Check out Washington County's Week 7 high school football matchups and predictions

Check out Washington County’s Week 7 high school football matchups and predictions

Posted by Admin October 16, 2024 Football

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It’s Week 7 of the Washington County high school football season.

The schedule features one game Thursday, five games on Friday, including an intra-county matchup, and one contest on Saturday.

For the county’s seven public-school teams, a third of the regular season remains, with each outcome affecting playoff positioning.

Through Week 6, Boonsboro, Clear Spring and Williamsport are in line to host first-round region games, according to the MPSSAA point standings. But there’s still a lot left to be determined.

Here are the Week 7 matchups with predictions. (Last week, we correctly picked the winners in three of the six games, moving our season record to 20-13.)

Thursday’s game

SEED Sabers (5-1) at Hancock Panthers (2-4), 6 p.m.

Series record: Sabers lead, 3-2.

Last meeting: SEED 54, Hancock 0 (Oct. 6, 2022)

Last week: SEED beat Annapolis Area Christian 53-7; Hancock beat Stonewall Jackson 34-28.

Notes: The Panthers have two wins in a season for the first time since 2018, when they had three. … Hancock racked up 309 yards rushing in last week’s win, led by Aiden McCarty with 139 yards and Tyler Clingerman with 77 yards and two touchdowns. … McCarty ranks third in the county in rushing with 403 yards while passing for 293. … SEED is No. 1 in the Class 1A South region point standings. … The Sabers, who’ve outscored opponents 170-48 this season, are led by Malcom Smith Jr., who’s passed for 577 yards and six TDs, Dominic Wilkins, who’s rushed for 284 yards and six TDs, and Deonze Eldridge, who has 10 catches for 195 yards and three TDs.

Prediction: SEED 42, Hancock 14

Friday’s games

Williamsport Wildcats (3-3) at South Hagerstown Rebels (1-5), 6 p.m.

Series record: Rebels lead, 34-18.

Last meeting: South 43, Williamsport 14 (Oct. 13, 2023)

Last week: Williamsport lost to North Hagerstown 28-11; South lost to Jefferson 48-14.

Notes: South’s Michael Owens Jr., in his second game at QB last week, ran for a team-high 107 yards and a touchdown, while JoJo Davis had a TD run and finished with 81 yards rushing, upping his season total to a county-best 457. … The Wildcats have the county’s top air attack as Gabe Parker has passed for 1,332 yards and 12 TDs, while David Grayton has 21 receptions for 446 yards and six TDs, and Ceonta Wilmore has 23 catches for 370 yards and five TDs. … A key to North’s win over Williamsport last week was preventing that trio from connecting for any scores. … For the Williamsport defense, Xavier Bowie leads the county in tackles for losses with 13, while Tyson Cleary’s 67 total tackles rank third in the county.

Prediction: Williamsport 28, South 21

Brunswick Railroaders (5-1) at North Hagerstown Hubs (2-4), 6 p.m.

Series record: Hubs lead, 14-11.

Last meeting: Brunswick 48, North 14 (Oct. 13, 2023)

Last week: Brunswick beat Walkersville 27-26; North beat Williamsport 28-11.

Notes: James Jackson broke the Hub’s second-oldest school record last week, returning an interception 101 yards for a touchdown. … The previous North record for the longest INT return was 100 yards, set by Joe Henderson in 1961 against Chambersburg. … Khalil Peggues had a big game for the Hubs with seven receptions for 106 yards and two TDs. … North, which has won two straight, hasn’t won three consecutive games since 2013. … The Railroaders are coming off a thriller as they scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to beat Walkersville for the first time since 2010. … Brunswick QB Ethan Houck, who’s committed to Division I Liberty, scored the winning TD on a 5-yard run with 36.7 seconds left. … Houck passed for 304 yards, ran for 62 and had a hand in all four TDs in the win.

Prediction: Brunswick 35, North 21

Smithsburg Leopards (0-6) at Catoctin Cougars (2-4), 6:30 p.m.

Series record: Cougars lead, 25-24.

Last meeting: Catoctin 24, Smithsburg 18 (Oct. 13, 2023)

Last week: Smithsburg lost to Clear Spring 42-6; Catoctin lost to Middletown 43-6.

Notes: The two teams have had one common opponent this season in Williamsport, which beat Smithsburg 34-12 in Week 2 and lost to Catoctin 47-14 in Week 3. … The Leopards have lost 12 straight to the Cougars, last beating them in 2008. … Smithsburg QB Carter Nesbitt passed for 175 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions last week, but the Leopards were held to minus-21 yards rushing by Clear Spring.

Prediction: Catoctin 35, Smithsburg 14

Southern-Anne Arundel Bulldogs (2-4) at Boonsboro Warriors (5-1), 7 p.m.

Series record: Warriors lead, 1-0.

Last meeting: Boonsboro 28, Southern 7 (Oct. 13, 2023)

Last week: Southern beat North East 28-14; Boonsboro beat Poolesville 55-7.

Notes: The Warriors racked up 509 yards of offense last week, led by QB Colin Telemeco, who completed 7 of 10 passes for 177 yards and rushed for a team-high 78 yards on six carries with a touchdown. … Parker DeBaugh rushed for three scores, giving him a county-leading 12 TDs for the season. … Boonsboro is No. 1 in the Class 1A North region point standings. … The Bulldogs’ season leaders include Vinny Zimmerman, who’s passed for 824 yards and 10 TDs, LJ Evans, who’s rushed for 722 yards and three TDs, and Caleb Contee, who has 18 catches for 242 yards and four TDs.

Prediction: Boonsboro 35, Southern 7

Football: Washington County Week 6 roundup

Clear Spring Blazers (4-2) at Tussey Mountain Titans (2-6), 7 p.m.

Series record: Blazers lead, 1-0.

Last meeting: Clear Spring 29, Tussey Mountain 22 (Oct. 20, 2023)

Last week: Clear Spring beat Smithsburg 42-6; Tussey Mountain beat Everett 28-26.

Notes: The two teams have one common opponent this season in Everett, which lost to Clear Spring 30-6 on Sept. 20 and lost to Tussey Mountain 28-26 last week. … The Blazers dominated in their fourth win of the year last week, recording 374 yards of offense, including 251 on the ground, while holding Smithsburg to minus-21 yards rushing and getting five sacks. … In the county, Clear Spring’s Javin Grimes is second in rushing yards (410), Hayden Hodge is third in passing yards (755) and Will Bennett is fourth in receiving yards (318). … The Titans, who’ve been outscored 204-110 this year, average 136.9 yards passing and 131.6 yards rushing per game.

Prediction: Clear Spring 35, Tussey Mountain 14

Saturday’s game

Virginia Academy Patriots (3-4) at Saint James Saints (4-3), 12 p.m.

This is the first meeting between the programs.

Last week: Virginia Academy beat St. Frances Academy Regional 6-2; Saint James lost to Maret 58-42.

Notes: The teams have had one common opponent this season in Paul VI, which beat Virginia Academy 15-7 on Sept. 6 and beat Saint James 34-10 on Sept. 21. … Last week, the Saints had 484 yards of offense and scored their second-most points of the year, but they were done in by six turnovers and Maret QB Cameron Boykin, who had five touchdown passes. … For Saint James in the loss, Jayden Yates passed for 203 yards, including 111 to Marcello Anderson, and Sammy Stonebraker ran for 102 yards. … Saints linebacker Liam Hall is No. 1 in the state in total tackles (84) on the MaxPreps season leaderboard. … Virginia Academy QB Bryan Resto has 11 TD passes and four TD runs this year.

Prediction: Saint James 34, Virginia Academy 28