QO Middle School Football Team Carries on the 'Cougar Tradition'

Quince Orchard High School head football coach Dave Mencarini has a saying: "We play for those who came before. We set the standard for those who follow." The slogan can be found on T-shirts and even on his football team's official website.

And for the past two months, the second half of that statement has manifested itself in the form of a new middle school football program.

Here, middle school football players who will eventually attend Quince Orchard High School, have participated in Rockville Football League's Middle School division where they play against other Montgomery County high school feeder programs, such as Wootton, Rockville, Einstein and Walter Johnson. 

According to coaches, the players are taught the "Cougar Way" of playing football to help them in their transition to high school football as future Cougars. 

And, despite it being the Cougars' first year in the league, the team finished the regular season 7-1 and as the league's No. 1 seed heading into the playoffs, which start this weekend.

While the team's on-the-field performance has been rewarding, the team's head coach Bobby Bishop, who is also an assistant on QO’s JV team, said the ultimate prize doesn't have much to do with the outcome of the games.

"I don't teach winning, I teach the fundamentals," Bishop said. "I believe that if you teach the players the right way, winning will come. When we got together to talk about starting the program, we didn't even talk about that. We didn't even know who we were going to have on the team. The main thing was ensuring the players were fundamentally sound."

Assistant coach Greg Carver echoed Bishop’s sentiments.

“Winning is an added bonus,” Carver said. “Before we started this thing, we admitted that winning was pretty low on the scale. For us, it was about getting these kids the chance to play and to learn the "Cougar Way."

And Bishop, who had two sons who played at Quince Orchard for Mencarini -- Jason and Eric -- is proud that he is able to carry on the tradition and teach players that "Cougar Way" of doing things, which he states is all about hard work, preparation, and conditioning.

"I am proud to be able to coach based on the same principles of QO's varsity and junior varsity programs," Bishop said. "We're doing a lot of the same drills, and we're running the same type of offense and defense as the high school program. It might not be as technical as what they are running there, but we try to teach them the fundamentals of QO football."

Another big draw of the program is that, unlike many other youth football leagues, there is no weight limit. This, says Bishop, provides many kids the opportunity to play football before high school that they might not otherwise have gotten.

"A lot of the kids we have on our team wouldn't be eligible to play in other leagues because of their size," Bishop said. "If it weren't for this program, a lot of kids wouldn't be able to play until their freshman year of high school."

Dana Moore is a team parent whose son is playing football for the first time. She echoed Bishop's comments regarding the benefits of the program.

"I think it's great," Moore said. "My son has never had the opportunity to play because of his size."

Bishop also mentioned that many former QO players have also lent a hand this season, ensuring that the players understand the essence of Mencarini's philosophy about setting the standard for the future. He says this has also helped getting the kids acclimated to high school football.

“I wanted to let the kids know it doesn’t start in high school,” Bishop said. “We want to lay the foundation at the middle school level.”

Carver, who has also had sons play for Mencarini, said the older players' involvement has been well received by the younger players. Carver also mentioned that the support from sponsors and the community has been instrumental.

Lee Oliver, who played at Northwest and the University of Maryland, is also an assistant coach. 

And for Bishop, this season has been a bit of a family affair. Not only are his two sons helping coach, but his two daughters, Amanda and Sabrina, 14 and 12, as well as his wife Lisa, are at the games showing their support. 

The Cougars will play Walter Johnson on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Mattie J.T. Stepanek Park's North field. The winner advances to the championship Saturday, Nov. 19 at Bullis Stadium.