Football poll countdown: No. 1 Gilman
Our countdown of the preseason top five teams concludes with the No. 1 team in the area, Gilman.
If you missed any of the previous top five, they can all be found on Varsity Letters.
The entire poll will be released Thursday in The Baltimore Sun and on baltimoresun.com
And check out a preview of this year's I-95 Kickoff Classic, which will feature Gilman and two other teams in our the top five.
1. Gilman
Coach: Biff Poggi.
Last season: 7-2, ranked No. 2. Postseason: N/A, MIAA A Conference regular-season runner up.
Outlook: The Greyhounds return so many starters from a team that finished strong last year that's it's hard to think of any other team as the preseason No. 1. They face tests on the local and national stages as they go for their 10th MIAA A Conference championship.
In addition to a full slate of A Conference competition, the Greyhounds play Oscar Smith from Virginia at the I-95 Kickoff Classic at Morgan State on Sept. 2 and Good Counsel in the Patriot Classic at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium on Sept. 10. Last season, they took on Don Bosco, from New Jersey, which finished the season No. 1 in most national polls, falling 33-6.
Last season, the Greyhounds defeated Archbishop Spalding, Good Counsel and DeMatha, but stumbled against Calvert Hall. They ran out to a 21-7 lead but gave up 19 points, including two late touchdowns, to fall 26-21. After that, Gilman defeated Loyola, Mount St. Joseph and McDonogh by a combined score of 154-20.
Gone are Offensive Player of the Year Darius Jennings, who was also the Gatorade Maryland Player of the Year and an Under Armour All-American, and All-Metro lineman Hunter Goodwin, but the Greyhounds return three of All-Metro players and a dozen potential Division I players. Six starters return on offense and eight on defense.
All-Metro cornerback Cyrus Jones, rated the No. 3 recruit in Maryland and the top recruit in Baltimore by MDHigh.com, should be even better on the offensive side where he is heir to the Jennings kingdom. Jones, who is considering college offers from just about anyone who is anyone, will be tough to stop.
Also back are All-Metro offensive lineman Brian Gaia (Penn State) and All-Metro defensive end Kenneth Goins (multiple offers). Add to that senior linebacker Devon Porchia (Pittsburgh) and a couple of highly-recruited juniors -- tight end/defensive tackle Henry Poggi and tight end/linebacker Micah Kiser -- and you're still just getting started.
Shane Cockerille, a junior quarterback, transferred from DeMatha and should provide added dimensions to the Greyhounds' offense that ran a lot out of the Wildcat with Jennings at quarterback.
With all of that talent, the Greyhounds will be the team to beat in the A Conference after finishing runner-up to Calvert Hall last season despite identical 5-1 records. The head-to-head decision made the difference in a league that has previously had ties although Gilman has won seven of its titles outright.
The Greyhounds are already on everyone's radar, ranked No. 47 nationally in ESPN High School’s Powerade Fab 50.
(Photo of Kenneth Goins by The Baltimore Sun's Karl Merton Ferron)
