Friday Night Lights: Douglass Eagles to battle Potomac Wolverines, other match-ups to watch
WASHINGTON - We are midway through the DMV high school football season and the Friday Night Lights are beginning to heat up.
Each week, FOX 5's Chad Ricardo will select a number of games across the region to showcase on Sunday nights at 11:30 p.m. on In The Sports. Here are the questions that need to be answered heading into this week’s primetime match-ups.
No.19 Douglass at Potomac
Friday night, the (4-1) Douglass Eagles will travel to Oxon Hill to do battle with the (4-1) Potomac Wolverines. The Eagles are coming off a 14-0 victory over Fairmont Heights. Already this year they have dominated DuVal, buzzed the Yellow Jackets and outlasted the Lions. Will they be able to fly past Potomac and in the process, avenge a 12-7 loss at the hands of the Wolverines last year?
Per Potomac, it’s been business as usual. Following an opening loss to Oxon Hill, Coach Crump’s crew has reeled off four consecutive victories, which included two shutouts. After scoring 47 in a victory over Largo, they have it going on both sides of the ball, and if they can down Douglass, will establish themselves as a legitimate title contender.
No.4 Good Counsel at No.21 St. John’s
The season has not begun the way (3-2) St. John’s would have designed it. The Cadets lost their opener on the road to American Heritage (Fla.) and were dropped for a second time last Friday in Massillon, Ohio by Washington.
The good news for SJC is Saturday’s showdown with Good Counsel will be in the Cadets-friendly confines on Military Road, where the team has gone 3-0 to start the season. The key to St. John’s ignition is the ‘do everything’ back Da’Juan Riggs. The Oregon commit has gotten it done running, receiving and even passing the ball, but if St. John’s is to begin their seemingly annual swing toward prosperity, it will require the play of QB, Isaiah French to be the catalyst. At his best, French is a dual-threat quarterback capable of beating opponents with both his brain and his brawn.
The Cadets will need French to lead the charge if they are to find a way to overwhelm the potential onslaught of Good Counsel’s defense, led by the likes of Darien Mayo, Aaron Chiles, Judah Jenkins and the incomparable Faheem Delane.
As of late though, the Falcons haven’t had an easy go at defeating the Cadets. GC has lost four of their last five to SJC, and they are aware that in order to halt that trend, they’ll need to protect the ball and play better on offense than they have when the two have met in recent years.
Anticipate coach Andy Stefanelli leaning on that offensive line, led by West Virginia commit, Kyle Altuner, in hopes of springing Wisconsin commit, Dilin Jones, for a few big runs. If they do so, it will open up play action, which could lead to chunk plays for Florida State commit, Elijah Moore.
When all is said and done, Saturday is Frankie Weavers’ game. Will the Monmouth commit silence the SJC student section for once and for all?
No.17 Gonzaga at No.3 DeMatha
As Washington Catholic Athletic Conference teams kickoff 2023 conference play, (5-0) DeMatha is still motivated by what could have been in 2022. A last-second touchdown grab by St. John’s Asa Gregg, snatched a championship from the hands of the Stags. According to quarterback, Denzel Gardner, the loss pushed DeMatha to be better during the off-season.
"The way it ended last year motivated us tremendously," Gardner said. "We knew we had the guys to win and come out on top. Yes, we have moved on, but we definitely haven’t forgotten and we have showcased that every Friday night so far."
Indeed, stories of DeMatha’s demise were grossly miscalculated. Despite a few unexpected off-season departures (transfers), this team is stacked and winning games in a convincing fashion. The offense has scored over 40 three times in their five victories. Game breaker Bud Coombs is the beneficiary of a powerful offensive line, anchored by Maryland commit Terez Davis and Pittsburgh commit Mason Lindsay, and Virginia Tech’s Emmett Laws has an argument to have his jersey retired as the DeMatha defense is beginning to do ‘DeMatha defense’ things. That said, when all the chips are down, the fate of the Stags, both Friday night and for the remainder of the season, rests on the right arm of Denzel Gardner and that is seemingly exactly where he’d like it to be.
"[The WCAC championship game loss] personally motivated me to be the best capable football player I can be and best leader I can be. The only goal we have this year is a WCAC championship and nothing less," said Gardner.
The (5-1) Gonzaga Eagles have not had quite as dominant a go to the start of the season, but they were able to use grit, will and determination to hold off Friendship Collegiate last week, and they plan to look to similar qualities in hopes of upsetting the Stags on Friday night.
Gonzaga’s offense has shown flashes of brilliance this year. The "Aidan Conrath-to-Lincoln Fisher" connection has been one of the more potent in the DMV. Army commit Connall Brannon, is a consistent threat in the red zone and Cody Hobson is running effectively behind a young, but impressive offensive line.
If the Eagles are to upset the Stags though, it’ll be a result of stout play by the defense. Led by Daniel Holmes and David McMorris, the Eagles must slow down Coombs and the Stags rushing attack. Devenchi Arnold II and Tyson Harley have already proven they are capable of making big plays in big moments and Kainoa Winston may be the most talented defender in the conference.
Can the Eagles fly into Prince George’s County and prove once again that God is purple? We will see on Friday night.