lake (0-4)

 

River Hill (1-3) earns its first win of the year over a previously unbeaten Long Reach squad (3-1). Shout out to that RH defense for keeping an elite running QB in check.  

 

As a Howard county homer I was rooting for our Eagles vs  MOCO’s Poolesville,  but alas it was not to be.  Centennial remains winless.  

[Pedro Cerrano]

What the hell is a poolesville anyway?

[Tomgruneberg]

Week 5 Howard County Football

 

Last week 5-2.  Overall 27-6

 

Glenelg (4-0) @ Oakland Mills (4-0).  This will be the battle of the week-Glenelg is hot with a resurgent running game and some corn fed beef up front.  OM continues to run roughshod over whoever they face.  The scorpions are averaging over 45 points a game and giving up only 8.  Something’s got to give here.  I see OM squeaking by with a one score victory.  

 

Atholton (3-1) @ Guilford Park (4-0).  The schedule gets MUCH more difficult for GP from here on out.  Their next 5 opponents are currently 18-2.  The same can be said for Atholton.  Strength of schedule is increasing exponentially.  I don’t see GP giving up the long ball that T Bell loves to throw as they will be much more fundamentally sound on defense than some of Atholton’s other opponents.  I’m also not sure Atholton has an answer for T Lee.  Panthers by a score.  

 

Reservoir (2-2) @ Marriotts Ridge (2-2). VERY even match up here, but I give Resi the advantage athletically.  Gators need to take away what Ridge does best and they have a good shot to win this one.  Resi by a score.  

 

Long Reach (3-1) @ Howard (4-0).  Lions rolling at 4-0 on the year.  Lightning started out hot, but fizzled last week against the Hill.  I’ve got Howard wining this one by 2 scores.  

 

Mount Hebron (1-3) @ Wilde Lake (0-4). Coach Frederick returns to his alma mater to take on the Cats.  Hebron has not been impressive thus far this year with their only win being over Centennial.  Wilde Lake has played 3 of the top county teams in Atholton, Glenelg and OM and even though they haven’t won any of those, I’m feeling the breakthrough here on Glory Road.  WildEcats by a score.  

 

River Hill (1-3) @ Hammond (1-3).  The Hawks just got their first win of the year over a previously unbeaten Long Reach squad.  Hammond’s sole victory is over Centennial.  Hawks by 2 scores.  

 

Centennial (0-4) @ Southern (Anne Arundel County) (1-3).  By virtue of Southern having won a game this year (beat Patapsco) I’m picking them here.  Southern by a score.  

[Pedro Cerrano]

Hearing a rumor a lot of LATE money is coming in on the Eagles

[Tomgruneberg]

Week 5 Postmortem 

 

Blowout Central in HOCO this week.  Multiple games with a 30 or more point differential.  3 teams remain undefeated at 5-0: Oakland Mills, Guilford Park and Howard.  I went 6-1 to put myself at 33-7 on the season.

 

Even though I picked Oakland Mills (5-0) to win NO ONE could have seen this beat down coming.  Glenelg (4-1) rolled into this game with an impressive ground game and solid D and just got taken behind the woodshed in this one.  OM 50 (!) to 6.

 

Another game I picked to be close was another blowout as Guilford Park (5-0) smacks Atholton (3-2) 45-12.  GP will most likely be at capacity when the Scorpions come to town on homecoming Saturday.  

 

Howard (5-0) handles their geographic rival Long Reach (3-2) 41-12

 

My only mistake of the week as I had Reservoir (2-3) over Marriotts Ridge(3-2).  Well I guess that’s why we play the games right?  MR 13-0

 

Wilde Lake (1-4) notches their first victory of the season over Mount Hebron (1-4) WL 36-15

 

River Hill (2-3) wins their second straight over a floundering Hammond (1-4).  RH 55-6

 

Centennial (0-5) still searching for that elusive first win after taking a thumping from Southern of Anne Arundel county. Southern 58-0.