The Big Ones

Where: Liberty H.S., Eldersburg

Last week: Liberty (L), to South Carroll, 21-7; Century (W), over Winters Mill, 20-19

Outlook: Liberty has developed a reputation of being bulletproof at home, going 4-0 in their ‘‘Lions Den”, but only 2-3 on the road. Naturally, they’d like to start their playoffs in the friendly confines of home.

Century, though, would just like to get into the playoffs. Even at 4-5, the door in is open by the smallest of cracks for the Knights. Most importantly, they need to win. That coupled with losses from Northwood and Rockville would clinch a spot. A loss from Middletown would also help matters, but two wins from any of those three teams would put Century’s playoffs hopes back into the certain doom category.

For Liberty to get a home game, they need to either win against Century, or get losses from both Middletown and Northwood.

The probably situations can be a little head-spinning at times, and Liberty head coach Jeff Kent noted that he’s not paying too much attention to them.

‘‘I haven’t followed the points real closely,” Kent said. ‘‘I’m not sure how us losing to South Carroll will jump people up or down.”

It’s a luxury that the Lions earned in Week 8, as they’re one of two teams that are guaranteed to finish above .500 in the Class 2A West Region. But after snapping a multi-season losing streak with a six-game winning streak, Liberty isn’t interested in heading into the playoffs with a losing streak.

‘‘It’s new territory for the guys,” Kent said. ‘‘The last couple of weeks were really emotional for us.”

The key for each team will be running. Century just got done piling up 249 yards against Winters Mill, while simultaneously weathering a 215-yard passing attack.

Liberty, though, failed to rack up any positive yardage on the ground, going 13 yards back instead. It’s a symptom of what was going wrong with the Lions offense in the first two losses of the season, as balance was lost against the Cavaliers despite 24 completed passed from Colton Weaver.

—Darren J. Gendron

South Carroll (4-5) vs. Tuscarora (4-5)

When:Friday, November 9, 7 p.m.

Where: South Carroll H.S., Winfield

Last week: South Carroll (W), over Liberty, 21-7; Tuscarora (W), over Westminster, 26-0

Outlook: Outlook: For South Carroll High head coach Greg Mihalko, the playoffs don’t start November 15, they started this week with their rousing victory over rival Liberty.

Mathematically speaking, the Cavaliers are almost a lock for the postseason, even with a loss to Tuscarora, however, bonus points for knocking off a 3A school coupled with a three-game late season win streak would give South Carroll the push it would need going into the postseason.

‘‘No matter what, we’re in the playoffs already,” Mihalko said, speaking of his team’s must-win attitude. ‘‘They know we’ve been right there, and we know we can get the job done.”

The Cavaliers were successful with their brand of smashmouth football against the Lions—a team known this year for bullying opponents. They hope to continue this trend against a team full of capable skill players.

‘‘We watched them on film and they are explosive,” Mihalko said. ‘‘ Their quarterback [John Kelly] and their wide receiver Jackrie Jackson can really stretch the field.

Indeed, Jackson averages 26.4 yards per catch (27 catches, 715 yards) and has seven touchdowns. Kelly (648 rushing yards, 5.4 yards per carry) has thrown for nine touchdowns and rushed for eight. Throw in Dominic Clarke (700 yards rushing, five TD’s), and the Titans show potential for big plays.

‘‘We want to finish the season with at .500 and we want to go out with a bang,” said Tuscarora head coach Shawn Carey. ‘‘We know it’s not going to be easy. South Carroll is a scrappy team, and they can be explosive. Their running back [Greg Tellish] scares me. I think we can play them tough if we come to play for four quarters.”

Last week, the Cavs were able to withstand two turnovers in the first quarter inside of their own 25 yard line and held Liberty scoreless on both miscues.

—John Harris III

Reservoir (5-4) vs. Glenelg (5-4)

When: Friday, November 9, 7 p.m.

Where: Reservoir H.S., Fulton

Last week: Reservior (L), to 19-0; Glenelg (W), over Hammond, 35-0

Outlook: Butch Schaffer feels as though his team will be looking in the mirror when they g on the road to face the Gators.

‘‘They are very similar to us,” said Glenelg’s head coach. ‘‘We basically lost to the same teams, they are a balanced team offensively. They run multiple sets and have a lot of talented players. Defensively they run a whole lot of different things. They are building a strong program over there.”

After a rough and uncharacteristic 0-4 start, the Gladiators will attempt to complete their schedule with six straight victories. A win would keep them mathematically alive in the Class 1A South Region, but with too many strong teams in their region, would more than likely still be shut out of the playoffs.

‘‘We’ve seen a lot of improvement [recently] with our team,” Schaffer said. ‘‘We have to play hard every week [in the Howard County League]. Unfortunately, we had a really tough early season schedule and we started out slow. We wish we could have played better starting out, but we have to take one game at a time and try to improve each time we come out.”

In last week’s shutout win, the Gladiators were paced by the legs of Payton Loyd, and the accurate arm of Gage Trawick. They were also opportunistic defensively.

‘‘We played well early on, and got good breaks when we needed them,” said Schaffer. ‘‘We got a couple of turnovers early that really got us going and we just took it from there.”

Schaffer is also proud of the way his team pulled its way out of adversity during an uncharacteristic slow start out of the game. With its five game streak, the Gladiators have fought their way past a rash of injuries and inexperience.

‘‘I’m happy with the way we have rked,” Schaffer said. ‘‘Our kids practice hard every week.”

—John Harris III

Linganore (9-0) vs. Urbana (5-4)

When: Saturday, November 10, 2 p.m.

Where: Linganore H.S. ,New Market

Last week: Linganore (W), over FSK, 35-6; Urbana (W), over North Carroll, 38-24

Outlook: Should a casual area high school football observer go by records alone, the 2007 edition of this fierce rivalry would have a chance to be a route, in favor of the Class 4A North Region playoff-bound hosts. However, after the Hawks’ convincing win over the Panthers last week, it may not be such a bad thing to watch this game play itself out.

‘‘The last three games, we’ve really played a lot better,” said Urbana head coach Joe Polce. ‘‘It seems like we’re just coming together here at the end of the season. We’ve played probably the toughest regular season schedule in the state. Seven of the 10 teams we’ve played in the playoffs.”

On the outside, it seems as though Lancers are rolling at the moment, following a blend of air and ground potency that has simply knocked out the opposition each and every weekend. From the arm of Alex Phelps to the dominating wideout C.J. Thomas, to the fleet feet of Pat Balderson and the dominating Linganore offensive line, the 2007 Monocacy Valley Athletic League Chesapeake Conference champs look to be a scary foe for all upcoming postseason foes.

However, Linganore head coach Rick Conner is wary about his team’s performance during the past couple of weeks, even though they weren’t seriously challenged on the scoreboard.

‘‘We hope to have a good week of practice to get ready for Saturday,” Conner said. ‘‘We need to play better football than we have in the last two weeks to compete favorably. ‘‘

Last week, the Hawks were able to get two 100-yard plus rushers to spearhead their attack in dismantling once beaten North Carroll. Kevin Wilkes and Chris Patton combined for over 300 yards and five touchdowns, punching the hosts in the gut and clinching at least an overall record of .500 this season.

They [Urbana] have a great 1-2 punch in the backfield,” Conner said. ‘‘I like the way they’re running backs carry the ball. Their offensive line is impressive, they move well and come off the ball.

—John Harris III