Each week, The Washington Post asks a small group of local coaches to provide their own Top 20 rankings. See their picks and comments below. You can see the Post’s Top 20 rankings for this week here.
Falls Church Coach Said Aziz
1. Gonzaga (6-1) – Beating DeMatha should give you a boost to the top spot.
2. Wise (6-0)
3. Damascus (6-0)
4. St. John’s (3-2)
5. DeMatha (4-2)
6. Stone Bridge (6-0) – Tuscarora and Broad Run games should be interesting for the Bulldogs.
7. Westfield (6-0) – Rivalry games coming up vs. Oakton, Centreville and West Potomac.
8. Centreville (6-1) – The Westfield game should produce some fireworks.
9. Spalding (3-2)
10. North Point (6-0)
11. C.H. Flowers (6-0)
12. Broad Run (6-0)
13. Good Counsel (4-2)
14. South Lakes (5-1) – The Seahawks will make some noise in the postseason.
15. Friendship Collegiate (3-3)
16. H.D. Woodson (4-2)
17. Bullis (5-0)
18. Quince Orchard (5-1)
19. Freedom-Woodbridge (6-0) – Continues to impress. Big game vs. undefeated Woodbridge coming up.
20. Woodbridge (6-0) – Coach Gary Wortham has the Vikings rolling. Their game vs. Freedom-Woodbridge will be a big one this week!
Lackey Coach John Lush
1. Wise (6-0) – The Pumas continued their dominance by defeating Bowie, 75-0. Next up? An Oxon Hill team that is still trying to prove its worth after a few unexpected losses in the first half of the season.
2. Gonzaga (6-1) – The Zags defeated DeMatha, 26-20, and are now in the discussion for being the top team in the area.
3. Damascus (6-0) – The Swarmin’ Hornets believe they are the top team in the area. With another convincing win this past weekend, they are starting to show that might be true.
4. St. John’s (3-2)
5. DeMatha (4-2) – The Stags will look to rebound from their tough loss to Gonzaga when they host Good Counsel.
6. Stone Bridge (6-0)
7. Westfield (6-0) – The Bulldogs pulled out a big win against Madison and will go back to work this week in hopes of not having a letdown when they play Oakton.
8. Spalding (3-2) – The Cavaliers had a big win when they defeated Friendship Collegiate this past weekend.
9. North Point (6-0)
10. Centreville (6-1)
11. C.H. Flowers (6-0)
12. Good Counsel (4-2)
13. Madison (5-2)
14. South Lakes (5-1)
15. Friendship Collegiate (3-3)
16. H.D. Woodson (4-2)
17. Bullis (5-0)
18. Broad Run (6-0)
19. Quince Orchard (5-1)
20. Freedom-Woodbridge (6-0)
Centreville Coach Chris Haddock
1. Wise (6-0)
2. Gonzaga (6-1) – Huge win for the Zags!
3. Damascus (6-0)
4. St. John’s (3-2)
5. DeMatha (4-2) – Tough loss. Get ready again with Good Counsel next.
6. Stone Bridge (6-0) – Nobody within three scores of the Bulldogs all year.
7. Westfield (6-0) – Continues to play great defense.
8. Centreville (6-1) – Bye week with Westfield looming on the horizon.
9. Spalding (3-2)
10. North Point (6-0)
11. C.H. Flowers (6-0)
12. Madison (5-2) – Only losses to No. 6 Stone Bridge and No. 7 Westfield.
13. Good Counsel (4-2) – Doesn’t get any easier in the WCAC for the Falcons.
14. South Lakes (5-1) – Should run the table.
15. Friendship Collegiate (3-3)
16. H.D. Woodson (4-2)
17. Bullis (5-0)
18. Quince Orchard (5-1)
19. Broad Run (6-0) – Should be smooth sailing to Stone Bridge in four weeks.
20. Freedom-Woodbridge (6-0) – A win this week should make 10-0 possible. Should be a great game vs. Woodbridge.
Bullis Coach Pat Cilento
1. Wise (6-0) – Was there a scoreboard malfunction?
2. Gonzaga (6-1) – Another great win. Doing this with a freshman quarterback is very impressive.
3. St. John’s (3-2) – The Cadets have not lost to a local team yet.
4. DeMatha (4-2) – The Stags will be back in the WCAC championship game.
5. Damascus (6-0)
6. Stone Bridge (6-0) – Beat a very good Briar Woods team.
7. Westfield (6-0)
8. C.H. Flowers (6-0)
9. North Point (6-0)
10. Centreville (6-1)
11. Bullis (5-0) – For the third straight week, the Bulldogs play an undefeated team.
12. Landon (5-0) – Undefeated, big and fast.
13. Quince Orchard (5-1)
14. Good Counsel (4-2)
15. Spalding (3-2) – Great win vs. Friendship Collegiate.
16. Woodbridge (6-0)
17. Broad Run (6-0)
18. St. Mary’s Ryken (6-1) – Great quarterback, big running back and outstanding offensive line.
19. Freedom-Woodbridge (6-0)
20. Friendship Collegiate (3-3)
Landon assistant coach Charlie Harley
1. Wise (6-0) – Hold up, wait a minute: Did Wise just put 75 on it? Don’t expect to get invited to dinner anytime soon in northern Prince George’s County.
2. Gonzaga (6-1) – Guess the guys in purple got the last word. Great win.
3. Damascus (6-0) – Not sure the Swarmin’ Hornets will have a close game the next couple of seasons.
4. Stone Bridge (6-0)
5. DeMatha (4-2) – Tough way to start a game, particularly with all the chatter back and forth between the teams. But if any team can bounce back. . . it’s the Stags.
6. Westfield (6-0)
7. North Point (6-0) – Got to start putting some RespecK on the Eagles’ name. Though there is a team right down the road, looming large. They happen to be two-time state champions.
8. C.H. Flowers (6-0)
9. Bullis (5-0) – Battle of the only undefeated Interstate Athletic Conference teams this weekend between Bullis and Landon. It won’t be G-rated.
10. Centreville (6-1)
11. South Lakes
12. Madison (5-2)
13. St. John’s (3-2)
14. Broad Run (6-0)
15. Quince Orchard (5-1)
16. Spalding (3-2)
17. Suitland (6-0) – Coach Ed Shields, also known as Lou Holtz, is my guy. Before the season he told me, “All things go well, we may win three ballgames.. . . Pray for us.” Guess lots of prayers went up.
18. Freedom-Woodbridge (6-0)
19. Good Counsel (4-2)
20. Friendship Collegiate (3-3) – Tough to put a three-loss team in this early, but have you seen its schedule?
