Archbishop Spalding vs. DeMatha: Live Score Updates From Maryland Top-3 Showdown

The 2026 Maryland high school football season kicks off Friday night with No. 3 Archbishop Spalding and No. 2 DeMatha meeting in heavyweight season opener at the Prince George's Sports and Learning Complex.

DeMatha brings a 21-game winning streak into the matchup. Spalding happens to be the last team to beat the Stags.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. Follow this page throughout the game for live score updates, highlights and key moments.

Refresh This Page Throughout the Game for Live Updates

Extra-point good. DeMatha 7-0 with 11:56 left in the secong quarter. Stags went 27 yards in four plays.

TOUCHDOWN DEMATHA. Grant with a 1-yard score.

DeMatha at Spalding's 1 to end the opening quarter. A 12 and 8-yard run by TJ Grant has Stags in position. 0-0 after one.

DeMatha with good field position at Spalding;s 27 for next drive.

Spalding to punt ball back to DeMatha.

Spalding to start drive at its 12.

DeMatha to punt after getting two yards in drive.

DeMatha starts at Spalding's 33 for next drive.

Spalding to punt after a three-and-out,

Spalding starts second drive at its 14.

DeMatha prepares to punt. Two holding penatlies including one negating a huge run from Cam Willford spoiled drive.

Two holding penalties hurting DeMatha.

Grant with a 6-yard run.

DeMatha's first possession of the season with starts at its 11.

Spalding faced with a 4-and-3 from Stags' 47 will punt,

Spalding crosses into DeMatha territory.

Snowden completes 10-yard pass for a 1st down.

Spalding gets the kickoff and stats at their 19.

Spalding is wearing white tops and bottoms while DeMatha is wearing red tops with white pants.

It's about 81 degrees under partly cloudy skies in Landover.

We're roughly 12 minutes from kickoff!

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

What: No. 3 Archbishop Spalding vs. No. 2 DeMatha Catholic
When: Friday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Prince George's Sports and Learning Complex

Preview

There's little debate entering the season about St. Frances Academy's status as Maryland's No. 1 high school football team.

The race immediately behind the Panthers gets its first major test Friday night.

No. 2 DeMatha and No. 3 Archbishop Spalding meet in a season opener featuring the reigning champions of two of the state's premier conferences.

DeMatha Brings 21-Game Win Streak

DeMatha, ranked No. 2 in the High School on SI Maryland preseason Top 25 rankings, has won the last two Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Capital Division titles. The Stags return quarterback Tristian Saab, who directed the team to an 11-0 mark as a junior last season.

On defense, DeMatha is led by Auburn commits James Pace, a 6-foot-4, 235-pound defensive end, and Kynair Crumb, a 6-1, 195-pound safety. The Stags will bring a 21-game winning streak – one shy of the school record – into Friday’s showdown.

Spalding Was the Last Team to Beat DeMatha

Spalding also owns a distinction no other team has managed in nearly two years: The Cavaliers are the last team to defeat DeMatha, beating the Stags 24-10 in their 2024 season opener. The Cavaliers are scheduled to play two more WCAC Capital powers – St. John’s College (D.C.) and Our Lady of Good Counsel – to start the 2026 campaign.

Spalding (10-2 last season), the consensus preseason No. 3 team in Maryland, has won four straight Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference championships. Brian Snowden, who took over as quarterback just two games into his freshman season last year, is back to lead the Cavaliers’ offense. Senior wide receiver Myles McAfee, a Maryland commit, returns after suffering a season-ending lower leg injury in the 2025 season opener.

Brock Frisby, a 6-3, 265-pound lineman committed to Virginia Tech, will anchor Spalding’s defense.

New Coaches Debut on Both Sidelines

Friday will also mark the head-coaching debuts of R.G. Green at Spalding and Bryce Bevill at DeMatha. Green, a longtime Naval Academy assistant, takes over for Kyle Schmitt, who left Spalding in January to become the tight ends coach at his alma mater Maryland.

Bevill, a former DeMatha star who has held coaching and administrative positions at the high school, college and NFL levels, is the Stags’ interim coach this season for legendary headman Bill McGregor, who’s stepping away from the sidelines for personal reasons (serving this season as the program’s director of operations).

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