Three weeks into the fall season, the story in St. Mary’s County isn’t football — it’s boys soccer, where all three public high schools are unbeaten, and volleyball, where Great Mills has yet to lose a set.
Boys soccer
St. Mary’s County’s three public high schools have combined to go 16-0-3 in boys soccer so far, an unusually dominant countywide stretch. Great Mills has been the most active and highest-scoring of the three, running its record to 6-0-2 with a six-game winning streak that includes a 9-1 win over Westlake, a 4-2 win over Northeast, a 2-0 win over Huntingtown and a 10-0 rout of Thomas Stone on Sept. 17 — all after opening the year with ties against Patterson and Bowie. Leonardtown has been nearly as untouchable at 5-0, outscoring opponents 36-1, with an 11-1 win over St. Charles and a 9-0 win over Westlake among its results, and sits in first place in its region. Chopticon is right behind at 5-0-1 with a 17-2 goal differential, opening the season with a 2-0 win over St. Mary’s Ryken before rattling off wins over La Plata, Westlake, McDonough and North Point.
Volleyball
Great Mills has been just as dominant on the volleyball court, sweeping all four of its matches in straight sets to open 4-0 and take first place in the Southern Maryland Region, with wins over Thomas Stone, Lackey, La Plata and Chopticon. Leonardtown is 2-0, having swept both Chopticon and Westlake. Chopticon has had a rough go in the sport, dropping all four of its matches — including a five-set loss to Huntingtown — to open 0-4.
Football
Football has been a tougher road for the county so far. Great Mills is the only public school with a win, sitting 1-1 after a 30-14 loss to Huntingtown followed by a lopsided 47-0 win over La Plata. Chopticon (0-2) has been outscored 64-18, including a 52-18 loss to Northern and a 12-0 loss to Westlake. Leonardtown is also 0-2, falling 27-15 to Calvert and 35-0 to Lackey. St. Mary’s Ryken, which plays a national-caliber private-school schedule rather than the public SMAC conference, is 0-2 as well, having faced McCallie of Chattanooga, Tennessee (a 67-17 loss) and Mount St. Joseph (a 45-13 loss).
Girls soccer
Leonardtown leads the county at 4-1, outscoring opponents 19-5 with wins over Chesapeake, Northern, La Plata and an 11-0 rout of Westlake, its only loss coming to Bishop O’Connell in the season opener. Chopticon sits at 2-4. Great Mills has had a mixed start at 1-2, beating Westlake 9-1 but losing to Liberty and Huntingtown.
Field hockey
Leonardtown has been the county’s best field hockey team, opening 2-0 with a 16-0 win over Northern and a 7-0 win over Chopticon. Chopticon itself is 2-1, having beaten Great Mills 1-0 and routed Calvert 10-0 before falling 7-0 to Leonardtown. Great Mills is 1-3, its lone win a 9-0 result over North Point. St. Mary’s Ryken opened its field hockey season 1-0 with a double-overtime win over Our Lady of Good Counsel.
Cross country and golf
Both sports are underway across the county, but meet-by-meet results were not available through the public sources checked for this roundup.
