Teams Are Turning Things Around

Some of Area's Worst Squads Last Year Are Among Best in 2009

When Atholton's Matt Robinson orally committed to Maryland last June, more than a few eyes rolled among those who evaluate the area's high school football talent. Many felt Robinson, a 6-foot-3, 175-pound wide receiver-linebacker, would be in over his head at a Bowl Championship Series power-conference school.

Maryland "took some heat when he committed there," first-year Atholton Coach Kyle Schmitt said, "but I tell Matt all the time that you've got to prove yourself, and that's what the rest of our team is doing, too. Matt's emblematic of who we are as a team."

As the football season reached its midpoint last weekend, no team may be more of a surprise than the Raiders (5-0). They have rebounded from a 3-7 season behind the strong play of Robinson, who has 27 receptions for 505 yards and has been a force at linebacker.

The Raiders are forcing teams statewide to pay attention to other teams in Howard County besides two-time defending Maryland 2A champion River Hill and last year's 3A runner-up Wilde Lake, which Atholton defeated, 34-30, on Sept. 26.

"It was big for our program to beat a team of that stature," Schmitt said. "They're enjoying it and the school's getting behind them. I just need to come up with more motivational material. I used all my good stuff the first three weeks."

Another team that has surprised is Clarksburg, which put together back-to-back undefeated regular seasons, but this year moved up from Class 2A to 3A and saw a markedly tougher schedule ahead of it. Yet the Coyotes have played to the level of competition, starting with a season-opening victory over Seneca Valley and winning all five of its games.

"People always get so wrapped up in classification and don't look at the quality of a team," said Clarksburg Coach Larry Hurd, whose team will host No. 7 Quince Orchard on Friday. "A 2A team last year like River Hill could play with anyone in the state."

At the southern end of Montgomery County, Churchill is also 5-0 for the first time since 1995, when the Bulldogs advanced to the Maryland 3A final. After opening with impressive victories over Gaithersburg and Seneca Valley, Churchill appears to be headed for critical games down the stretch, including Oct. 23 at defending 4A champion No. 9 Sherwood (5-0) and in the regular season finale against rival Whitman (4-1).

In Virginia, No. 17 Lee has only two winning seasons in the past 10 years, so the team's 5-0 start might be a surprise to many. Not to the Lancers, the only Division 5 school (competing with seven Division 6 schools) in the Virginia AAA Patriot District. The arrival of senior running back Idreis Augustus (933 rushing yards, nine touchdowns) from Paul VI only heightened their expectations. "We knew that we were going to be here," fourth-year Lee Coach Rob Everett said.

"Any time you get to be 5-0, there's luck involved in it. But not the, 'Oh, I didn't realize we were going to be this good.' They definitely knew what their capabilities were and I think that really motivated them throughout" the offseason.

South Lakes (4-1), meantime, is playing like it's 2002 again. That year, the Seahawks went 9-4 and reached the Division 5 semifinals after enjoying just one winning season the previous decade. Entering this season, South Lakes had gone 12-39 the past five years.

North Stafford seems bolstered by the return of junior running back Torry Hart, who broke his leg last season as the Wolverines finished 1-9. With 20 starters back from that team, North Stafford (4-1) is considered a AAA Commonwealth District favorite alongside Brooke Point, Colonial Forge and Riverbend, which is enjoying its own renaissance by going from 1-9 to 5-0.