National Focus on WCAC Football in Final Weeks of 2016 Season

We are coming up on the football regular season finale in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) but before can we just acknowledge that the DeMatha kids from years’ past are doing alright?  DeMatha football had a bye-week in the last weekend of October but the Stags that won championships over the previous three years were hard at work this Saturday.  Lorenzo Harrison is up to his old tricks now with the University of Maryland and he has played his way into All-Freshman team talk.  Lorenzo has been nothing short of sensational and professional scouts have already taken notice. Fellow Stag turned Terrapin teammate Tino Ellis just started his third game and is impressing in college, as well.  John Lovett is busy setting records at Princeton for scoring touchdowns.  Ju’Whuan Bentley and Mark Allen took a photograph at the Purdue versus Penn State game and contemplated the bond of excellence that ties all of these gentlemen and scholars together.

Dematha today …. DEMATHA forever ! #Brotherhood ✊🏾💉 pic.twitter.com/JqjXETBNP1

— MARK ALLEN (@theALLENshow) October 29, 2016

We could easily go on.  All those guys were extremely good, but none of them were playing for a national title this late in the football season.  As much success as the recent key performers had in DeMatha uniforms and beyond, there is even more excitement surrounding the 2016 squad.   There are new players ready to make a name for themselves and they could do it in rare style.  (There will be more on those athletes in The Chronicles of Six very soon.)  DeMatha football players today have the chance to go undefeated and subsequently launch head coach Elijah Brooks into the pantheon of legendary Stags. Of course, they would also do the same for themselves because the 2016 team is also in the hunt to be the best high school football team in the United States.  Coach Brooks was an outstanding DeMatha football player and he understands the high stakes that his kids are playing for.  The team is sitting at a perfect 9-0 and they are ranked #6 in the USA Today expert poll and #9 according to USA Today computers.

We’ve come too far to turn back. Focused. Finish. #OneDeMatha https://t.co/oSdiCmqD3Q

— Elijah Brooks (@DMCoachBrooks) October 23, 2016

If DeMatha football remains undefeated in 2016 they will go down as one of the best sports teams that the school has ever had.

The groundwork for this kind of campaign is grueling and has taken decades of trying to finally materialize.  DeMatha has been on the cusp of greatness for a while and the evidence has always been on the field.  With a multitude of suddenly famous players as precursors and WCAC football championships from 2013, 2014, and 2015 this year could be considered a continuation of sorts.  The pressure has been slowly mounting for years and thoughts are now drifting towards capping the season in a way that has seldom been done in school history.  An unblemished record could also mean a measure of vindication for the national aspirations of the football program at DeMatha but first they are going to have beat two of the top four teams in the league, twice.

For the first time since coach Brooks took over the program this DeMatha football team is in control of their own national destiny heading into November. First, the 2016 football Stags need to take care of business in the conference to close the regular season and then again in two playoff games.  Good Counsel is a familiar WCAC foe standing in their way and the presumed fourth playoff seed is likely to face the Stags two weeks in a row.  The first meeting this season between the two will be broadcast on ESPN in their finale of the annual high school football showcase of the top teams in the country on November 4.

The Falcons haven’t enjoyed much success against DeMatha in recent years and are playing to retain respect in a league that has seen some changes in the top echelon of competition that they once dominated.  Gonzaga and Saint John’s College have both beaten Good Counsel already and will play their own storied rivalry between themselves on the same weekend to determine the second and third playoff seeds.  Some of the best and most-watched high school football is going to be in the WCAC and eyes have finally shifted from powerhouse states like Texas and Florida to the DC Metropolitan area.

Such a change has been a very long time coming.  None of the WCAC superlatives would have been possible in a league that simply settled for just being mediocre, and the top four teams have all played a significant part.  DeMatha football is poised to stand out from even this elite few but it will take a complete group effort to get the job done.  (The Stags have previously won national titles is wrestling, soccer and basketball.)  DeMatha Catholic High School for Boys is no stranger to the added attention but the 2016 football players could really capitalize on it in a very political sport.  Football rankings that are produced over multiple seasons are almost impossible to climb but we might all be witnessing something special.

Stay tuned because whatever happens next is guaranteed to be newsworthy.

The 2016 DeMatha Football team is attempting to make history in November.

DeMatha at I-95 Kickoff Classic: Claimbombing Edition

“There is no rest for the weary” – Common Idiom

“Claimbombing is when you just keep dropping names in conversations for no reason because you can.” – Maya Brown

If the DeMatha Stags (2-0) want to win a National Championship in High School Football then they can’t be worried about the mental lapses that fell under the scrutiny of a national ESPN audience last Monday.  DeMatha is travelling to New Jersey to take on the Green Knights of Saint Joseph Regional in Montvale (0-0).  The Green Knights opted to make the Stags their first opponents of the season in the high profile, annual Interstate 95 Kickoff Classic which matches teams from New Jersey against those from the DC metropolitan area.

Claimbombing nomenclature proponent, model, and personal friend, Maya Brown.

This important speculative high school football showcase was conceivably fabricated in order to consolidate the rankings between the northeast and mid-Atlantic regions.  (So far it hasn’t worked and DeMatha doesn’t even to benefit from “comparative losses” given their strength of schedule.)  Still only wins matter and none of the teams participating can afford to take games lightly as the outcome of each game will be a deciding factor in the rankings the following year.  In short, if any team from Maryland is going to have a chance at a national title then the easiest route is for all the Maryland teams to win their games against New Jersey competition -or at least most of the games played.  The same is true, vice versa, for the New Jersey schools but DeMatha has clearly benefited from Maryland’s showing last year.

The jury is still out on what, exactly, the Green Knights are holding over there but DeMatha should maintain the focus on building a championship team.  These antlers can’t possibly stay fuzzy for too much longer: the regular season starts in a fortnight.  Classes have only been in session for a full week and I know that there is plenty to distract them from the task at hand right now.  The key to a DeMatha victory is to improve upon overall team performance from prior weeks and to capitalize on real game experience.  There are going to have to be a lot less turnovers and much better play execution in order for the Stags to accomplish that.

The main rub on the Green Knights is that they aren’t going to have any points of comparison to build on from 2013.

On to more claimbombing.

I would love to see that redheaded kid from Long Island throw for three hundred yards in a semi-homecoming but there is an easier victory to be had if DeMatha sticks with the run.   The Stags’ offense is in the hands of QB #16 John Lovett and his ability to deliver the ball to playmakers like WR #5 Cameron Phillips and RB #28 Taiwon Deal.  (I also love the check down plays to FB #32 Jaire George.)  DeMatha has an outstanding defensive unit and I’m guessing that this is a game in which CB #3 Jamal Robinson, DE #9 Deonte Holden, and super sophomore DE #34 Shane Simmons will all truly emerge as outstanding talents.

The entire team seemed to breathe a sigh a relief when RB #1 Mark Allen was able to run for his first carry since tearing his ACL last year because he is just one more play maker with something to prove in 2013.  I’m also expecting LB #33 Ju’Whuan Bentley to pick up where he left off by instilling fear in opposing teams.   The entire DeMatha Stag Offensive Line needs to continue to do what they do (which is mainly block and weigh 300 lbs eat pancakes), as well.

So far, I don’t think that we have seen the true identity of this 2013 DeMatha Stag Football Team.   Strength, speed, power, size, and finesse are all words that can be used to describe the team right now but will they also be great?  DeMatha Catholic High School for Boys has certainly had great teams and each of them had a signature.  Make sure you pay attention to all the signs.

I believe the game is being broadcast on the internet somewhere, so you will have to check Twitter for coverage…

Ducks Are Down

Well the ducks at the pond in South Weezy are certainly down.