The day before Halloween could be just as scary as Halloween for some teams as they see their playoff hopes ripped from them. Currently, the conference has five teams sitting in a playoff position, and 3 sitting just outside of their region’s top four.
In the 4A East, North Point is currently sitting behind fellow unbeaten Old Mill. They are the number 2 seed in their conference. They are 8-0 so far on the season, and play at Huntingtown this week. That game is set to kickoff at 7 p.m. Chopticon is 4-4, and has been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention this season. They play at Leonardtown Friday night, with kickoff coming at 6:30. Leonardtown is 2-6, and is the last place seed in the region, and they will play their senior night against Chopticon.
In the 3A South, things begin to get a little interesting. Northern is currently in the number 2 seed with a record of 5-3. They are a win behind Potomac, of Prince George’s County, for the number one seed in their region. The Patriots will be on the road this week as they take on McDonough. That game will start at 6:30. Now, in this region, there are 5 teams tied at 3-5. Two of which are local. Huntingtown is sitting in 3rd of the 5 and in 6th place altogether. St. Charles is right behind them in 7th. If Huntingtown upsets North Point Friday night, that gives them a big point swell, and might put them in a playoff spot. Again, that game kicks off at 7 p.m. at Huntingtown. St. Charles has Great Mills and Leonardtown the last two weeks. The St. Charles game with Great Mills will kick off at 6:30 at St. Charles. Both of these schools have a shot at the playoffs.
Now, that was just a warm-up for the 2A South. The 2A South has 6 SMAC teams in it, and 3 of them are currently slotted for playoff spots, with Stone a seed away. We’ll start from the bottom, and work our way up through the region. La Plata is winless on the season, and will look to pick up their first win at Lackey this Friday night. They kick off at 6:30. Lackey is up next, and at 4-4, they have been eliminated from playoff contention. Now, the last four teams are Patuxent, Calvert, Stone, and Westlake. Patuxent is currently the top seed in the region with a 7-1 record. Their lone blemish came against Calvert ( you can click here to read that story). Westlake follows them at the number 2 seed, with an equal 7-1 record. Their lone blemish came against North Point, in week 4. Largo, of Prince George’s County, is sandwiched between those two and the next two with a 7-1 record of their own. Calvert follows them, sitting in the four seed at 6-2. Stone brings up the rear, with an identical 6-2 record. This region is still up for grabs. Patuxent plays Stone at home this week, and at Westlake next week. Calvert plays Westlake at home this week, and finishes with Lackey next week. Stone will finish next week with Huntingtown at home. Despite not being in the conference, Largo is interesting as their week 10 opponent is the defending state champion, Douglass, who were virtually eliminated following a last second loss to Friendly last week. Whoever wins this week, between Patuxent and Stone, or Westlake and Calvert, will give themselves an easier route in week 10.
Now, the smallest school in the conference, McDonough, is 0-8, but is not in last place in their region. They have been eliminated from playoff contention though. They will close the season with Northern this week, then La Plata next week.
Week 9 games:
La Plata at Lackey 6:30 p.m.
Northern at McDonough 6:30 p.m.
Great Mills at St. Charles 6:30 p.m.
Chopticon at Leonardtown 6:30 p.m.
North Point at Huntingtown 7 p.m.
Westlake at Calvert 7 p.m.
Stone at Patuxent 7 p.m.
For our game of the week, we will be live tweeting from the Stone-Patuxent game. For up to the minute updates, follow our twitter account @TheBayNetSports. Be sure to check back for our full recap of Stone-Patuxent, and our full week recap.