FH freshmen to play DeMatha?

[BrianH1974]

Can anyone confirm this? Talked to a DeMatha coach at a baseball game who said they are playing a 2 year football deal with FH freshmen. I have not seen a schedule of any kind for 9th or 10th graders which isn't abnormal except the season is 5 weeks away.

TDHelmick is this true? That would be so awesome. It's not like there are playoff points to deal with.

 

[BoyznBlue]

I have no inside info about this but it completely makes sense. The number of high schools still playing freshman football is becoming fewer every year. I think the high schools still playing freshman ball may have to match-up against each other by necessity.

 

[loco09]

DeMatha's freshman schedule last year, really good but they play some smaller publics like Kent Island and Fairmont Heights. This wouldn't be the equivalent of playing their varsity but still a really good test and a different style game probably than what they would be exposed to locally. Would a cool matchup for them if it happens.

Kent Island High
Win 52-0
Gwynn Park High School
Win 27-7
Friendship Collegiate Academy
Win 43-6
Gonzaga College High School
Win 50-0
Fairmont Heights High School
Win 19-0
Bishop McNamara High School
Win 39-0
St. Mary's Ryken High School
Win 43-13

 

[LinemenWinGames]

This would definitely be a benefit to local players. I don’t see any negatives in this even if FH freshman would be defeated heavily, moderately or whatever. This challenge will build character.

 

[BoyznBlue]

This rumor is untrue but it would be an interesting game for the future.

 

[TDHelmick]

I will just say that yes, there was an opportunity for this freshman game with DeMatha to happen and it looked like it would. Now that is not an option. The game would have been played on Saturday afternoon since playing it on a school night would have put the visiting team back way too late.

This whole debate about whether frosh football makes a difference or not can lean one way or the other. Personally, I try and see it from a kid's perspective. If you have the numbers like FH does, the kids seem to like the fact they can split up and get more playing time. Does it make FH better? I don't know if there is any way to truly measure such a thing. I just like the fact more kids get to see more playing time come game day and hopefully enjoy the experience more. If the numbers are low, then it doesn't matter if 9th and 10th grade kids combine to play JV because they all get about the same amount of playing time either way. There is no freshman football anymore in the Maryland public school system. FH is the exception. It doesn't seem to hurt the better teams down state that don't play frosh ball so who knows. FH is just lucky WV still maintains frosh ball. The entire frosh schedule is always full with WV teams.

I went back and totaled the overall record between the Alco and FH freshmen and JV since 2009. I keep those scores archived on the FH football website. The overall record is 16-15-1 in favor of FH. It could not get any closer. FH has obviously dominated the varsity series in that same time frame. During this stretch Alco had frosh ball up until 2016 and 2017. I could go into much detail as to what separated the teams once kids got to varsity. Let's just say FH has been lucky to keep a successful longtime coaching staff together for starters. That and what the kids do when football is not in season is one of their bigger advantages. But I see other schools catching up big time in that regards. I felt Coach Biser at Keyser had really made huge moves the past few years with their off-season weight room and agility/speed program and really saw Keyser becoming a heated rivalry. It just didn't translate on the field the past two seasons.

 

[LinemenWinGames]

What was the deciding factor in the FH-DeMatha freshman game being a no-go. I hope it has nothing to do with competitve adavantage, given that it would be a freshman game with no post-season implications?

 

[bleedred]

It's true that most Baltimore area schools don't have freshman football but they do have leagues where 9th and 19th graders can play. This is equivalent to freshman football as far as I'm concerned.

Fort Hill V Dematha at the freshman level would have been great. I wish it would have happened!