Arundel and Old Mill will likely play for something much more important than the Anne Arundel County title tonight: home-field advantage in the 4A East Region tournament.
“This is the reason you play high school football,” Old Mill coach Damian Ferragamo said. “You don?t play to beat teams by 50points, you play to play underneath the lights with a lot of fans watching.”
No. 3 Arundel (7-0 overall, 7-0 league) will take the field at 6:30 p.m. at No. 4 Old Mill (6-1, 6-1) holding a one-game lead in the county standings and a 1.85-point lead for the top-seed in the 4A East Region tournament, which would guarantee Arundel as many as three home playoff games.
Public school teams make the playoffs by accumulating points based on victories, classification of opponent and victories by defeated opponent. The state?s 186 public school teams are split into four classifications based on enrollment and each classification is divided into four regions. The four teams with the highest averages based on the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association?s point system advance to the playoffs.
Last year, both Arundel and Broadneck finished 9-1 in county play and shared the league title. But the Bruins are only 5-2 this season, lending even more hype to this game for first place, as Old Mill also tries to qualify for its eighth straight berth in the Class 4A playoffs after finishing third in the county last season. Old Mill also ended Arundel?s season with an 18-12 victory in the first round of the region tournament last year.
“We are trying to downplay the game a little to the players,” Arundel coach Chuck Markiewicz said. “This is another step in the season, and no one is bigger than any other.”
The game showcases two of the area?s top quarterbacks. Arundel?s Nick Elko has completed 77-of-123 passes for 1,078 yards with 19 touchdowns against 3 interceptions to lead an explosive offense that averages 35 points per game. Old Mill counters with Grant Enders, who has been equally impressive, as he?s connected on 53-of-76 passes for 1,076 yards with 10 touchdowns against 3 interceptions for an offense that averages 29 points per game.
Defensively, both teams have also been strong, as Old Mill?s undersized unit ? only two players weigh more than 200 pounds ? has used its speed to limit opponents to only 10.7 points per game. The defense is led by junior defensive lineman Aaron Hawkins who has thrived in his first year of organized football. The the 6-foot, 250-pounder has recorded 20 tackles to go with 2 sacks and a blocked punt as the centerpiece of a 3-5 defense.
“Getting the sack is the best,” Hawkins said. “After you make a tackle everyone is all in your face, it?s fun.”
But Markiewicz thinks that his defense, led by senior linebacker Arinze Obiako who has 47 tackles and 2 sacks this season, might be just as good.
“Everyone would probably say there defense is better and I might disagree, but the stats don?t lie,” Markiewicz said of his unit that has allowed 116 points this season. “But we have some pretty good players coming on at the right time.”
