MOUNTAIN RIDGE MINER FOOTBALL

Frostburg, Maryland - Mountain Ridge met Catoctin twice last year. Miners quarterback Will Patterson ran for six touchdowns in a 43-12 Week 2 rout, and they pulled away to win 37-17 in the state quarterfinals. ... Mountain Ridge extended its home winning streak to 27 games in Week 1. The Miners led 35-0 after the first period and 42-0 at the half. ... Cobe Penick threw three touchdowns passes, completed 8 of 11 attempts for 82 yards and added 54 yards and a touchdown with his legs. ... Mountain Ridge out-gained the Rams, 250-70, and rushed for 164 yards on 25 attempts. Eli Sibley caught two touchdowns, and Owen McGeady accounted for the other. Kyree Griffin and Levi Clise scored on the ground. Lane Frost had a pick-six. ... Catoctin, the Class 1A state champion in 2009 and '19, was expected to be a possible return participant to the state tournament but was shut out by Boonsboro in Week 1. ... The Cougars will be quarterbacked by senior Shaymus Stull, who took over the job in Week 7 last year after an injury to starter Haydn Mathews and led the team to a Cinderella run. ... Catoctin only lost one offensive starter to graduation, while eight of its 11 starters on defense are back.

Frostburg, Maryland - Mountain Ridge has outscored Southern, 202-7, over the past three seasons. The Miners' 84-0 rout of the Rams in 2021 during that span is believed to be the most-lopsided contest in the history of Maryland high school football. The next-closest contender was in 1952, when Allegany, coached by Ray Lester, defeated Ridgeley, 81-0, at Fort Hill stadium. ... Tonight will be the debut of two head coaches inheriting programs in very different situations. ... The Miners turn to Nathan Shipe, who takes over for Ryan Patterson. Patterson finished as the winningest coach in Mountain Ridge history and led the Miners to a 34-5 record, three straight 10-win seasons and three straight state championship games over his final three years. Shipe previously coached the Miners' junior varsity program. ... Southern begins a new era under Dave McLaughlin, whose hiring has renewed life into a program that was forced to disband its varsity team after two games in 2023. The Rams now have more than 50 players in their program. McLaughlin coached the 2014 Oakland Rams to the Cumberland Area Youth Football League championship. ... Mountain Ridge will field a mostly new team after losing 16 seniors, including 2023 co-Offensive Player of the Year Will Patterson, who participated in 40 touchdowns for the Miners at quarterback and is now at Shepherd. Junior Cobe Penick is slated to be the next signal-caller. ... Eli Sibley and Owen Bannon are back at receivers in the Miners' spread offense. The duo combined for 439 yards and seven scores last year.