Inside Maryland High School Football: Howard’s Defense Does the Scoring

Howard High School reinforced the adage that “the best offense is a good defense” last week, scoring four touchdowns on interception returns in a 55-12 victory over Hammond. It was one of the most dominant defensive performances in Maryland high school football this season.

In fact, Howard’s defense alone outscored Hammond.

A trio of Howard players combined for six total interceptions, returning four for scores. Jamir Smith returned two INTs for touchdowns while Donte Jones, who had three picks, and Jahari Kinney each returned one for a score.

The obvious question: Are four pick-sixes in one game a record?

The fair answer is: Not sure.

The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) does not track team interception returns for touchdowns in a game as a statistical category, so there is no national record to consult. Maryland does not maintain a state record for the feat, either.

A search of Maryland high school records turned up possible examples of three interception-return touchdowns in a game by Friendly and North Hagerstown. Those instances, however, remain unconfirmed.

Brock Harmon of Washington (Okla.) returned three interceptions for touchdowns in one quarter against Hinton (Okla.) in 2013. But there is no indication there was a fourth by Harmon or the team in that contest.

Passing Frenzy

Carlos Spencer leads the state with 1,368 passing yards through Loyola Blakefield’s 4-0 start. The Dons have seven games remaining, with as many as nine if they advance to the MIAA A Conference final.

If Spencer maintains his current pace, a big if given the level of competition ahead, he would finish with more than 4,000 passing yards, making him only the third quarterback in Maryland history to reach that milestone.

Interestingly, one of the other two is Blake Pasik of Northern-Calvert, who played for Rich Holzer, Loyola’s current coach.

Gaithersburg Score Swing

Gaithersburg pinned a 61-0 defeat on Watkins Mill, marking the third straight shutout in a Gaithersburg game. But the swings in those three games have been drastic.

The streak began with Gaithersburg’s 41-0 victory over Northwood, followed by a 30-0 loss to Seneca Valley. The Trojans then bounced back with the 61-0 win over Watkins Mill.

That 91-point swing from Week 3 to Week 4 is the largest such swing among Maryland high schools this season.

Three Games in Eight Days

Kent County’s game at Nandua (Va.) was rescheduled to Monday but postponed again after the field remained unplayable following the weekend’s storm.

That created a serious scheduling problem for Kent County.

The Trojans already had one game canceled, and a second cancellation would have left them with a seven-game schedule. Instead, Kent County agreed to play Nandua on Monday, Oct. 19, giving the Trojans three games in eight days as they work to preserve an eight-game schedule.

Kent County will host Washington on Thursday, Oct. 15, travel to Nandua on Oct. 19, and then host Col. Richardson on Oct. 23.

Close Call for Centennial

Centennial lost 24-21 to Poolesville last week, the closest this Howard County program has come to a victory since its last win – in 2022.

Centennial’s football struggles are well known. Nearly a decade ago, the then 3A school did not field a varsity team. Since the COVID Pandemic in 2020, Centennial has won only two games – one each in 2021 and 2022. The program is mired in a current 41-game losing streak.

Instead of being locked into a daunting county schedule for Centennial, the program has been given the latitude to schedule outside the county to get more reasonably competitive opponents. This past

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