Two Maryland High School Football State Championship Contenders Forfeit Week 1 Games

Two Maryland high school football games scheduled for Friday will be played, but their outcomes are already determined.

North Point and Westlake, two recent Southern Maryland Athletic Conference football powers, will forfeit their season-opening contests due to what was determined to be out-of-season violations, according to both teams’ head coaches.

North Point coach Bill Condo issued an email statement to the North Point community earlier this week. Westlake coach DaLawn Parrish already had informed his team. A third Charles County school also was initially ordered to forfeit its Week 1 game, but its coach confirmed to HS on SI that the school won an appeal and will not forfeit the game.

Despite the forfeits, North Point will visit McDonough on Friday, while Westlake will travel to Patuxent.

A phone message left Wednesday to the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association seeking confirmation and clarification was not returned. A call placed Thursday to the Charles County supervisor of athletics also was not returned.

According to Condo’s email to the North Point community, the violation involved “participation in a non-school team setting that exceeded the allowable 80% threshold of returning players under the supervision of contracted coaches during a restricted period outside of the defined sports season.”

Condo and Parrish said their teams are required to play the games despite the forfeits. If either team wins, the game will officially be recorded as a forfeit loss. If either team loses, the on-field result will stand because the forfeit already has been assessed.

North Point is one of the state’s top-ranked public-school programs and is expected to contend for the Class 3A-4A state championship. Westlake, which reached the state semifinals in 2024, is expected to compete for a Class 2A state playoff berth.

Because every MPSSAA school qualifies for the postseason, the practical impact of a Week 1 forfeit is limited. The loss, at most, could affect a team’s postseason seeding.

North Point faced a similar situation last season, although for a different violation. The school was forced to forfeit seven regular-season victories, turning what had been a perfect season into a 2-7 record. North Point still reached the state quarterfinals, but entered as the lowest seed and lost to Sherwood, which went on to finish as the state runner-up.

North Point would have been a heavy favorite against McDonough. It defeated McDonough, 34-0, last season before that result was later forfeited.

The Westlake-Patuxent matchup was a more intriguing Week 1 game. Westlake was coming off a season in which it lost to league rival and eventual Class 2A state runner-up Northern-Calvert in the regional playoffs. Patuxent, meanwhile, won the Class 1A state championship last season and is among the favorites to repeat. Patuxent won last year’s Week 1 meeting with Westlake, 34-27.

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