Old Mill Football Prepares for Re-match with Broadneck

Any football coach will tell you that beating the same team twice in the same season is hard. Yet that's exactly what faces Old Mill Football coach Damien Ferregamo.

Old Mill High (9-1) is facing an extra-tough test this Friday when it starts the Class 4A playoffs by taking on the Broadneck Bruins (8-2) one week after defeating them in the regular season finale.

"This is a very unique situation. It was kind of like the perfect storm," said Ferregamo. "The odds were very low for something like this to happen."

By beating Broadneck last week, the defending state champs secured the top seed in the east region and the rights to play at home in Millersville. The Patriots win over Broadneck was an impressive one, as they rolled 31-7 to their ninth straight win against a Bruins team that hadn't given up more than 14 points in a game all year.

Since an opening 30-7 loss to Arundel High on Sept. 3, all Old Mill has done is win in convincing fashion, outscoring its opponents 400-82.

Despite their impressive margin of victory, Ferregamo and his Patriots are cautious.

"We didn't execute as well as the score would say," he said. "We've got some running backs who make some of our mistakes go away."

Old Mill is powered by a running attack led by senior Demond Brown and junior Robert Chesson. The two combined for more than 300 yards rushing against Broadneck last Friday.

Ferregamo also highlighted that Broadneck didn't execute on a few key plays, disabling their ability to stay in the game. He said he expects a much different performance from the Bruins this Friday.

If any team knows the challenge of beating the same opponent back-to-back, it's Broadneck. What makes this encounter even more peculiar, is that the Bruins beat the Patriots in last year's regular season finale, only to lose to Old Mill in the first round of the playoffs the next week.

For those who follow football in Anne Arundel County, the next two weeks could be the most compelling in recent memory. If the Patriots win Friday, they could face Arundel, the school responsible for Old Mill's only loss this season. And there's this bit of history: Old Mill defeated Arundel 58-55 in overtime in last year's regional final en route to the state title, in what some argue is the greatest high school football game in Anne Arundel County history.

Despite the potentially delicious re-match against Arundel, both coach and players are focused on Broadneck.

"We've got our plate full. We've got enough to do right in front of us," said Ferregamo. "There hasn't been any talk of [Arundel] at all."