Can Anyone Stop Westminster in the Final Season of Carroll County Football?

The Owls have gone 54-4 against county opponents since 2017 as Carroll County's seven programs prepare to join the Central Maryland Conference in 2027.

Westminster looks to continue its dominance in Carroll County as the league enters its final season. Next year, Carroll County schools will join the Central Maryland Conference with schools from Frederick and Washington counties. | Lucas Smith

Westminster has dominated Carroll County football for nearly a decade. Now the Owls have one final season to add another championship before the league as it currently exists disappears.

The Owls are 54-4 against county opponents since 2017, winning the county title with a perfect 6-0 record five times and never finishing worse than 5-1 in league play during that span.

The landscape will change after this season, when Carroll County's seven programs join schools from Frederick and Washington counties in the Central Maryland Conference.

A little more than 10 years ago, those same three counties competed together in the Monocacy Valley Athletic League, a mega-conference of more than 20 schools divided into three, and sometimes four, divisions.

Westminster Is Still the Team to Beat

Coaches are quick to point to Westminster, a 3A state semifinalist last year, as the clear favorite in 2026, which will be the final year for the Carroll County League. Next year, Carroll County schools will reunite with Frederick and Washington County programs as part of a new-look Central Maryland Conference.

Westminster graduated plenty of talent from last year's 10-2 team but returns two of the county's top players in Gabe Lee and Isaiah Taylor.

Century returns most of its starting lineup from a team that went 4-2 in county play last season. The Knights and Winters Mill are considered Westminster's strongest challengers.

Liberty, which made a surprise state semifinal appearance after receiving a playoff forfeit victory, along with South Carroll and Manchester Valley, could also pose a threat. Francis Scott Key, the county's smallest school by enrollment, faces a more difficult rebuilding challenge.

Carroll County Storylines

Westminster faces Franklin, Urbana and Damascus in non-league play. All three have been state powers in the past, and those games should provide important tests as the Owls prepare for another postseason run.

The contrast has been significant. Since 2021, Westminster is 28-2 against Carroll County opponents but 9-6 in regular-season non-league games.

Coaching Stability Across Carroll County

While coaching changes have swept through other parts of Maryland this offseason, Carroll County has remained remarkably stable. There has not been a head coaching change in the county since Mike Crumley Jr. took over at South Carroll following the 2022 season.

Players to Watch

Position – Name, School, Class

ATH – Austin Denning, Winters Mill, 2027

DB – Brayden Mazalewski, South Carroll, 2027

DB – Amerian Warfield, Westminster, 2027

DB – Jace Thomas, Westminster, 2027

DL – Cameron Gernand, Century, 2027

DL – Carter Weddle, Liberty, 2027

LB – Gabe Lee, Westminster, 2027

LB – Isaiah Taylor, Westminster, 2027

LB – Davy Snyder, South Carroll, 2027

LB – Jarell Baker, Winters Mill, 2027

OL – Shane Kelley, Winters Mill, 2027

OL – Jacob Plummer, Century, 2027

OL – Aiden Wengert, Westminster, 2027

QB – Jacob Etzler, Francis Scott Key, 2027

QB – Bryan Peters, Liberty, 2029

RB – Jake Andolina, Winters Mill, 2027

RB – Luke Phillips, Winters Mill, 2027

RB/DB – Casen Doan, Westminster, 2027

RB/MLB – Barrett Tozer, Westminster, 2028

TE – Brayden Johnson, Century, 2028

WR – Will Koenig, Century, 2027