No. 12 Long Reach (7-0) at No. 5 Howard (7-0)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Coaches: Jamie Willis, Long Reach; Bruce Strunk, Howard
Last meeting: Howard won, 46-12, last year on Oct. 23
KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH
LONG REACH: QB Tyler Raines, Sr.; WR Jalen Hall, Sr.; RB-LB Greg Benton, Jr., Sr.; DB Chad Brown, Jr.; RB KaDarrian Booker, Jr.; WR Derrick Noble, Jr.; SS Dane Lynch, Jr., Jr.; DB Luis Gooden, Jr., So.; DE Michael Zeleznik, Jr.; DL Sheriff Kamara, So.
HOWARD: RB Devin Dawkins, So.; QB Robby Porter, Jr.; WR Tanner Scaife, Sr.; WR Anthony Reid, Jr.; WR Cameron Hooper, Sr.; WR Dylan Perez, Sr.; LB Ryan Kearney, Jr.; DE Muddy McHemba, Sr.; DE Dimeji Olayinka, Sr.; DB Bryson Craven, Sr.
KEYS TO VICTORY
It has been nearly seven years since the last time two undefeated Howard County teams squared off this late in the season.
River Hill and Atholton were 8-0 when they met Oct. 30, 2009, and the host Hawks overcame a halftime deficit, scoring 28 unanswered points to beat the Raiders, 35-14, to win their 44th consecutive county game and 40th overall.
The circumstances will be eerily similar on Oct. 21, as Howard (7-0) puts its own 31-game county winning streak on the line at home against Long Reach (7-0).
"We've been telling the kids these are the kinds of games that as athletes are the fun games," Howard coach Bruce Strunk said. "When you're expected to win a game, it's not fun. It's sports and we enjoy it, but it doesn't test us. This will be a great test for us because they're a very good team."
Howard is coming off a 39-0 win over Hammond, its second straight shutout and third of the season. The Lions have outscored opponents 251-26, having scored 28 points or more in every game. Sophomore running back Devin Dawkins has been carrying the load with 996 yards and 10 touchdowns on 113 carries along with 207 yards receiving.
The defense, however, has been one of the best the county has seen in recent years. Howard has yet to allow a point in the first half, and only one of the four scores — against River Hill in Week 3 — came before the fourth quarter. The touchdowns scored by Reservoir, Wilde Lake and Oakland Mills came on the team's final drive against the Lions' backups in blowout defeats.
Strunk, though, said the Lightning pose a tougher task because of their combination of size and speed.
"They're one of the biggest teams in the county, they have some of the best athletes," he said. "When you put size and speed together, and they're very well-coached, they're a very good football team. Even though a lot of their games were close this year, you can see every game Long Reach is getting closer to their peak. They peaked this week, which I expected them to, so they're at full speed and ready to go."
Meanwhile, Long Reach, which has outscored teams 190-72 this fall, is coming off its best game of the season. It scored 35 unanswered points to beat Glenelg, 35-7, and hand the Gladiators their second loss despite playing most of the game without starting running back KaDarrian Booker. He injured his ankle against River Hill on Oct. 7. Booker is expected to play against Howard.
Quarterback Tyler Raines enters the game 84-for-156 for 1,226 yards and eight touchdowns, while wide receiver Jalen Hall leads the team with 25 receptions for 364 yards and four scores. Defensively, Greg Benton Jr. is averaging almost 10 tackles per game, and Luis Gooden Jr. (four), Chad Brown and Dane Lynch Jr. each have at least three interceptions.
Lightning assistant coach Harold Williams said Howard is a tough opponent because its keeps things balanced. However, he added that his team has no pressure because it has been underestimated all season, and that also plays into the keys to the game.
"We just have to continue to do what we've been doing," Williams said. "We can't look ahead, and we just have to continue to get better each week and every practice. We just need to do what we've been doing, causing turnovers. If we can continue to do that, and the offense continues to get better — the offense had its best game last week — and we get our running game going again, it should be a good game. It's going to be a hard, tough, low-scoring fight.
"We know at this point if you want to be the man, you've got to beat the man."
The Lightning have averaged about two turnovers a game, and it's not lost on Strunk.
"We can't turn the ball over," Strunk said. "The last few weeks they've had fumble recoveries for touchdowns, interceptions for touchdowns. They go after it. So we have to control the ball, and we can't allow them to have big plays."
OTHER GAMES TO WATCH
No. 15 Parkville at No. 11 Dundalk, Friday, 6 p.m.
No. 6 Old Mill at No. 13 Broadneck, Friday, 6:30 p.m.
No. 1 Spalding at No. 3 McDonogh, Friday, 7 p.m.
Loyola at No. 2 St. Frances, Friday, 7 p.m.
River Hill at Atholton, Saturday, 1 p.m.
Perry Hall at No. 10 Milford Mill, Saturday, 1 p.m.
No. 8 Franklin at Patapsco, Saturday, 1 p.m.
Towson at Dulaney, Saturday, 1 p.m.
No. 9 Calvert Hall at No. 4 Mount Saint Joseph, Saturday, 2:30 p.m.