by Reid Duvall ‘27 

Sherwood put together one of their best seasons in recent years at 7-2, clinching the 2 seed in the 3A West division. The Warriors rode a six-game win streak into their week 9 matchup with state powerhouse Quince Orchard, who was 8-0 going into the matchup and were favored to win against Sherwood.  The Warriors weren’t intimidated out of the gate, scoring first and taking a 6-point deficit into halftime. In the second half, QO showed why they were 8-0, dominating Sherwood in the second half and winning 47-22.

Sherwood quickly had to shift their focus to the playoffs as they drew a matchup with No. 7-seeded Manchester Valley, who entered the 1st round date with Sherwood at 2-7, one of the worst in 3A. Early in the game, Sherwood established their offensive advantages, getting ahead 21-0 in the 1st quarter, and then 42-0 at halftime. 

“Through the film, we thought we had more team speed than they had.  We tried to get the ball to our athletes in space so they could make plays,” said Coach Pat Cilento. After a quiet second half, the Warriors walked out of the 1st round with a 49-7 win.

This week at home on November 15, the team has the tough task of taking on the reigning state champions. The Oakdale Bears are a big step up from Manchester Valley at 8-2 and with a +128 point deferential. Sherwood is no stranger to Oakdale; when the teams met up last year in the second round away at Oakdale, Oakdale dominated the Warriors, winning 42-14 on their way to the state championship. However, this is a better Sherwood team facing an Oakdale team that lost a lot of their key players from last year’s team.

Many Maryland High school football experts are predicting this to be one of the closest games of the week, between two of the best teams in 3A. The MoCo Show has labeled the matchup its game of the week and is predicting a 29-24 Sherwood win.