High school football preseason Top 5: A look at No. 5 Old Mill

For most high school football players, the countdown to the first game began a long time ago. But with the season in full swing next weekend, it's finally time for The Baltimore Sun to roll out our preseason Top 5.A few private-school teams played this weekend, but the public-school season kicks off Friday, and the majority of private schools begin their season next weekend, too. As public-school teams aim for a berth in the state championships Dec. 1-2 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference teams will need to win the regular season to become champion.Here's the first installment in our Top 5 countdown, which will continue for the next four days. The complete Top 15 will appear in the full high school football preview, published online and in print Friday morning.First up is ...No. 5 Old MillCoach: Chad McCormickLast season: 11-1, No. 6; Class 4A East finalistFirst game: At Severna Park, Friday, 6:30 p.m.Last meeting: Old Mill won, 63-0, last seasonPlayers to Watch: OL-DL Ahmad Harvey, Sr.; LB-FB Mason Grim, Sr.; TE Mason Clark, Sr.; QB Brandon Butler, Sr.; RB-DB Sirius Gay, Sr.; OL Jamal Boadu, Sr.; TE-DE Devin Purvis, Sr.; OL Stanley McCombs, Sr.; WR Jacori Cannon, Sr.Outlook: The Patriots blitzed their first 11 opponents last fall, winning by an average of 38 points. No one came within two touchdowns of them, and only Broadneck (38-22) scored more than 13 points.Old Mill sailed into the playoffs for the 17th straight time and beat Annapolis in the first round, 36-8. Then, in the rematch with Broadneck, the team's unbeaten run ended in a 7-0 loss, the first shutout of a team that had scored 418 points in 11 games.The Patriots, who have been to the state semifinals three times in the past seven years, with state titles in 2009 and 2011, begin their rebuilding process on offense. Gone are their quarterback, top running back, top receiver and much of their mountainous line. Overall, they graduated about 30 players, a few more than usual.Still, Old Mill has a history of reloading. That's the only way a team makes it to the state playoffs 17 years in a row, especially in one of the toughest regions in the state, Class 4A East.&quot;I think we can be a competitive football team again,&quot; McCormick said.Defense will be a strong point for the Patriots, who return All-Metro nose tackle Harvey (5 feet 8, 300 pounds) and Boadu (6-3, 220) to the line. Purvis is solid at defensive end, and they add Nyhzi Mooring and Spencer Adams.Grim and Miguel Brent return at linebacker, but Old Mill will have an all-new secondary. McCormick said he has some defensive backs he believes will do well if they can find the right matchups.Offensively, the Patriots have just three starters back, and McCombs (6-5, 320) is the lone holdover from a line that allowed the Patriots to run all over opponents. The other two returning players are tight ends Purvis and Clark.Last year's backup quarterback, Butler, will take over, and he has a couple of young players to help him out. Gay, who suffered a knee injury that sidelined him late last season, will return to lead the running game, as Old Mill will continue to rely heavily on its ground attack.For this Patriots team, it's just a matter of gaining experience and developing chemistry in units bringing new players together. Old Mill likely won't cruise past the competition by the same huge margins it did last season, but it has the tools and a proven track record of rebuilding.&quot;Our work ethic is really good, and I think there's some good leadership coming about from Mason Grim on the defensive side and from Mason Clark, who played tight end for us last year, and we're going to move him all over the football field this year,&quot; McCormick said. &quot;We've seen some real leadership develop out of those two, so I think the strength is there with our tradition.&quot;I don't know how it's going to work out, but I'm pretty pleased with our backfield. We've got some guys and some good competition going on there. Maybe that's one of our strengths. We've got some good competition all over the football field, so I think that's going to make us better. We have some talented juniors pushing some of our seniors.&quot;

High school football preseason Top 5: A look at No. 5 Old Mill

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