This was not a postseason win, however. It was something quite different and, arguably, more meaningful. Thursday’s victory was the Wolverines’ first since Nov. 1, 2019.

“I love this team and this community,” Wilson said. “It’s a community that’s overlooked, a lot of people don’t think about Watkins Mill and Montgomery Village. But it’s a proud community. A tightknit community. And the kids are wonderful here. They strive to be great, to make their families proud.”

Wilson is in his second year leading the Wolverines. The school, located in Gaithersburg and serving mostly students from the Montgomery Village area, was hit hard by the pandemic. In the 2019 season, the last before an extended pause, the Wolverines finished 6-4. When football resumed in 2021, they went two years without a victory.

“Schools like ours got absolutely crushed,” Wilson said. “This is an area that has a lot of needs. And during the pandemic that connection to the school community was strained. So I think a lot of kids left this program and other athletic programs. Things took a nosedive. And I think the Montgomery Village area is still recovering. But we’re on the come-up.”

When he inherited the program, Wilson estimates he had fewer than 20 football players. After recruiting dozens of new faces, many of them taking up the sport for the first time, the coach asked his group to keep the faith as the Wolverines went winless last fall.

“We live in a culture where if things aren’t working out sometimes people are quick to leave,” Wilson said. “Kids especially look for greener pastures. But we have such a great group of kids that stayed and worked their butts off. They fight for each other and they kept their eyes on this prize.”

The prize arrived Thursday when the Wolverines turned in a complete performance against Wheaton, getting major contributions from playmakers old and new. Two-way sophomore Kayon Prather led the way, running for 122 yards and four touchdowns and getting two sacks and three tackles for a loss on defense.

“It’s hard to describe just how happy I am for them,” Wilson said. “These players are an inspiration to me.”

Maret is off to a prolific 4-0 start

Maret’s offense doesn’t look like other offenses, Coach Mike Engelberg said, because its football team doesn’t look like other football teams.

That’s not a bad thing. The Frogs are 4-0, averaging 43 points per game.

Their entire offensive line has tremendous footwork. That’s probably because all five starters play lacrosse. Their skill players are particularly agile in tight spaces; it helps that six offensive starters are on the basketball team.

“It’s a blast,” senior quarterback Roman Jensen said. “When you get guys who play multiple sports, they’re competing year-round.”

For the 18th year under Engelberg, the Frogs also maintain a no-huddle offense, which, because of the Northwest Washington school’s academically rigorous student body, doesn’t have too steep of a learning curve. Still, at its core, it doesn’t work without a poised quarterback smart enough to keep the spread offense, rife with presnap motions and triple options, churning.

“He’s the most mature, poised high school athlete I’ve met — you’d think you’re dealing with a 40-year-old man,” Engleberg said. “He could handle a mortgage and taxes and all that right now.”

The offense doesn’t see itself in its final form, which may be hard to believe considering Jensen is 63 for 75 with 1,078 yards and 12 touchdowns through the air to go with seven rushing touchdowns. But, he said, they’re getting smarter, tougher and more complex each week.

“The intelligence is one of the main reasons we’re able to run our offense as fast as we do … and install new things each week,” Jensen said. “We’re always ready on game day.”

Marcus McCritty, Magruder: The senior looked unstoppable in the Colonels’ 32-29 win over Clarksburg, totaling 24 carries for 212 yards and three touchdowns.

Jayden Watts, Bell: A dominant force in the Griffins’ 38-0 win against Ron Brown, the junior receiver scored four touchdowns, including a 90-yard run.

Jameson Coffman, Archbishop Spalding: The senior receiver, a three-star lacrosse recruit, came up big with three touchdowns in the Cavaliers’ win over Calvert Hall.

Dominic Plush, Champe: The sophomore quarterback tossed three touchdown passes in a dominant win over Heritage just weeks after taking over for the Knights, whose starter got injured.

North Point at Calvert, Friday, 7 p.m.

South County at Madison, Friday, 7 p.m.

No. 9 Friendship Collegiate at No. 12 Gonzaga, Friday, 7 p.m.

Bladensburg at Bowie, Saturday, 2 p.m.

Digital Pioneers’ first win is for late friend

After four students were fatally shot last school year, including football player DeMarcos Pinckney over the summer, the Digital Pioneers Pythons have taken the field with a mix of sorrow and determination.

On Friday, those emotions carried them to their first win in school history, 22-8, against Paul Public Charter.

“It pushed us to be more dedicated and more motivated to want to win more,” sophomore lineman Brian Gale said of honoring the legacy of his friends. “I never met anybody that wanted to win more than [Pinckney].”

On Thursday, Gale and his teammates were invited to attend a baseball game at Nationals Park, where they were welcomed onto the field to meet the players and received the proceeds from the game’s 50/50 raffle as a contribution to their developing football program.

It was the latest show of community support for the Pythons in the wake of tragedy. In June, the Washington Commanders announced a $75,000 donation to kick-start Digital Pioneers’ first season and hosted the team at practice for a chance to meet Coach Ron Rivera and Commanders players, including Chase Young and Emmanuel Forbes.

“You could say that’s our good-luck charm,” Gale said of the impact that support has had on his team.

And with a win now in hand, the Pythons are looking for ways they can offer joy back to their school community.

“Something told me that I just had to be on this team,” Gale said. “I wanted to have the experience to be called the first — the first-ever tackle, touchdown, wins, losses, support, everything. I wanted to be the first.”

Lightridge shines in second-half comeback

Lightridge Coach Bobby Eavenson Jr. didn’t raise his voice when the Bolts entered halftime down multiple scores against Langley on Friday. The coach instead issued a challenge to his team, urging players to meet their standard following an uncharacteristically sloppy first half.

“If you guys think this game is over then it’s over,” Eavenson told them. “If you’re going to feel sorry for yourself or anything like that, then just kindly stay in the locker room.”

Nobody stayed in the locker room when the team retook the field. The Bolts roared back for their third win of the season, scoring 17 unanswered points out of halftime to stun the Saxons, 30-29.

Junior Xavier Dillard was one of the Bolts listening keenly to his coach during his halftime speech. The defensive leader shined in the second half, finishing with 11 tackles, a forced fumble and a blocked punt. His block and the subsequent recovery came with just minutes left to play, setting up the game-winning 29-yard field goal by senior Connor Moyssiadis.

Dillard said Eavenson approached him personally during halftime to give additional motivation.

“He just told me to be the leader of the defense, keep my head up, keep everybody level-headed … because something can change just like that,” Dillard said.

Eavenson’s rallying cry worked. The Bolts can now enjoy their bye this week and before trying to capitalize on their momentum with tough bouts against Stone Bridge and Briar Woods on the horizon.