Welcome to week four of looking ahead to the return of Maryland high school fall sports! As we prepare for the start of the fall season, especially with practices kicking off in just a couple days, CSZ works hard to get you the high school sports info you are looking for, faster and easier. This weekly newsletter brings the latest scores, updates, and highlights straight to your inbox. If you love it, share it so others can subscribe too. If it is not for you, feel free to unsubscribe and visit us anytime at CountySports.Zone. Most of the content below is image based, so depending on how you are viewing, you may need to download the images to see everything.

Last fall, a pair of Baltimore County teams made the MPSSAA final four, including Milford Mill in the 3A bracket and Perry Hall in the 4A/3A tournament. This fall, Baltimore County teams all set out with the same goal — be the first BCPS team since the Millers in 2022 to win a state championship. Scroll down to read more about how some of last year’s top teams look heading into the first week of the preseason!

Milford Mill made it the farthest of any county team, reaching the 3A state semifinals before a loss to the future state champion, Linganore. This year will look much different for the team coming off a final four appearance. The Millers had 17 athletes nominated for the BCPS all-county team in 2025, and of those 17, just three will return to the roster this fall. Those three include Jahleel Harris, Da’Rell Mercer, and Dejuan “DJ” Nelson. The team lost a major senior class that included nine college commits, headlined by Damon Ferguson Jr. (Pitt), Koby Sarkodie (NC State), and TJ Turner (Towson). Milford Mill will likely remain one of the top teams in Baltimore County, if not the best, but expect regression early this season. 

Perry Hall had a tough go to start their season, getting outscored 135-27 in their first three games. Despite this, the Gators reached the 4A/3A semifinal, falling to the Sherwood Warriors. As head coach Robb Johnson enters his second year, he will once again have rising senior Joey Albrecht taking snaps and fellow 2027 Savone Hutton to lead the ground attack. The defense could also see growing pains, as the Gators will be without defensive back Noah Williams, who is entering his freshman year at Georgetown. 

Sparrows Point was the county’s other undefeated team in 2025, playing eight regular season games and earning two playoff wins. In the quarterfinals loss, quarterback Maceo Hardnett, who will not return this fall, threw for over 300 yards against the Lackey Chargers. Mikey Maynor was the key to the offense, rushing for almost 1,200 yards and 13 touchdowns, but he also graduated last fall. Despite the major losses, the Pointers will return four all-region athletes for their senior season including defensive lineman Connor Christensen, receiver Paxton Clark, ATH Macin McNew, and kicker Toby Stallings. 

Hereford dominated last regular season, going 7-2, winning one of the highest-scoring games in the county, a 49-48 road win at Parkville, and scoring at least 30 in five of nine games. In the postseason, the Bulls started off strong, defeating North East (Cecil County) and Fallston by a combined 84-0 before falling 39-38 in overtime against a Liberty team that advanced following Middletown forfeiting their round two win. After the gut wrenching elimination last fall, Hereford will enter 2026 out for blood, and will be led by two-way Yale commit Reed Shilling and all-region linebacker Quinn Walter, entering his junior season. 

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New Town’s 2025 record is the most misleading of any team in the county. The Titans’ largest win margins were 18 and 14, but three of their four losses were by 35 points or more, with the largest loss being 50-8 in the regular season against Milford Mill. The team’s roster shows that the Titans are in win-now mode with 17 of 23 athletes graduating after this season. Senior linebacker Kenneth Giles and Desmond Ricks will return to lead New Town entering this fall. 

Towson’s program had a major turnaround year in 2025, going from 0-10 in 2024 to 7-4 last fall under first year head coach Will Thompson. Raf Plumo is entering his second year as the varsity starting quarterback following a junior year campaign that saw a 62% completion rate with just under 700 yards. The team’s split backfield from last year will transition to a one man system this fall led by Omari Rowell, who notably had a five touchdown game in 2025 against Loch Raven. Defensively, Chase Simmons, who ranked second last fall in total tackles, and Vincent DiPietro, who led the team in tackles for loss, will both return this fall to lead the defense. 

Uncertainty surrounds Pikesville’s program heading into the 2026 season. The Panthers struggled for several years, and at the start of 2025, Mike Bradley took over as head coach, leading the team to a 6-3 record and a playoff win. However, after just one year, Bradley departed for Catonsville to lead their JV squad. Additionally, the team will be without quarterback Karson Pringle, who is off to American International College, and Emanuel Moore, who will play for Showtime Prep. First year head coach Maurice Cook will have holes to fill as he takes over in Pikesville this season.

Franklin had a strong start last season, winning six of their first seven, but their season finished with three straight losses, including two against New Town. Three of the four quarterbacks on last year’s roster, including starter Zander McCracken who surpassed 2,000 career passing yards last fall, will not return to this year’s roster. Rising junior Jacob Howard is the lone QB left on the Indians’ roster and will likely be under center at the start of this campaign. Franklin will also retain two of their top three receivers in rising junior Korbin Gilbert and rising senior Cruz Fleet. Defensively, the team will lose three athletes who combined for 58 tackles for loss but retain Nathan Damiano who led Franklin in tackles. 

Stay tuned to County Sports Zone for more preview articles and power rankings for Baltimore County high school sports in the coming weeks! Practices kick off the Wednesday before the regular season gets underway on September 4.

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