After only the third week of competition, the number of undefeated football teams has dwindled quickly. If you look at the standings in four of the public school leagues that have begun play in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Howard counties and Baltimore City, you'll find some new faces atop the leader boards and a few familiar powers missing.
In Howard County, only Hammond and Glenelg are 3-0. While Hammond's spot at the top isn't surprising given that the Bears shared the county title with River Hill last season, Glenelg is there thanks to a forfeit win over Atholton in the season opener. The Raiders won that game 39-0 on the field, but forfeited because of a summer practice violation. The forfeit win may have been a gift to the Gladiators, but they proved they're staying in the race with an impressive 28-8 win Friday over defending state Class 3A champ Wilde Lake (1-2). The forfeit leaves Atholton 2-1, but it's becoming a distant memory thanks to Friday's 14-0 win over River Hill.
Dunbar knows a little about Atholton's pain, although the Poets brought their forfeit loss on themselves when they cleared the bench to mix it up with Dunbar (D.C.) two weeks ago at the I-95 Kickoff Classic at Morgan State. The Poets forfeited last week's game to Southwestern (it wasn't played), ending the defending state Class 1A champs' 13-game winning streak. They bounced back Saturday with a defense-driven 18-6 win over City. In Baltimore City's Division I, Poly and Edmondson are the only teams left unbeaten. That will whittle down to one after the two square off Saturday at 6 p.m. at Mervo.Franklin is not undefeated, falling in its season opener to Wise at the I-95 Kickoff Classic, but the Indians (2-1) are unbeaten in Baltimore County's 4A-3A Division. Their presence at the top isn't surprising, although with some rebuilding to do after reaching the state Class 3A title game last season, they still knocked off two of the county's perennial contenders -- Eastern Tech, 13-2, and Hereford, 24-19.
The division has two 3-0 teams locked at the top with the Indians, Catonsville and Milford Mill. The Comets opened with a 27-6 win over Boys' Latin and took their first two county wins over a couple of other county contenders, Perry Hall, 32-23, and Woodlawn, 35-15. Milford Mill started with lopsided wins over Douglass and Kenwood, but turned a few heads with its 15-12 win over Parkville on Saturday. Unless Franklin continues to assert itself -- and they'll get another test Friday night at Catonsville -- this division could come down to November.
Anne Arundel County is the only county that has no surprises at the top. Arundel and Old Mill are the only unbeaten teams at 3-0. The Wildcats and the Patriots could decide the county title with their Oct. 6 meeting, but a handful of other teams are keeping the standings roiling as they wait for their crack at the top two. South River beat Broadneck, 42-38, this week after losing to Southern, 25-24. Southern lost to Chesapeake, 35-26, this week after posting one-point wins over Meade and South River. Chesapeake stumbled in its first two games, falling 36-7 to South River and 34-7 to Broadneck before beating Southern. Don't count Broadneck out – the Bruins came within 10-0 of Old Mill in the season opener and then blew out Chesapeake before falling to South River.
League competition begins next weekend in Carroll and Harford counties and, with a few exceptions, in the MIAA.