Fall Sports Recap (Part Two) and Recognizing Upcoming Athletic Department Changes

FOOTBALL 🏈

The Quince Orchard Cougars won their second consecutive state championship and fourth in five years this past season! This marks the ninth state title won by a Montgomery County team in the last decade. Aside from QO’s undefeated season, Churchill and Sherwood had the best records in MoCo, finishing at 11-2. Click this link or scroll down to learn more about the top eight MCPS teams with the deepest football playoff runs!

1. Quince Orchard (2025: 14-0)

The Cougars were Montgomery County’s only team to finish the regular season undefeated in 2025. Across their 9-0 season, QO averaged just seven points per game against, a number inflated by a 35-28 win in week six against Sherwood. Without the 28 points given up against Sherwood, seven points per game would drop to just 4.4. The offense’s best game of the regular season came in week two, scoring 56 points at Walter Johnson. Quince Orchard’s best game of the season came in the regional quarterfinals in a 56-0 win over Gaithersburg, the team’s second win over the Trojans last season. After wins over Northwest and Flowers, QO took down Broadneck 35-0 in the 4A semifinals, and in the state championship game, the Cougars defeated the Wise Pumas 26-21 to earn their fourth state championship in five seasons. QO graduated five seniors heading to play at the next level including Tristan Cabugwas (Salisbury), JS Macken (West Liberty), Simen Njotang (Fairmont State), Diego Rodriguez (Albany) and Nick Yale (Fairmont State).

2. Sherwood (2025: 11-2)

In 2024, Sherwood finished their season with a 10-3 record, reaching the state semifinals before being eliminated by the Arundel Wildcats. This season, led by four college commits, the Warriors looked to reach their first state championship since 2008. This season’s team kicked off their season on a five game winning streak. Weeks one through three saw the Warriors outscore Magruder, Seneca Valley, and Rockville 124-7. Their only regular season loss came in week three against Quince Orchard 35-28, and following the week six loss, Sherwood allowed 14 total points to their final three opponents. In the postseason, the team’s success undeniably continued, as the Warriors outscored Kennedy, North Point, and Perry Hall 110-27, sending them to the state championship for the first time in 18 years. Sherwood’s quest for glory fell short in the end as the Warriors fell 40-20 against the Mervo Mustangs. The four commits include Grayson Awkard (Shenandoah), Adrian Hamilton (Livingstone), AJ Lopez (Stevenson) and Jefferson Serkfem (Richmond).

3. Churchill (2025: 11-2)

The front half of the Bulldogs’ season saw an undefeated start across weeks one through four. Over the four games, Churchill’s best game came in week four, defeating Whitman 35-0. Churchill also won a one-touchdown game at Northwest, beating the Jaguars 28-21. After a loss to Quince Orchard in week five, the Bulldogs had their best offensive game of the season, scoring 51 in a week six win at Gaithersburg. The team averaged 29.7 points per game across weeks seven through nine, sending them into the postseason at 8-1. Churchill scored five touchdowns in both games of the regional bracket, beating Clarksburg and Richard Montgomery, and six against Blair in the state quarterfinals. Their season came to an end in the semifinals against the Wise Pumas in a 42-7 loss. Junior Hunter Humphries threw for more than 1,750 yards in 13 games with a 23 to seven touchdown to interception ratio. Senior Noah Zhang had over 1,500 all-purpose yards with 17 scores last season. Towson commit Bryan Ngouzo is the team’s lone college commit graduating this season.

4. Paint Branch (2025: 8-3)

Despite a 35-point week one home loss, the Panthers put together one of Montgomery County’s best seasons. After the opening night defeat, Paint Branch scored 55 in a shutout win at Einstein followed by 61 at home against Blair. Those two games were the beginning of a seven game win streak from week two through week eight. The streak also saw the Panthers score 63 at Springbrook in week six and 61 at home against Whitman in week seven. Paint Branch lost their second game of the season in week nine at Churchill, earning the team a 7-2 record going into the playoffs. The Panthers took down Blake 34-14 in the regional championship before Broadneck ended their season in a 37-22 state quarterfinals loss. Senior quarterback Vincent Do threw for 1,924 yards with 26 touchdowns and nine picks. Junior Alijah Bah, a running back receiving power four looks, rushed for 1,280 yards with 18 scores while adding 323 receiving yards and six touchdowns through the air. Kaden Chapman and Josh Jean-Baptiste are the team’s two senior commits. Chapman will play at Morgan State while Jean Baptiste will head to Stevenson in the fall.

5. Blair (2025: 6-6)

The first half of the Blazers’ season was rough, but the team picked up steam in the back half. Weeks one through three each resulted in Blair losses, including a 32-0 against Wheaton, 50-12 at Bethesda-CC, and 61-14 at Paint Branch. Blair shutout Einstein 42-0, but that win was followed by a shutout loss against the Blake Bengals. The Blazers tied a season high of 42-points in weeks six and seven against Whitman and Springbrook. A week nine loss at Northwest ended the win streak, but that didn’t stop the team from earning their second win of the season against Bethesda-CC and Wheaton en route to a regional championship, but their season ended by a 42-7 loss to Churchill in the 4A quarterfinals.

6. Blake (2025: 6-5)

After a nine win season in 2024, the Bengals looked to reach the double-digit victory mark and return to the state semifinals for the first time since 2023. This looked like a possibility three weeks into the season as Blake won each of their first three games. After scoring just seven points in a week one win over Northwest, the Bengals scored 49 in week two at Whitman and 61 against Springbrook, marking the team’s best offensive performance in over a decade. Blake suffered a loss at Sherwood, but bounced back with wins over Blair and Magruder. With a 5-1 record, Blake lost each of their final three games, scoring just 11 points per game in the stretch. The team took down Laurel by 20 in the regional semifinals, but their season ended in a 20-point regional championship loss to Paint Branch. Blake graduated five seniors committed to play football at the next level including Areef Comara (Salisbury), Aaron Harris (Seton Hill), Marley Hutchinson (Coppin State), Cerrell Walker (Seton Hill) and Benji Wilson (Monmouth).

7. Wheaton (2025: 8-3)

The Knights kicked off their season with back-to-back 30+ point wins, scoring 32 at Blair in week one followed by 63 at home against Springbrook, the team’s best offensive performance in a decade. After a third straight win over Poolesville, the Knights dropped back-to-back games against Bethesda-CC and Richard Montgomery. With a 3-2 record, Wheaton won each of the last four games of their regular season. The stretch saw a 40-6 win over Einstein and a 38-point shutout in week seven against Northwood. Wheaton earned their biggest shutout win of the season in the regional semis against Northwestern, beating the Wildcats 39-0, but their season ended against Blair in the regional title game, losing 36-14. Wheaton’s has one athlete graduating this season heading to the next level in tight end and defensive end Jerusalem Alabi, who will play in 2026 at Salisbury University

8. Northwest (2025: 6-5)

The Jaguars had a rough start to their 2025 campaign, losing three of their first four games. The stretch saw a week one loss at Blake with just 10 total points scored, followed by a 28-21 loss against Churchill. Northwest’s first win of the season came in week three by two scores at Bethesda-CC, and the team’s first win streak spanned from weeks five through seven. During the streak, the Jags averaged 41 points per game offensively while allowing just one touchdown to Gaithersburg, Seneca Valley, and Walter Johnson. After a 42-7 week nine win over Blair, the Jags picked up their second win over the Wildcats in the regional semis before their season came to a close in a loss against Quince Orchard in the title game. Northwest graduated five athletes committed to play collegiate football including Isaac Barkers (Shepherd), Nicholas Estrada (Lycoming), Isaiah Taylor (Towson), Jayden Vongprachanh-Nelson (West Liberty), and Joshua Whitt (Bridgewater).

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RECOGNIZING ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT CHANGES

After 29 years in Montgomery County, Walter Johnson’s athletic director, Larry Hurd Jr., has announced he will retire as of the beginning of October. Click this link to read more about Hurd’s time at Walter Johnson and in the county as a whole. Mara Fitzgerald, the Bethesda-Chevy Chase girls basketball head coach, has also accepted a position at a collegiate basketball program. Click this link to read more about her time at B-CC and what the future could hold! Are you a coach or athletic director moving to a new position? Retiring? Do you know someone who is? Write to us at the email below.

After 29 years in Montgomery County and four at the head of Walter Johnson’s athletic department, Larry Hurd Jr. will retire from MCPS in early October 2026.

Under his leadership, Walter Johnson won their first baseball state championship in program history in 2025 under head coach Steve Sutherland. The Wildcats graduated 20 athletes moving on to play at the next level. In his career, Hurd has assisted over 150 student athletes with college recruitment and opportunities at the next level.

Hurd spent 20 years as head football coach across Poolesville, Clarksburg, and Walter Johnson, amassing a career 132-67 record. During his time as a head coach, Hurd brought Clarksburg to the 2A state semifinals in 2007 and Walter Johnson to the 4A state quarterfinals in his final year as a head coach in 2023.

Aside from football, Hurd spent 11 years as a basketball coach and four leading baseball and softball programs in Montgomery County. Hurd has been inducted into both the Poolesville and Quince Orchard High School’s athletic hall of fame, has been awarded the Walter Johnson Wildcat Diamond Award, and was named the Baltimore Ravens Coach of the Week in week five of the 2022 season.

With 33 years of coaching experience under his belt, in an interview with The MoCo Show, Hurd said he plans on pursuing another coaching gig in the future.

The winter 2026-27 season will be the first in seven years where Mara Fitzgerald will not be a member of Bethesda-Chevy Chase’s coaching staff.

“Coach Fitz” first joined the Barons’ program as an assistant during the 2019-2020 season after moving to the DMV area. That season saw B-CC finish the regular season at 20-3 before their elimination in the regional semifinals. After not having a season in 2020-21, the Barons won 16 and 17 games in their next two seasons.

The 2023-24 season was the school’s best on record. The Barons finished the regular season at 19-2 before winning the county championship and eventually reaching the 4A state championship game.

In March of 2025, longtime Barons’ head coach Ryan Ingalls stepped down, and Fitzgerald took on the head coaching job.

Despite a rocky start to the regular season, Bethesda-CC ended the 2025-26 season on a 9-4 run, giving the team an 11-10 record before a playoff win over Walter Johnson.

After this past season, the Pittsburgh native announced she would be returning home to join the Chatham University women’s basketball team as an assistant coach. Chatham is an NCAA Division III school that participates in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference, PAC. Chatham’s head coach David Saur said that he looks forward to Fitzgerald’s “ability to connect with young people and serve as a mentor [making her] a perfect fit for our culture.”

Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School’s athletics website lists Coach Ingalls as the head coach for the 2026-27 season.

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PROGRAMMING NOTE

Stay tuned for upcoming newsletters with detailed sections about MCPS running, including cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field, and MoCo wrestling!

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