Private schools gearing up
No championship to be decided on the field for A Conference schools
The climate in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association changed considerably from last November until just recently with turmoil in the A Conference and fewer schools fielding teams in the C Conference.
So to preview this football campaign in the MIAA, where Anne Arundel County sports members in all three conferences, there are a few questions to ask that affects all four local private school teams.
Where will the A Conference be in a few years with only five schools willing to compete against each other?
This question should be on the minds of every team currently competing in A Conference football. With no championship to be decided on the field, teams play for the pride of their school, but championships are meant to be won on the field. Not awarded, like was done for St. Frances after the other five teams' administrations decided they didn't want to play the nationally-recruited team of Panthers.
To a team like Archbishop Spalding, which had to go out and find two more opponents after the St. Frances decision was made and Loyola decided to not compete in the A Conference this year, it just means different competition and a bigger opportunity to shine within the state and the Mid Atlantic region.
The Cavaliers boast a schedule that is one of the hardest in the area and possibly the state, as well as being one of the top 100 hardest schedules in the country.
To lead off, the Cavaliers travel to Good Counsel, a perennial D.C. powerhouse located just 15 miles north of the nation's capital. The Falcons boast four former players still active in the National Football League, with a total of eight players listed as being current or former NFL players. The most notable is the Minnesota Vikings Stefon Diggs.
Then Spalding hosts Benedictine College Prep, a two-time defending Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association's first division (large schools) champions. Then Bishop Moore from Orlando, Fla. pays a visit to Severn. The Hornets, who missed coming north last year due to a hurricane passing through or near Orlando at the time, won a state championship a few years ago and finished last year 9-3.
The Cavaliers then embark on a trip to the Philadelphia area to take on Archbishop Wood. The Vikings are the defending PIAA Class 5A state champion after beating Pittsburgh-based Gateway, 49-14.
After a conference game against McDonogh, the Cavaliers host St. Anthony's from Melville, N.Y. The Friars lost in the AAA state semifinals a season ago. Next is a home game against Calvert Hall before a contest
at Friendship Collegiate. The Cavaliers then finish up their season with home games against Gilman and Mount St. Joseph.
But no matter the outcome of the six out-of-conference games, coach Kyle Schmitt vowed to his kids, “If we defeat the four teams in our conference, we will celebrate the correct way.”
Can St. Mary’s continue the two-game winning streak from the end of last season when it won the B Conference championship and carry the momentum to another title?
That will solely depend on the outcome of the first four games against Episcopal Academy from Newtown Square, Pa., at Landon in Bethesda, at Delmar, Del., and at Loyola.
Episcopal finished 6-4 last season, but scored a bunch of points in those six victories. Landon handed the Saints a 34-24 setback in the second game a year ago. Delmar lost to St. Mary's, 34-17 last season but rebounded to win the Division 2 of the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association. And Loyola, despite dropping out of MIAA A Conference play this year, will still play competitive football against the likes of Fort Hill, Boys' Latin, Archbishop Curley, Mount St. Joseph, Gilman, John Carroll and Calvert Hall.
After losing 23 seniors on last year's squad (21 were starters, including AllCounty selections Donald Day, Ricky Aufderheide and Timber and Gerard Berzins), St. Mary's had a short time to get ready for the four formidable foes.
The Saints have a new signal-caller, the backup running back moves into the starting role, the receivers are young and the offensive line has spent limited time together in an actual game. But that does not dampen the mood of coach Jason Budroni.
“The way we performed in our scrimmages against Calvert Hall and Friendship Collegiate, we did pretty well. I was really happy with the way we competed,” Budroni said. “We did a pretty good job overall. If we get through those first couple games 2-2 or 3-1, we should have a pretty good season.”
The Admirals certainly have the weapons in the arsenal. Back for another season is senior quarterback Craig Stevens, who threw for 1,388 yards and 17 touchdowns last year and added two rushing touchdowns.
Then there is the transfer from a year ago that made a lot of Admiral fans open their eyes to his ability. He was the L.J. Owens of the football team. Henry Rentz ran for 884 yards with 12 scores, threw for 375 yards and four touchdowns and added 217 receiving yards and three touchdowns for 1,476 total yards for the senior.
The schedule is relatively the same, except for the deletion of Maryland Christian and Maret School and the addition of Avalon and Concordia Prep.
The Admirals ran the table to 8-0 before falling in a shootout with St. Vincent Pallotti in Week 9. Rival St. Mary's handed Severn a lopsided loss the following week, but the Admirals still qualified for the championship game against the Saints.
Once again, the Saints were the better team on that championship Saturday and posted a 28-14 win to bring the B Conference championship back to Annapolis.
“Toward the end, we were a little banged up. The season was a grind for us,” coach Duane Tyler said. “St. Mary's was just clicking on all cylinders. We kind of just hit that wall. (Those two losses) left a very bad taste in our mouths.”
Severn will have that same tough stretch this year against Pallotti and St. Mary's with a tough St. Paul's team sandwiched in between.
It seems every year in the small (four teams) C Conference, you can pencil in AACS playing St. John's Catholic Prep in the final game of the season to decide the conference championship. The Eagles are primed for a repeat and their third championship in four years.
With standouts Sam Akinmukomi, shifty Thaddeus Standfield and starting quarterback Ryan Idleman back for another run at the title, the nucleus is there for another successful year.
It all starts with B Conference foe and fellow Anne Arundel County private school Severn on Friday in the first of just eight games on the AACS schedule.
With open dates the second week of the season (Friends cancelled the game) and another in Week 7, those breaks could either break the chemistry and rhythm of AACS, or it could use the off weeks to get healthy and ready for another playoff stretch.
Like Severn, the Eagles are loaded with talent but are hampered by a shortage of linemen, which seems to be a pattern at the small school.
But get the ball to the burner Standfield, who was a first-team All-County selection a year ago, and the senior could hit paydirt in mere seconds.
Same goes for Akinmukomi — give him a hole to run through or get around the end and look out. Plus having a strong arm in Idleman and fellow quarterback Immanuel Hale and the scoreboard could light up again for the Eagles.
Certainly, it will be another entertaining year with MIAA football. With the chaos in the A Conference, the competition in the B and a chance at a repeat in the C, there will be plenty of action for local fans to enjoy.