After slow start, Damascus eyes 12th consecutive playoff berth

As regular season winds down, football's playoff picture is coming into focus

Having qualified for the playoffs 11 consecutive years, a state record, Damascus is accustomed to thinking about the postseason. That didn't change one month ago, when the Swarmin' Hornets were .500, and it's not changing now that a four-game winning streak has the team in control of its playoff future in the highly competitive Maryland 3A West region.

With victories this Friday against Clarksburg (6-2) and in the regular season finale against Kennedy (2-6), Damascus would be ensured a 12th consecutive postseason appearance, where it will face increasingly tougher competition.

"Unfortunately, your reward is playing [undefeated] Linganore or Quince Orchard," Damascus Coach Eric Wallich said. "But I wouldn't want to play us either if I was them."

Across the area, with two regular season games remaining for most teams, many coaches are starting to size up their playoff outlooks -- whether that means resting key players or scouting unfamiliar opponents. DaLawn Parrish, the coach of No. 2 Wise, ticked off a long list of potential opponents he has scouted.

That Damascus would be in this position seemed unlikely at the end of September.

The Hornets started this season slowly. Standout running back Brian Lucas, who also plays linebacker, sat out the season opener and played sparingly in a 37-13 loss to Quince Orchard while working his way back from a shoulder injury.

Since then, however, Lucas has rushed for more than 100 yards in six consecutive games and Damascus (6-2) has gotten on track. Linebackers Nick Magas and Zeke Gammil have played so well that Wallich has limited Lucas's participation on defense.

Along the way, the Hornets beat Maryland 4A West region playoff hopefuls Springbrook and Sherwood, ending the No. 19 Warriors' 20-game winning streak. Each victory was critical toward making the playoffs.

"You kind of have [the playoffs] in the back of your head all season," Wallich said. "In the 3A West, you don't have much room for error. After any big win or big loss, it's always lurking there. Hopefully we are peaking at the end. Maybe we can be a little dangerous going into the playoffs."

Elsewhere in Maryland, a handful of teams have locked up playoff berths, including Wise in the 4A South, No. 5 Arundel in the 4A East, No. 13 Urbana in the 4A North, No. 10 Huntingtown in the 3A South and No. 4 River Hill and Atholton in the 3A East.

The 4A West remains convoluted, with five teams vying for four spots and several key games remaining, including Sherwood-Springbrook and Whitman-Seneca Valley on Friday.

In Virginia, the AAA Northern Region races are a jumble, with 16 teams qualifying for the Division 5 and 6 tournaments. In the AAA Northwestern Region, the top six teams advance, with No. 9 Battlefield, No. 12 Woodbridge and Osbourn Park in position in Division 6; Woodbridge plays at Osbourn Park on Friday.

In the District, the four-team playoff field in the D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Association should come into focus this weekend, when Dunbar plays Coolidge.

A Dunbar victory would give the Crimson Tide a playoff spot and leave Coolidge needing Wilson to lose one of its final two games (Cardozo or Theodore Roosevelt) to claim the West Division's second spot. Ballou is in control of the East Division. While Anacostia, which went 0-6 in nonleague play, has won its first three league games, the Indians have to finish against H.D. Woodson and Ballou, and losses to either would hurt their chances.

In the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, No. 1 DeMatha, No. 7 Good Counsel and No. 14 Bishop McNamara have clinched playoff spots, with the Nov. 7 regular season finale between rivals Gonzaga and St. John's likely deciding the final berth.

Staff writer Alan Goldenbach and special correspondent Jason Mackey contributed to this report.