5 Programs that will be elite in 2021

  #5| Georgetown Prep Led by longtime head coach Dan Paro, the Little Hoyas are ready to emerge as one of Maryland’s top programs in 2021. Georgetown Prep is consistently dominant in lacrosse, baseball, basketball, and wrestling, however, football sometimes falls by the wayside. This will not be the case in 2021. Coach Paro’s high bar for excellence will have his squad chomping at the bit this season and it should be no surprise to anyone if Prep wins the IAC conference this year. In order to win the IAC championship, however, they’ll most likely have to go through the Bullis Bulldogs who are featured further down on the list.   #4| Damascus Over the past five seasons Damascus has shown why they should be consistently considered one of the best football programs in Maryland. Their center, [player_tooltip player_id="90273" first="Ryan" last="Linthicum"], recently committed to Clemson which is a prime example of the type of talent Damascus is capable of developing as well. In 2021, the Hornets are coming into the season led by a team with a lot of senior leadership and game experience which will bode well for them during this unprecedentedly difficult season. Watch out for Damascus to be a powerhouse in Maryland this season.   #3| Bullis The IAC is not generally known for its football dominance, but the presence of two of the conference’s programs on this list indicates otherwise for 2021. Bullis is going to be an absolute force this year on both sides of the ball. The Bulldog offense is led by, senior quarterback and Penn State commit, [player_tooltip player_id="90280" first="Christian" last="Veilleux"] who has already proved himself as one of the elite pocket passing quarterbacks in the nation. On defense, [player_tooltip player_id="90299" first="Nigel" last="Tate"] will play a crucial role as the commanding leader, and he will no doubt continue this leadership at Boston College where he is set to play next season. Tate is a ferocious presence on the front side of the defense which makes it almost impossible fort teams to establish a running game against them. It’s safe to say that the Bullis Bulldogs should be the favorites to win the IAC football championship in 2021.   #2| Quince Orchard Good luck scoring on Quince Orchard in 2021. This team has elite defenders at every position and, more specifically, three senior defenders ranked inside the top 25 on the class of 2021 collegiate prospect list. [player_tooltip player_id="90271" first="Demeioun" last="Robinson"], UMD committed senior defensive end, is arguably the best defensive prospect in the state of Maryland, and he is looking to finish his high school campaign with a state title. His fellow teammates [player_tooltip player_id="90292" first="Marcus" last="Bradley"] (DT) and [player_tooltip player_id="90287" first="Ryan" last="Barnes"] (CB) will also be focal points of the Cougar defense as they’ve already committed to both Maryland and Notre Dame respectively. You’d be hard pressed to find a more solid defense in the state than Quince Orchard this season, but ironically the final emerging program listed in this article might just take the cake.     #1| St. Frances Academy It’s going to be equally difficult to score on St. Frances Academy as it will be against Quince Orchard this year, but the deciding factor in this matchup will be the elite players St. Frances has on the offensive side as well. [player_tooltip player_id="90298" first="Xavier" last="Castillo"] is an absolute terror on St. Frances, and he holds an offer from the University of Alabama. While he remains undecided, we all know how seriously Alabama takes their offensive guard play. They do not hand those offers out to just anybody. Castillo has the unique ability to neutralize the highest level defensive threats on the other team which will pay dividends for the Panthers squad in tough matchups. Not to mention the presence of Aaron Willis (OLB), [player_tooltip player_id="90284" first="KaTron" last="Evans"] (DT),  and Clinton Burton Jr. (CB) on St. Frances, all of whom are ranked within the top 10 of the top 25 overall players list in the state of Maryland. St. Frances Academy will look to notch an undefeated season this year once 2021 gets rolling for the Panthers.