THE MARYLAND HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS
Classifications
There are 188 public schools with a football team in the state of Maryland. The schools are broken up into 4 classifications by enrollment (grades 9-11) with the largest schools classified as 4A down to the smallest as 1A. These classifications can change every two years based on changes in enrollment. For example, during the 2006 season, Damascus and Watkins Mill are classified as 4A schools, however Maryland has proposed moving them to class 3A beginning with the 2007 school due to declining enrollment (Clarksburg High School opened in 2006, drawing some of the student body away from each school).
Regions
Once schools are classified, each classification is broken up into 4 regions, North, South, East and West. The state attempts to "balance" each region geographically as well as with the number of schools in each region. Montgomery County schools are typically placed in the West region of each classification. The 4A West is made up entirely of Montgomery County teams. Prince George's County schools are typically aligned in the South region and the 4A South is entirely composed of PG County teams.
Earning a Playoff Berth
- Victory Points: During the regular season, each team earns points for their victories. For defeating a 4A school, a team earns 8 points. They are awarded 7 points, 6 points and 5 points for wins over 3A, 2A and 1A schools, respectively. If a team plays a team that is not a public school in Maryland, the state will classify the opponent based on their enrollment and the winner will earn the proper number of points.
- Bonus Points: To reward teams for playing a "tougher" schedule, teams also earn Bonus points for other wins by teams they have defeated. For example, in the 2006 Regular Season, Northwest, in going 10-0 defeated (obviously) 10 teams. They earned 3 Bonus points for Churchill (who finished 3-7), 8 Bonus Points for defeating Seneca Valley (8-2), 9 Bonus Points for defeating Quince Orchard (9-1) and so forth. Teams that refuse to play overtime (games ending with ties) and teams that play a 9-game schedule complicate matters slightly. Refer to the State Tournament Bulletin (link provided below) for clarification.
- Averages: At the end of the season, the total points for each team are divided by the number of games they play (either 9 or 10) to come to a point average. It is this average that is used for Playoff qualification and seeding.
Tournament Format
The first thing to remember is there are really four tournaments, one for each classification (4A through 1A). Let's look at the tournament for a single classification.
- Regional Tournament: The top 4 teams in each region earn a berth in their regional tournament. The #1 seed will host the #4 seed and the #2 seed will host the #3 seed. The winners of those two regional semifinal games will play in the regional final at the site of the higher-seeded team.
- State Tournament: The winners of each of the four regional tournaments will be re-seeded 1-4 according to their regular season point averages. Again, the #1 seed will host the #4 seed and the #2 seed will host the #3 seed in the state semifinals. The winners of each of the two semifinals will meet at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore for the State Championship. (The higher-seeded team is the "home team" and will wear their dark color jerseys)
More Information
If you're interested in the nuts and bolts, you can view the playoff bulletin online: http://www.mpssaa.org/sports/bulletin/football.pdf
The Playoff breakdown courtesy of "MDReferee" (MoCoFootball.com)
 | ||||||
M&T BANK "RAVENS" STADIUM
Home of The Baltimore Ravens
(Super Bowl XXXV Champions)
1101 Russell Street
Baltimore, MD 21230
Capacity: 69,084
Surface: Grass
Construction Began: 1995
Opened: September 6, 1998
Cost: $220 Million
Architect: HOK
Home :: News / Stats :: 4A STATE PLAYOFFS
Wootton 0
NORTH
Regional Championship
EAST
Regional Championship
SOUTH
Regional Championship
WEST
Regional Championship
STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
DEC 5 - 7:30 PM
Baltimore, MD
2008
THE ROAD TO BALTIMORE
47 teams.
16 playoff spots.
1 State Champion.
The Northwest Jaguars Football website.
Please do not duplicate anything on this website without permission and citation.
© Michael R. M. Cornejo EMAIL
QO 36
Northwest 3
Sherwood 38
T. Johnson 0
Perry Hall 35
Westminster 20
Linganore 48
North County 15
Arundel 49
Severna Park 28
Old Mill 21
Suitland 6
C. H. Flowers 29
Henry Wise 14
E. Roosevelt 6
The 2008 - Playoffs
West Region
- Sherwood Warriors (Sandy Spring-Montgomery County) 13-0
- Quince Orchard Cougars (Gaithersburg-Montgomery County) 10-2 - ELIMINATED
- Thomas S. Wootton Patriots (Rockville-Montgomery County) 7-4 - ELIMINATED
- Northwest Jaguars (Germantown-Montgomery County) 6-5 - ELIMINATED
South Region
- Eleanor Roosevely Raiders (Greenbelt-Prince George's County) 10-1 - ELIMINATED
- Charles H. Flowers Jaguars (Springdale-Prince George's County) 10-2 - ELIMINATED
- Suitland Rams (Forestville-Prince George's County) 8-3 - ELIMINATED
- Henry Wise Pumas (Upper Marlboro-Prince George's County) 9-4 - ELIMINATED
North Region
- Linganore Lancers (Frederick-Frederick County) 13-0
- Perry Hall Gators (Perry Hall-Baltimore County) 9-3 - ELIMINATED
- Thomas Johnson Patriots (Frederick-Frederick County) 6-5 - ELIMINATED
- Westminster Owls (Westminster-Carroll County) 6-5 - ELIMINATED
East Region
- Old Mill Patriots (Millersville-Anne Arundel County) 9-2 - ELIMINATED
- Arundel Wildcats (Gambrills-Anne Arundel County) 11-2 - ELIMINATED
- North County Knights (Glen Burnie-Anne Arundel County) 8-3 - ELIMINATED
- Severna Park Falcons (Severna Park-Anne Arundel County) 8-4 - ELIMINATED
Sherwood 31
QO 10
Linganore 53
Arundel 42
Severna Park 20
Perry Hall 0
C. H. Flowers 0
Henry Wise 28
2 OTs
Linganore 59
Arundel 34
Sherwood 45
Henry Wise 8
Sherwood
Linganore
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
NORTHWEST WORDPRESS
Local news stories on Northwest Football from The Gazette, The Wash. Post, The Examiner, etc.
Publisher: TBA
News & notes from the head coach
Publisher: HC Mark Maradei
Important team news & announcements from the parents of the players
Media news and updates on Northwest Football alumni from around the nation.
Take no prisoners talk on NW football and around Mo County.
Publisher: Mike 'KDogg' Cornejo
