After grueling start, conference season arrives for Gilman, St. Frances

When: Friday, 4 p.m.

Coaches: Messay Hailemariam, St. Frances; Biff Poggi, Gilman

Last meeting: Gilman won, 35-14, last season

KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH

St. Frances: DE Rahshaun Smith, Jr.; RB Maurice Williams, Sr.; RB Jahmee Ballard, Sr.; WR-CB Devin Phelps, Sr.; CB Justice Pettus-Dixon, Sr.; CB-WR Kareem Felder, Sr.; CB Deandre House, Jr.; S Malik Christian, Sr.; WR-CB Nate Racks, Sr.; DE Stephon Simmons, Jr.; DT-OT Channing Hames, Sr.; DE-OT Savion Williams, Soph.

Gilman: QB Kai Locksley, Sr.; DT Ellison Jordan, Jr.; WR Jelani Roberts, Sr.; S Robert Branch, Sr.; RB Antonio Dupree, Sr; RB Dorian Maddox, Jr.; WR Alonzo Mayo, Sr.; OL Stephen Spanellis, Jr.; OL-DL Jahee Jackson, Sr.; TE-DE Devery Hamilton, Jr.; QB-S Kasim Hill, Soph.; WR John Fitzgerald, Jr.

KEYS TO VICTORY

For No. 3 Gilman and No. 12 St. Frances, the real season is here. Everything to this point, including several games against top out-of-state-opponents, was to prepare for Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference football.

Both teams are out to prove something — Gilman, that it can get back on top after finishing second to McDonogh last season and St. Frances, that it can build on an impressive 3-3 A Conference debut last season.

Don't let their records fool you. The teams just concluded two of the toughest nonconference schedules in the Baltimore area. Both suffered some lopsided losses, but both appear to have learned and adjusted.

"A loss is a loss no matter how you look at it," Hailemariam said, "but what you can take from games like this — and I've seen it with Gilman and other ones that compete at a high level out of conference — is that if you stay motivated and you stay healthy, these games allow you to compete at a high level when you do come home to conference play."

The Greyhounds, 11-time A Conference champs including in 2011 and 2012, scored just one touchdown, Roberts' 89-yard kickoff return, in losses to St. Edward (Ohio) and Paramus Catholic (N.J.). They bounced back with a 49-0 win over Anacostia (Washington, D.C.) and then announced their full recovery with last week's 20-0 win over Good Counsel, which had been ranked No. 2 in the state media poll.

The Greyhounds bolstered their offensive line and gained experience for new starters in critical positions on defense.

"Playing really good teams early allows you to see where you are and what you need to work on," Gilman assistant coach Henry Russell said. "We did some nice things those first two games and we did some things that were poor. Being able to correct some of those issues and being able to come back and work on it for a week or two, you're able to start executing the way you'd like to see them execute."

The Panthers played two of the same teams Gilman did, falling to Good Counsel, 9-6, and Paramus Catholic, 38-6. They also dropped a close season-opener to Friendship Collegiate (D.C.), 14-12, and two weeks ago, defeated Iona Prep (N.Y.), 32-25. They improved considerably against two of those opponents, having fallen last season to Good Counsel, 42-6, and to Friendship, 33-6.

In addition to the tough opening schedule, the Panthers also benefit from having been through the A Conference once. Going .500 and finishing fourth in the tough seven-team conference was better than most expected for a team fresh out of the C Conference.

The Panthers were a bit shell shocked at first by the level of competition. Not anymore.

"You can see it in the kids. They're not dejected. They're pretty excited," Hailemariam said. "The biggest thing for us last year was adjusting to the size and speed of the play that we were coming up against.

"This year, kids who came back are familiar with playing at that high level … and the new guys, their talent was up there, but playing this type of schedule week-in and week-out, you can't really prepare for it, you just have to go through it. Each week, I felt really good about the way we played."

Both teams have size, speed and loads of talent with Locksley, a Florida State commit, and Jordan, one of the top junior defensive tackle prospects in the country, leading the Greyhounds and Smith, rated the top junior prospect in Maryland by recruiting website Rivals.com, leading the Panthers.

With freshman quarterback Nathaniel Roberts, Hailemariam will look primarily to the run game led by Williams and Ballard. The veteran Locksley gives the Greyhounds an added dimension with his arm. Several capable receivers are there to complement Gilman's hallmark ground game.

katherine.dunn@baltsun.com

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