Howard County Football week 1 playoff schedule

Playoffs week 1
Picking winners this year has been about as easy as guessing the arrival time of a Zum bus. Nobody really knows, but here I go attempting to pick the playoff games. Mount Hebron gets a bye, 2 games are on Thursday night, and 7 HOCO teams get a home game. By next week we could have as few as 4 teams remaining or as many as 9 left, which means at least 3 seasons are ending this week.

2A WEST
HAMMOND (0-9) @ GLENELG (6-3) Friday 6:00. Hammonds season mercifully comes to an end. The Golden Bears have scored 3 times this season and given up a lot of points. My only question is to the Howard county schedulers: How in the world do Hammond and Centennial not play each other? These are historically the worst programs in the county. They need to play each other EVERY YEAR so at least 1 of them gets a win. Glenelg by 3 scores

CENTENNIAL (0-9) @ WILDE LAKE (4-5) Friday 6:00. Centennial is slightly better than Hammond on paper (they’ve scored 5 times) but it’s time for their season to end. Wilde Lake beat them 26-0 earlier this season. I suspect this one will be worse. I’m sure the Eagles players are just ready to cheer for the basketball team. Lake by 3 scores

3 A EAST
MOUNT HEBRON. (7-2) (BYE). Hebron gets a bye this week as the top seed. Is it a “well deserved” rest. No. They’ve lost their last 2 and if I’m a part of that team I’d be dying to play somebody this week to get that sour taste of rotten gator out of my mouth.

LANSDOWNE (1-8) @ ATHOLTON (6-3) Friday 6:00. Atholton put up 33 points on River Hill last week. Lansdowne of Baltimore county is a 1-8 squad in a very weak county overall. (yes I know they have their powerhouses)(but Lansdowne didn’t play any of them!) Atholton running clock here.

OAKLAND MILLS (3-6) @ RIVER HILL (5-4) Friday 6:00. Intriguing matchup. OM is on a 3 game win streak after losing their first 6. A QB change may have been the catalyst. RH just gave up 33 to Atholton last week. These squads scrimmaged early in the season, with RH having a pretty clear advantage there, but a lot of things change in 10 weeks or so. I still think RH comes away with the victory, but it will be closer than the records indicate it should be. RH by 1 score.

MARRIOTTS RIDGE (4-5) @ OXON HILL (4-5) Friday 7:00. This ain’t Woodford drive any more fellas. The Mustangs take that long drive down to Prince George’s county to take on the Clippers of Oxon Hill. Neither team is particularly impressive, with both sporting 4-5 records. I’m going with the home team on this one. OH by 1 score.

4A/3A EAST
SEVERNA PARK (2-7) @ RESERVOIR.(7-2) Thursday 6:00. Unfortunately for Severna Park, this is not a lacrosse game. Maybe they’d have a chance if it was, but we’re playing football here. No sticks bros. 1/2 of our County Champs shouldn’t have too tough of a time with an Anne Arundel doormat. Resi by 2 scores.

LEONARDTOWN (4-5) @ HOWARD (6-3) Thursday 6:00. Another interesting matchup here. I’m gonna check this one out Thursday night. Leonardtown will have about an hour and 40 minute drive from St. Mary’s county before they play the Lions. Howard has been somewhat inconsistent this season, but they do have a significant victory over eventual county champion Mount Hebron. I look for Howard to roll by 2 scores.

GREAT MILLS (5-4) @ LONG REACH (6-3) Friday 6:00. On paper, these 2 squads are fairly evenly matched. Both have been somewhat inconsistent this season. Great Mills is another St. Mary’s county team that will have a loooong drive up to HOCO. I think the Lightning will send them home with an L. Long Reach by 1 score.