Can Guilford Park Do What No Howard County Football Team Has Done in a Decade?

Next up? Or a Guilford Park repeat?

Those are the questions circling Howard County in the preseason.

Howard County has long featured one of Maryland's most unpredictable and balanced public high school football conferences. Since 2017, nine of the league’s 13 members have either won or shared county championships. No school has won outright titles in consecutive seasons since Howard pulled off the feat in 2015 and 2016.

Is This the Start of Something Special at Guilford Park?

Can newcomer and defending county champ Guilford Park buck that trend and start a run of its own? Or will some other program, such as Oakland Mills, Glenelg or Marriotts Ridge, rise above in 2026?

The story of Guilford Park is brief but includes a meteoric rise not seen in the state since the 1990s. Guilford Park’s varsity program came into existence in 2024 after competing on the JV level as a new school in 2023. In its first season under coach Thomas Mantag, Guilford Park went 5-5. Last year, the Panthers opened with what was considered a somewhat surprising 19-13 win over Frederick.

Guilford Park then rolled through the eight-game county schedule, scoring 28 or more points in seven contests. The Panthers easily dispatched Chopticon in the 3A South quarterfinals before handing former 2A state champion Stephen Decatur its first postseason loss since 2022. Guilford Park’s season ended with a state quarterfinal loss to Westminster. he Panthers' improvement from 5-5 in their first varsity season to 11-1 in their second was Maryland's best such turnaround since Urbana went 5-5 in its first full season, followed by a 13-0 state title in 1998.

Howard County Storylines

For the first time, River Hill will be coached by someone not named Van Deusen. Breaon Klein-Hebron takes over this storied program following Brian Van Deusen's retirement from coaching. Van Deusen compiled 227 wins over a 26-year career from 2000 to 2025, including all four of the program’s state title seasons (2007, 2008, 2011, 2012). He had inherited the program from his father, Don Van Deusen, who coached River Hill from its inception in 1996 through 1999.

Game of the Year

Guilford Park visits Oakland Mills on Oct. 9. Guilford Park’s 25-20 victory last year was Oakland Mills’ only regular-season loss, while also serving as the defining win of the Panthers’ perfect regular season. This year’s rematch could once again decide the Howard County title.

Howard County Front-Runners

Guilford Park: Senior running back Tyler Lee returns after rushing for 2,059 yards and 35 touchdowns last season while earning Howard County Offensive Player of the Year honors. Coupled with returning quarterback A'Yar Reed-Wright, who passed for 1,898 yards and 16 scores, Andrew Adams, who led the team in receiving yards, and All-Region DB Elijah Best, it’s easy to see why the county's coaches unanimously picked Guilford Park to repeat.

Oakland Mills: The Scorpions are the coaches’ preseason No. 2 choice, and the results back it up. Oakland Mills is 13-2 in league play over the past two seasons. While Guilford Park is built around athletes, Oakland Mills’ strength appears to be its line play, with returning all-region performers Archie Wethington and Nasiyr Crier.

Glenelg: Air Force commit Mason Knapp and Chase Dustin will be blocking for returning running back Jai’len Johnson. While Glenelg finished 4-4 league play in 2025, the team got hot in the postseason and made a run to the 2A state semifinals.

Players to Watch

Pos.: Name, School, Grad Year, Commitment (if any)

ATH: Rodney Butler, Marriotts Ridge, 2027

ATH: Andrew Adams, Guilford Park, 2027

ATH: Jaydin Gore, Wilde Lake, 2027

DB: Elijah Best, Guilford Park, 2027

DB: Nicolas Robertson, River Hill, 2027

DB: Donte Jones, Howard, 2027

DL: Andrew Coleman, Howard, 2027

DL: Nasiyr Crier, Oakland Mills, 2027

LB: Jayson Allen, Howard, 2027

LB: Robbie Johnson, Oakland Mills, 2027

OL: Josh Kim, Marriotts Ridge, 2027

OL: Chase Dustin, Glenelg, 2027

OL: Archie Wethington, Oakland Mills, 2028

OL/DL: Max Toone, River Hill, 2028

OL/DL: Mason Knapp, Glenelg, 2027, Air Force

PK/P: Orlando Wright, Glenelg, 2027

QB: Blake Willingham, Marriotts Ridge, 2027

QB: Landen Araojo, River Hill, 2027

QB: A'Yar Reed-Wright, Guilford Park, 2027

RB: Tyler Lee, Guilford Park, 2027

RB: Jai'len Johnson, Glenelg, 2027

RB: Logan Shatzer, River Hill, 2027

WR: Jordan Dailey, Atholton, 2027

WR: Kameron Jennifer, Long Reach, 2028

WR: Emanjuel Williams, Marriotts Ridge, 2027

WR/DB: Jahari Kinney, Howard, 2027

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