Tonight
Francis Scott Key (1-7) at Brunswick (2-6)
Time: 7:30
Outlook: The Eagles close their season with two seemingly winnable Monocacy Valley Athletic League games starting this week at Brunswick. Both teams are looking to end losing streaks with the Eagles' run at seven and the Railroaders at three. The Eagles got off to a good start last Friday against South Hagerstown with Chris Richardson (21 carries for 129 yards) returning the opening kick 89 yards for a score. The Rebels responded with the next 24 points in coming away with a 31-19 win. In the fourth quarter, Eagles quarterback J.T. Chiaruttini threw to receiver Scott Compton for a 79-yard score. The Eagles defense won't be able to key on any one player to shut down the Railroaders. Quarterback Danny Fisher leads the Brunswick offense with 693 yards in the air and seven touchdowns. He's also run for 263 more, one of six Brunswick runners to have at least 100 yards rushing.
Liberty (3-5) at Thomas Johnson (7-1)
Time: 7:30
Outlook: By now, everyone knows the Lions offense can score plenty of points. The question tonight will be whether it's on the field long enough to stay with the powerful Patriots. The Lions put up 38 points last week against Westminster, but still found themselves on the losing end with the Owls putting up 42 of their own. The Patriots are coming off a huge 28-7 win over Linganore and has the Central Maryland Conference title in their sights. They also have put up some pretty impressive numbers offensively, averaging more than 34 points a game behind the running of Mike Gusman (15 touchdowns) and Tom Bellino (575 yards). Quarterback Colby Cloude can run or pass, with running back Roger Printz yet another weapon out of the backfield. The )) Lions also have their share of threats in the backfield starting with Brandon Scarborough (115 carries for 646 yards). Bill Shaffer (441 yards) and Eric Cook (397) aren't far behind. All three are in the top five in the county in rushing.
North Carroll (0-8) at Bethesda-Chevy Chase (2-6)
Time: 7:30
Outlook: A look at Bethesda's 2-6 record has to give the Panthers a glimmer of hope of winning for the first time this season. Just the sight of a non-Central Maryland Conference opponent has to be pleasing for coach Bill Rumbaugh and his Panthers. Frederick was the latest CMC team to have its way against North Carroll as running back L. J. Jackson ran for four touchdowns in a 50-6 win. Despite racking up close to 300 yards of total offense, the Panthers' only score came in the third quarter when Louis Smith recovered a fumble in the end zone. Smith has been a big part of the Panthers' offense at wide receiver, catching 23 passes for 275 yards and three scores. Bethesda-Chevy Chase is coming off a 7-6 win over Rockville in its homecoming. The Barons started their winning drive with three minutes left on their own 40. They continued the drive despite having fourth-and-10 situations on three occasions. The last came in the final minute when sophomore quarterback Joe Urso found wide receiver Shawn Ellis at the half-yard line to move the chains. Urso called his own number with 20 seconds left to score.
Linganore (5-3) at Westminster (5-3)
Time: 7:30
Outlook: The Owls and Lancers will be playing for second place in the Central Maryland Conference with both teams having one conference loss. The Owls are coming off a 42-38 win against Liberty in a game full of big plays. The Lancers saw their CMC title hopes evaporate with a 28-7 loss to Thomas Johnson last week. It's a good test to see just how far the Owls have come
under first-year coach Tim Ebersole. Running back Eric Jones ran for 176 yards and three scores in the Owls' win over Liberty. Justin Sholkoff's two catches for 78 yards last week gives him a county-leading 24 catches at just under 20 yards a catch. The Owls' defense will have plenty of concerns with a versatile Linganore offense. It made the plays when it needed to against Liberty last week, shutting down the Lions in all four of their possessions in the fourth quarter last week. Lancers quarterback Doug Wallace will look to add to his 1,127 yards passing. Duane Griffiths has rushed for 741 yards on 138 carries for the Lancers.
Frederick (4-4) at South Carroll (4-4)
Time: 7:30
Outlook: A struggling South Carroll offense will look to get back on track this week in hopes of snapping a three-game slide against a dangerous Frederick team. After starting the season at 4-1, the Cavaliers have lost three straight and are in danger of going under the .500 mark for the first time. After their convincing win over North Carroll, Frederick will be looking to climb over the .500 mark for the first time. Bryce Baker's 1-yard run in the Cavaliers' 22-8 loss against state power Damascus tTC last week produced the only South Carroll points in the past three weeks. The Cavaliers' defense came up big in a 7-0 loss to Linganore three weeks ago, had its share of problems against Thomas Johnson the next week before coming up with another solid effort last Friday against Damascus. Its attention this week will be trying to contain Frederick running back L. J. Jackson, who's rushed for more than 1,600 yards with 12 touchdowns.