By Sheldon Shealer and Mike Loveday

This week's high school football schedule will lead to region titles for 16 public schools and league titles for two private schools.

Friday, Nov. 20

Class 4A

West Final
* No. 1 Sherwood 11, No. 3 Paint Branch 7.

North Final
* No. 4 Thomas Johnson 43, No. 3 Patterson 26.

East Final
* No. 3 Old Mill 58, No. 1 Arundel 55: Old Mill converted a 30-yard field goal in the second overtime as Old Mill stunned previously undefeated Arundel.

STATE SEMIFINAL PAIRINGS: No. 4 Thomas Johnson at No. 1 Wise/Flowers; No. 3 Old Mill at No. 2 Sherwood.

Class 3A

West Final
* No. 2 Linganore 19, No. 1 Quince Orchard 0.

North Final
* No. 1 Hereford 31, No. 2 Franklin 15. Willie Willams rushed for 110 yards, Nick DiPaola added 100 yards and a touchdown, and Zach Witkowski had two scores.

South Final
* No. 1 Huntingtown 46, No. 2 Westlake 0.

East Final
* No. 1 River Hill 30, No. 2 Atholton 3.

STATE SEMIFINAL PAIRINGS: No. 4 Hereford at No. 1 Linganore; No. 3 River Hill at No. 2 Huntingtown.

Class 2A

West Final
* No. 4 Middletown 21, No. 2 South Carroll 7. Sam Michels had 22 rushes for 115 yards and a touchdown and he threw a touchdown pass for the Knights..

North Final
* No. 2 Eastern Tech 20, No. 1 Chesapeake-BC 6. Eastern Tech scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to pull away from Chesapeake-BC and avenge its only loss of the season. Afetr Chesapeake went ahead 6-0 in the first quarter, Chuky Iweh gave Eastern Tech a 7-6 lead in the second quarter. Marquiese Bannister and Zach Burckhardt scored fourth-quarter touchdowns.

East Final
* No. 1 Queen Anne's 41, No. 2 Kent Island 17: Queen Anne's rallied from a 17-14 halftime deficit to win a second straight region title. Tyler German passed for two touchdowns in the third quarter and Jake Haley added a long TD score for keep Queen Anne's undefeated.

STATE SEMIFINAL PAIRINGS: No. 4 Middletown at No. 1 Queen Anne's; Eastern Tech vs. Gwynn Park/Douglass-PG winner (*seeds TBA)

Class 1A

West Final
* No. 2 Allegany 35, No. 1 Fort Hill 14: Allegany ran off 35 straight points to stun undefeated and top-seeded Fort Hill. Allegany senior J.D. Hook clinched the result with a 24-yard touchdown run in the final minute for a 28-14 lead. Fort Hill fumbled at its 1 with less than 30 seconds left and Allegany punched in another score with 18 seconds remaining. The outcome marks the first time these teams have split during the season.

East Final
* No. 1 Joppatowne 22, No. 3 Havre de Grace 14: Dominic Harper scooped up a fumbled snap and threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Ernest Harper to snap a 14-14 tie in the third quarter and lead Joppatowne to a victory. Harper's score made it 20-14. The Mariners added a safety later in the game.

STATE SEMIFINAL PAIRINGS: No. 4 Allegany at No. 1 Joppatowne; No. 3 Dunbar/Forest Park at No. 2 Catoctin.

Saturday, Nov. 21

Class 4A

South Final
No. 2 Flowers at No. 1 Wise, 1 p.m.

Class 2A

South Final
No. 3 Douglass-PG at No. 1 Gwynn Park, 1 p.m.

Class 1A

South Final
No. 2 Dunbar vs. No. 1 Forest Park at Poly Complex, 1 p.m.

WCAC Final
No. 2 Good Counsel vs. No. 1 DeMatha at Navy, 2 p.m.

Mid-Atlantic Christian Conference Final
No. 2 Central Virginia vs. No. 1 Maryland Christian at Old Redskin Park, 3 p.m.

By Mike Loveday

The season is not over yet, but there are already a few coaching openings. We had a page for last year's changes and we're doing it again. The page will be updated as we are notified about openings and will live in the Recruiting module in the FRONT PAGE.

You can also find the job opening page HERE.

By Sheldon Shealer

Westlake won its playoff game Friday and apparently has survived an appeal process Monday, and is expected to continue in the playoffs this week.

At an appeals hearing Monday, Westlake might be forced to forfeit four contests, according to MPSSAA executive director Ned Sparks. However, Westlake lost two of the four games anyway and even with changing the other two wins to losses, the Wolverines still would have been the No. 2 seed in the Class 3A South playoffs. 

Therefore, Westlake's 30-12 playoff win over Potomac will stand and the team moves on to face Huntingtown in the region final. The game date is yet to be decided.

By Sheldon Shealer

And the big winners is ...

Tough to tell after the first round of the MPSSAA playoffs, but Anne Arundel County 4A is looking pretty good thanks to Old Mill's 24-0 victory over previously undefeated North Point, the SMAC co-champ. That result aloneis enough to justify four Anne Arundel County teams in this week's Class 4A Top 20.

Elsewhere, all the favorites won (pending Gwynn Park's Monday contest), leaving the only change in each classification ranking in the lower five.

Private Schools: 1. DeMatha (11-0), 2. Good Counsel (10-1), 3. Bishop McNamara (8-3#), 4. Gilman (7-3#), 5. McDonogh (8-2#), 6. Georgetown Prep (7-3#), 7. Loyola (7-3), 8. Archbishop Spalding (10-1#), 9. Boys Latin (10-1#), 10. Calvert Hall (6-4).

Class 4A: 1. Arundel (11-0), 2. Flowers (10-1), 3. Wise (10-1), 4. Sherwood (9-2), 5. Suitland (9-2#), 6. Old Mill (9-2), 7. Annapolis (8-3#), 8. Broadneck (8-2#), 9. Paint Branch (9-2), 10. North Point (10-1#).

Class 3A: 1. Linganore (11-0), 2. Quince Orchard (11-0), 3. River Hill (11-0), 4. Huntingtown (11-0), 5. Westlake (9-2), 6. Hereford (9-1), 7. Atholton (10-1), 8. Damascus (8-3#), 9. Franklin (9-2), 10. Clarksburg (7-3#).

Class 2A: 1. Gwynn Park (10-0), 2. Queen Anne's (11-0), 3. Chesapeake-BC (10-1), 4. Eastern Tech (10-1), 5. Kent Island (10-1), 6. Douglass-PG (9-2), 7. McDonough (7-3), 8. Glenelg (8-3#), 9. South Carroll (9-2), 10. Middletown (7-4).

Class 1A: 1. Fort Hill (11-0), 2. Joppatowne (11-0), 3. Dunbar (10-1), 4. Catoctin (11-0), 5. Allegany (8-3), 6. Forest Park (10-0), 7. Forestville (5-5#), 8. Pikesville (9-2), 9. Havre de Grace (6-4), 10. Snow Hill (8-3#).

#-season complete.

By Sheldon Shealer, editor

Although one first-round playoff game remains and another result is in question, the state association has set the details for this week's region finals.

OFFICIAL PAIRINGS

McDonough visits Gwynn Park on Monday in a contest that was held over due to poor field conditions from the weekend. Also, at this point, Westlake has advanced to the region final, but a hearing Monday could determine the team's fate. If the squad is forced to forfeit and the appeal is denied or not heard, Potomac -- a region semifinal loser to Westlake -- will advance.

Post by Mike Loveday

The 2nd annual Maryland Crab Bowl -- a statewide high school football all-star game -- has released its final rosters for the Baltimore and Washington D.C. teams.

The Baltimore roster is highlighed by Arundel's record-setting quarterback Billy Cosh and can be found here.

The D.C. roster boasts several players from Good Counsel, DeMatha and Quince Orchard and can be found here.

The Crab Bowl will be played at Johnny Unitas Stadium on the Towson University campus on December 19th at 1pm.

By Sheldon Shealer

After a five-year run as head coach at Thomas Wootton, Greg Malling resigned Thursday.

"It was just time for a change," Malling told MDVarsity.com. "I thought I was getting a little stale."

Malling took over the program in 2005 and following back-to-back 2-8 seasons, he guided the Patriots to 5-5 in 2007 and 7-4 in 2008. The 2008 season marked the first time that Wootton had qualified for the playoffs since 1991. This year's squad, which entered the season with reasonable expections, ended at 2-8.

In helping the program go from 2-8 to 5-5 and ultimately the playoffs, Malling instilled a Bigger, Faster, Stronger concept of B11, which basically meant to expect more from yourself. Malling went so far as to have a B11 tatooed on his leg.

"I will continue to believe that," he said. "I don't keep a scrap book, so I guess that [tatoo] will have to remind me [remind me of the good times]."

The Region Semifinal scoreboard is now located here.

By Sheldon Shealer

After weeks of rumors circulating regarding alleged rules violation by Westlake High School and its effect on the MPSSAA football state tournament, the MPSSAA issued the following statement today:

"On Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009, the MPSSAA was officially informed of an alleged eligibility violation on the Westlake High School football team. In accordance with Maryland State Board of Education Regulation 13A.06.03.05B(2), Charles County Public Schools must conduct a formal hearing within five school days of receipt of the complaint in order to address the allegations and make a determination. That hearing has been scheduled for Monday, Nov. 16, 2009. As a result, the first round of the 3A South regional football playoffs will be conducted as scheduled."

Westlake will play host to Potomac on Friday, as scheduled. If Westlake wins and is later forced to forfeit, Potomac will advance to the region final by in accordance with Maryland State Board of Education Regulation 13A.06.03.07C(8), which states: "When a student is found ineligible during the progress of a tournament, the contest last played shall be forfeited and the team [that] was defeated shall take its place."

By Sheldon Shealer

One champion is crowned and six others yet to be decided as Maryland enters the stretch run of the 2009 season.

Gilman, a preseason Top 5 team that fell from that perch with a loss to Calvert Hall, finished with a 34-27 victory to snag the MIAA A Conference crown over McDonogh. Both teams went 4-1 in the league, but the head-to-head matchup decided broke the tie.

This week, the MIAA B Conference title will be determined as Boys' Latin meets Archbishop Spalding. In two weeks, the WCAC title will be determined, and two weeks beyond that the four public school title games will be played.

Private Schools: 1. DeMatha (10-0), 2. Good Counsel (9-1), 3. 4. Bishop McNamara (8-2), 4. Gilman (7-3#), 5. McDonogh (8-2#), 6. Boys' Latin (10-0), 7. Georgetown Prep (6-3), 8. Loyola (7-2), 9. Landon (7-2), 10. Calvert Hall (6-4).

Class 4A: 1. Arundel (10-0), 2. Suitland (9-1), 3. Flowers (9-1), 4. Wise (9-1), 5. North Point (10-0), 6. Sherwood (8-2), 7. Walt Whitman (8-2), 8. Old Mill (8-2), 9. Annapolis (8-2), 10. Broadneck (8-2#).

Class 3A: 1. Linganore (10-0), 2. Quince Orchard (10-0), 3. River Hill (10-0), 4. Huntingtown (10-0), 5. Westlake (8-2), 7. Hereford (8-1), 8. Poly (9-1), 9. Damascus (8-2), 10. Atholton (9-1).

Class 2A: 1. Gwynn Park (10-0), 2. Queen Anne's (10-0), 3. Chesapeake-BC (9-1), 4. Eastern Tech (9-1), 5. Kent Island (9-1), 6. Glenelg (8-2), 7. Rockville (8-1), 8. Douglass-PG (8-2), 9. Century (7-3), 10. McDonough (7-3).

Class 1A: 1. Fort Hill (10-0), 2. Joppatowne (10-0), 3. Dunbar (9-1), 4. Catoctin (10-0), 5. Allegany (7-3), 6. Forest Park (9-0), 7. Bohemia Manor (7-3), 8. Snow Hill (8-2), 9. Forestville (5-4), 10. Havre de Grace (5-4).

#-season complete. 

By Sheldon Shealer, editor

The points have been tabulated and the official pairings set. Click here for the updated and OFFICIAL MPSSAA pairings and look for extended playoff previews later this week. OFFICIAL PAIRINGS

By Sheldon Shealer

The following is the projected playoff pairings. The official MPSSAA pairings will be available tomorrow at noon at the MPSSAA Web site.

Class 4A

Class 3A

Class 2A

Class 1A

West: 1. Fort Hill (10-0), 2. Allegany (7-3), 3. Boonsboro (6-4), 4. Smithsburg (6-4).
North: 1. Catoctin (10-0), 2. Pikesville (7-2), 3. Sparrows Point (6-4), 4. New Town (5-5).
South: 1. Forest Park (9-0), 2. Dunbar (9-1), 3. Forestville (5-4), 4. Carver (6-4).
East: 1. Joppatowne (10-0), 2. Snow Hill (8-2), 3. Havre de Grace (6-4), 4. Bohemia Manor (7-3).

By Sheldon Shealer Twenty-four hours ago, Rising Sun was in control of its playoff destiny. Now, it is on the outside, needing help. MDVarsity.com confirmed Thursday that Cambridge-S.D. will forfeit its first three wins of the season. While the forfeits have little barring on the Class 1A East, other than eliminating Cambridge-S.D., it does impact 2A East. Wicomico was one of three teams to pick up a forfeit win from Cambridge-S.D., which vaults the team from No. 5 to No. 4 -- ahead of Rising Sun -- in the current points standings. Parkside and Kent County also picked up forfeit wins.

The Week 10 State Scoreboard is now located here.

By Sheldon Shealer

The University on New Mexico, no stranger to recruiting Maryland, recently made offers to a pair of Westlake players, while a third Wolverine picked up his first offer in the form of Hampton University.

Westlake seniors Josh Alexander and Julian Blair were offered by New Mexico. Marcus Anderson was offered by Hampton, according to Westlake coach Dom Zaccarelli.

Anderson, a 6-foot-1, 220-pound linebacker, had a standout performance in last year's state title win over Wilde Lake. Alexander is a 6-3, 210-pound defensive end and Blair is a 6-foot, 180-pound defensive back who has seen some action at running back.