Seneca Valley-Quince Orchard: The Rematch

When Quince Orchard defeated Seneca Valley, 24-13, earlier this season, Seneca Coach Fred Kim had a feeling it wouldn't be the last time his Screamin' Eagles lined up against Dave Mencarini's Cougars this year.

"We still have an opportunity to see these guys again," Kim said after that Oct. 22 meeting, confident his team was capable of overcoming the loss and still had a chance of advancing to the playoffs. 

He was right.

This Friday night in North Potomac, the two Montgomery County teams will indeed clash again, but this time there will be even more on the line than bragging rights. This time, it's win or go home when the Cougars and the Screamin' Eagles battle it out in the first round of the Maryland state playoffs. 

Keys to the Game:

Kim said he is pleased with the way his team has rebounded since that loss last month, saying his team has approached the last two weeks with a more "business-like" focus.

Still, Kim is aware that his team was undone by mental miscues and sloppy turnovers the first time they faced the Cougars. He admitted that those are the mistakes that the Screamin' Eagles will have to avoid if they want to avenge that 11-point loss.

"We cannot make the same mistakes we made against those guys the first time. We gave up some big plays, had some turnovers—those are the things we can't do if we want to win the ball game," Kim said. "But if we can eliminate those mistakes, I think we'll be in good shape."

One of those "big plays" that Kim was referring to was a 67-yard pass completion from QO quarterback Drew Murphy to Eric Bishop late in the game that proved to be arguably the game's most decisive play, according to both coaches. 

On the other side, Mencarini also said that his team must minimize the big plays of senior running back Eddie Cunningham, one of the DC area's top rushers with 1,451 yards and 21 touchdowns. 

The Cougars did an admirable job of slowing Cunningham down the first time around. Cunningham rushed for 89 yards that game—his second lowest output of the season. But he finished the regular season with a 248-yard, 3-score performance last week. Mencarini said limiting Cunningham will definitely be a key Friday. 

The Current State of the Two Teams:

While both teams finished the regular season 8-2, Seneca Valley is arguably the hotter of the two teams right now. Since that loss to Quince Orchard three weeks ago, Seneca has gone 2-0 and outscored its opponents 83-21 in the process. Quince Orchard, meanwhile, has gone 1-1 since beating Seneca last month. Of course, that one loss was a 4-point decision the Cougars dropped in the regular season finale last week against the 9-1 Sherwood Warriors, 13-9.

But Mencarini said that because of the way his team ended the regular sesaon, his players are not heading into Friday's game with any kind of over-confidence. "All we have to do is remind them about last week and how we played in our last game. We made some mistakes that cost us the game. That in itself, combined with the fact that it's a sudden death, win-or-go home situation should be enough motivation," Mencarini said.

The fact that his team already beat the Screamin' Eagles this season is really of no relevance heading into this weekend, Mencarini stated. 

How the Playoff Rematch was Set Up:

With two weeks left in the season, QO and Seneca had each clinched playoff berths, but the two schools didn't find out they were playing each other until Saturday afternoon.

Heading into last weekend, there were several scenarios that would have pit the two teams against one another—one of those scenarios included Linganore losing to Urbana Saturday. Kim and Mencarini sat together at that game and watched as Urbana prevailed, ensuring the rematch between QO and Seneca was set.  

What's Next:

The winner of the QO-Seneca game takes on the winner of the Linganore-Damascus game. Damascus beat both Quince Orchard and Seneca this season—the only school to beat both teams this year and the only unbeaten team left in Montgomery County.