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Steve Brawner
Special to Rivals High

The Maryland schools, which split two meetings last season, meet Friday night at DeMatha in a battle of top 25 teams in the RivalsHigh 100 football rankings.

It is the RivalsHigh Game of the Week.

DeMatha Catholic High School of Hyattsville, is 5-0 this season and ranked No. 7 in the country. DeMatha has won six straight championships in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, a highly rated eight-team league in the Washington, D.C., area. The streak includes last year's 34-7 win over Good Counsel in the championship. Good Counsel had won their regular season matchup, 42-21.

Our Lady of Good Counsel, of Olney, also is 5-0. It is ranked No. 23.

Each of the two teams has impressive wins on its resume. Led by Coach Bill McGregor, the Stags of DeMatha have outscored opponents 230-71 with two shutouts. Earlier this year, DeMatha defeated highly rated Gilman School of Baltimore, 56-35, in a game in which running back Marcus Coker rushed for 392 yards and five touchdowns.

Good Counsel's Falcons have outscored opponents 175-68, including a 21-7 win last week against Bishop McNamara. The Falcons also beat Gilman, 49-37, and started the season by flying to California to defeat Valhalla High School.

DeMatha is loaded with college prospects.

Coker, a three-star Iowa commit, already has rushed for more than 1,000 yards this season. A downhill runner with breakaway speed, he's strong: As a junior, he benched 185 pounds 39 times.

The offensive line is particularly impressive. Four-star offensive tackle Arie Kouandjo (6-6, 315 pounds), the nation's 13th best offensive tackle, is considering Alabama, California, Tennessee, Notre Dame and Miami. Also on the line is guard Shane Johnson, a three-star recruit, and center Jake Geiser, a two-star recruit. The offense has been managed efficiently by quarterback Daniel Tapscott, a first-year starter who won't look to do too much but can pass effectively, as shown by his 11-for-14 performance against Paul VI Catholic High School.

The Stags are loaded in the defensive backfield. The safeties are Lorenzo Waters, a three-star recruit, and Kyrrel Latimer, a two-star Virginia commit. Michael Coley is a three-star cornerback, while the other cornerback is Jeff Knox, a three-star athlete and a Pittsburgh commit.

Along with the talent, though, is the school's winning tradition. In Coach Bill McGregor's 28 years there, the team has lost only 36 games.

"That's, I think, a mark of DeMatha," he said. "In the big game, we've always found a way to do it. We've won in overtime, we've won 21-20, 30-29, last second goal-line stand, last-second pass. That's a mark of a champion. That's how we see ourselves. We're DeMatha, we work hard, and we work to get things done. We want to finish."

For Good Counsel, coach Bob Milloy's offense is led by quarterback Zach Dancel, who manages the offense efficiently but can be a weapon, as he was in a 209-yard passing performance against Gilman.

The running attack relies primarily on tailback Wes Brown, who has rushed for 539 yards and eight touchdowns, but tailback Stefon Diggs and fullback Michael Nittoli also can move the ball effectively. Diggs, a sophomore, scored three touchdowns against Gilman, including two on kickoff returns. E.J. Scott, a Virginia commit, is a three-star athlete who plays wide receiver and cornerback. Last year he caught 18 passes for 475 yards and seven touchdowns. Louis Young, who caught five passes for 152 yards against Gilman, is another dangerous wideout.

If the Falcons get in much trouble, they can count on punter Kyle Hamby to get them out. His longest punt for the season is 65 yards.

The Falcons are loaded on defense. Young is a four-star Stanford commit at cornerback. Troy Gloster, a West Virginia commit, is a three-star recruit, as is Frank Tamakloe, a three-star Wisconsin recruit with a 3.7 grade point average. Inside linebacker Chris Pitsenberger is a two-star Towson commit.

"He's a throwback linebacker," Good Counsel defensive line coach Kevin McFadden said. "He'll come down and take your head off."

GAME OF THE WEEK: No. 7 DeMatha (MD) vs. No. 23 Good Counsel (MD)
KEY TO THE GAME: DeMatha Stags
DeMatha	DeMatha can't afford to make mistakes against a Good Counsel defense that is loaded with athletes. The offensive line will be key in springing Michael Coker and the rest of the backfield. On special teams, all eyes must be on Stefon Diggs, the Good Counsel kick returner who scored two touchdowns on returns against Gilman.
KEY TO THE GAME: Good Counsel Falcons
Good Counsel	It's possible to lose a game in which your quarterback passes for 400 yards. It's almost impossible to lose if your running back gains 400 yards, and that's what Coker did against highly rated Gilman. Good Counsel will need to stop that running attack. It also will need to avoid giving the ball back to the DeMatha offense on turnovers.
Note: Big-game performance
Athletes come and go, but winning traditions matter even at the high school level. DeMatha has won six straight WCAC championships and defeated Good Counsel in the title game last year even though Good Counsel had easily won their regular season matchup. DeMatha will hope to continue the tradition. Good Counsel is trying to get over the hump.
RivalsHigh Game of the Week Prediction. 2009 record (4-3)
The teams split last season - so we know both are capable of winning. This year, however, it looks like DeMatha has a little too much. And it's at home. Gotta go with the Stags. The score may look close at teh end, but it will be a late touchdown to pull it back to respecatble. DeMatha is on a mission this season. DeMatha 31, Good Counsel 21