Sports

Centennial Shining: Seven Takeaways from Monday's County Football Games

River Hill is still the team to beat, but Hammond and Centennial are playing well in the first two weeks of the season too.


1. The Walter Fletcher Show - Centennial's senior running back Walter Fletcher is emerging as a star in the 2013 season. In the first week, Fletcher rushed for 180 yards and three touchdowns in a 28-7 win against Reservoir. In week two he racked up 225 yards and three more touchdowns in a 59-20 win over Oakland Mills.


2. River Hill Dominant - River Hill is still the team to beat in the county. The Hawks won the 3A state championship in 2012 and have only allowed three points in the first two games of the season. The Hawks beat Glenelg 7-3 in week one, then routed Marriotts Ridge 49-0 on Monday night.

3. Hammond Strong - Hammond High School is off to a great start to 2013, winning its first two games against Long Reach and Mt. Hebron by a total score of 68-8.

4. Centennial Surprising - Centennial finished the 2012 season 3-7 after a tough 1-9 2011 campaign, but things seem to be turning around this year. Lead by senior running back Walter Fletcher (see above), the Eagles are now 2-0 after beating Oakland Mills on Monday.

5. Great Games This Week - River Hill and Atholton will have a rematch of their 2012 3A East regional championship game on Friday at 7 p.m. at Atholton. At least one of the three currently winless teams in the county (Long Reach, Wilde Lake and Marriots Ridge) will win this weekend when Long Reach plays at Wilde Lake on Saturday at 1 p.m. The game is Wilde Lake's homecoming as well.

6. Can Oakland Mills Have a Winning Season? - The past decade has been a struggle for the Oakland Mills Scorpions football team. The Scorpions haven't had a winning season since 2003. They've won just two games since Thomas Browne became head coach in 2011, yet they surprised Long Reach in week one, beating them 44-6. However, the week two loss to Centennial (59-20) may foreshadow trouble for the Scorpions who face Hammond (2-0) on Friday. But Reservoir (1-1) in week four and Marriotts Ridge (0-2) in week five may be opportunities to pick up wins.

7. Glenelg Defense Playing Tough - Glenelg lost its first game of the season 7-3 to River Hill, the defending champs, but bounced back in week two defeating Wilde Lake 14-6. In that game, the Glenelg defense held Wilde Lake's running game to just four yards, according to ExploreHoward.com. So far the Gladiators have only given up 9 points in the first two games.


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