By Sheldon Shealer

Patuxent and Mervo officially forfeited two victories each Monday, leading to a change of the official MPSSAA points standings.

Patuxent forfeited its Week 2 (Leonardtown) and Week 3 (Calvert) wins to turn the squad into 2-7 on the season. Mervo forfeited its Week 6 (Northwestern-Balt.) and Week 8 (IBE) wins, leaving the program 0-9.

Patuxent and Mervo were no longer in the playoff race, yet the forfeits have the following affect:

4A North: Patterson loses apoint, yet remains No. 2 by a more narrow margin over Woodlawn.

4A East: North Point picks up two more points to close within 104-102 on Arundel for the No. 1 seed.

3A South: Huntingtown, Westlake and Lackey (current Nos. 1, 2 3) each lose a point while current No. 5 Northern Calvert earns a point to inch closer to No. 4 Potomac.  

2A South: No. 4 McDonough loses a point and now leads Southern-AA 59-58 for the final playoff spot, and Calvert moves from No. 8 to No. 6 in the region.

2A North: Lake Clifton moves a point further ahead of City College in the race for the No. 3 spot. 

1A South: WEB DuBois earnes an additional .9 points, moving it a little more ahead of No. 4 Forestville.

1A North: New Town loses two bonus points, yet remains No. 4 in the standings.

By Mike Loveday

When the playoffs are on the line the playmakers start to make plays and that is exactly what Patuxent's Justin Ford did last week as he helped lead his team to a 49-21 victory over La Plata.

Ford's 303 total yard performance has earned him this week's MDVarsity.com Player of the Week award.

The senior had 176 receiving yards and an additional 123 yards on kick returns. He added in 10 rushing yards as he helped his sixth place Patuxent team earns points over the 3A La Plata squad.

With the win, Patuxent moved into fifth place in the 2A South behind River Hill, North Point and Douglass-PG.

Make sure to leave your comment below and let us know how we're doing. To submit an athlete for Player of the Week e-mail us at MDVTop@gmail.com each week with that athletes statistics for that week's game along with season information. Be sure to leave contact information in the e-mail so we can verify all information.

By Mike Loveday

oloveday5@yahoo.com

Almost every team that makes it deep into the state playoffs have one thing in common, underclassmen that contribute.

Those underclassman help augment the senior leadership. Let's look at the teams that made the championship games last year.

Quince Orchard had senior Thomas Addison, but Travis Hawkins, Terrence Stephens, Jason Ankrah and Cody Magill were all juniors. Arundel had two outstanding seniors, but Alec Lemon and Sean Fitzgerald were the perfect compliment to Brandon Johnson-Farrell.

River Hill had the trio of Michael Campanaro, Malek Redd and Leron Eaddy to help senior Zach Martin go out a champion. Dunbar was led by juniors Tavon Austin, Sean Farr and Jonathan Perry on offense and Tevin Brown on defense. Allegany put their running game on the shoulders of offensive lineman Justin Hymes.

Hereford and Damascus seem to be the exception to this rule as both teams relied heavily on seniors to get them to the title game, but state semifinalists Lackey, Wilde Lake, Clarksburg and Thomas Johnson counted on their juniors.

With this in mind I'm continuing my look at some of the rising juniors that I expect to make an impact on their respective teams this season. This is the third and final story in the series.

Robbie Havenstein, Linganore: At 6-foot-7, 300-pounds, Havenstein is an imposing presence on the line. The offensive tackle not only has the size, but also the agility to anchor the Lancers this season.

J.D. Hook, Allegany: As a running back, Hook will be looked to as a replacement for Jake Twigg and Brian Matthews. As a linebacker, the junior will pair with fellow junior Dustin Wharton as leaders on the defense.

Evan Pittman, Calvert Hall: (pictured above) Pittman impressed coaches with his size, mobility and strong arm at the Bullseye combine. As a Super 100 member, Pittman proved that he could lead his team during 7-on-7 games.

E.J. Scott, Good Counsel: A look at 2010 athletes is not complete with Scott. The receiver and defensive back is not only an impact player on the Falcons, but will be one of the most highly recruited athletes in the state.

Tyler Lardy, Gaithersburg: Lardy ran a 4.7 40-yard dash at the Bullseye Combine and showed his explosiveness with a 25-8 vertical and a 29-2 kneeling power ball toss.

Troy Gloster, Good Counsel: (pictured right) Gloster is another Falcon that will be highly recruited. The 5-11, 209-pound linebacker has a rock-solid frame and runs a 4.7 40.

Joseph Kirby, Kent Island: As a sophomore, Kirby rushed for 441 yards and seven touchdowns. At the Bullseye Combine, the running back ran a 4.68 40 and did 14 repetitions of 155 pounds.

Kyle Tucker, Linganore: The Lancers line will be tough to get through with Havenstein and Tucker. Tucker broke the Bullseye Combine bench press record when he did 38 reps of 155 pounds.

Devante Stamps, McDonogh: Stamps could be the perfect compliment to fellow receiver Javarrus King. Stamps has 4.8 speed and has a 6-foot-2, 183-pound frame, similar to that of King.

Dylan Acab, Poly: Acab showed good speed with a 4.6 40-yard dash and was one of several Engineers to impress during the Bullseye Combine.

Justin Handley, Patuxent: Handley has 4.67 speed and as a third receiver in the Patuxent offense, could be the perfect slot receiver compliment to Eric Farmer and Justin Ford.

Antione Goodson, Poly: Goodson was primarily the running quarterback for Poly last season, but during the Bullseye Super 100 he showcased one of the strongest arms of any participant.

Nick Bonhag, River Hill: Bonhag plays tight end for the Hawks and made a run at the Bullseye Super 100 MVP with highlight reel catches during 7-on-7 games.

Kevin Johnson, River Hill: Johnson played quarterback on the junior varsity, but could see time as a defensive back for the Hawks this season. With 4.65 speed and a 35-inch vertical, there has to be some place for this athlete to play.

Malik Cross, Oxon Hill: Cross along with receiver Brandon Felder will be a player to watch on Oxon Hill's offense. As a sophomore, Cross rushed for 1,653 yards and nine touchdowns.

If you want more information about the upcoming season and all the players you can order your copy of the Preseason Football Magazine Here

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