Revenge is defined as “to avenge (oneself or another) usually by retaliating in a kind or degree”. The DeMatha varsity football team is looking to get just that Friday, November 4th when they take on Our Lady of Good Counsel at home.

Last year the Stags took on Good Counsel twice. In the regular season the Stags dominated the Falcons winning 28-0. The next week in the playoffs the Stags lost 15-17. This outcome was shocking to many in the DeMatha community because the Stags, 1 week prior, were seen as a favorite to make the WCAC championship and face St. Johns.

 While some will call the loss a “heartbreakerm” starting sophomore quarterback Denzel Gardner see’s this loss as a way to learn. He says “I wouldn’t really look at the loss as heartbreaking, I would give a perspective of it being a more learning process for me and the team. We know what we have to do now and how we need to play to get the win.” He also feels that “the team is very excited to get back at Good Counsel. …We know it’s going to be tough  and we know there a great team. But if we stay true to our game and trust the process, we will come out with the win 100%. I believe me and my guys can beat anybody!”

In recent years Good Counsel has become a top contender in both the WCAC and Maryland.  With this comes new rivalries, and Junior wide receiver Emmanuel Bertrand believes “Good Counsel is definitely becoming one of DeMatha’s bigger rivals. You will always have the number one rival Gonzaga which will not probably change for a while because of the all boys environment that both teams have. …They have definitely been one of our harder competitors and because of this they have definitely stepped up to be one of our bigger rivals.” These two teams are both stacked from top to bottom. Bertrand states “They have been one of the teams that when we see them on the roster we know that it’s going to be what my Coach likes to call a “talent on talent” game.”

The Stags ‘22-’23 team is much different then the team last year. The defense consists of an elite pass rush and a shutdown secondary with ballhawks Donte Lovett and Tawfiq Byard. The Stags offense has dominated opponents’ defenses, led by dual-threat quarterback Denzel Gardner who can attack defenses with both his scrambling and deep ball abilities. Senior wide receivers Kristian Tate and Gerald Campbell have both had an exceptional year with their route running abilities and their fight to gain YAC (yards after the catch). The triple punch of running backs Brendon Wyatt, Tovani Mizell, and Bud Coombs has contributed to this success with their abilities to run down defenses’ throats. There is always one of the three on the field, when one running back goes off there is another that can continue to immediately pick up where the others left off leaving no time for oppositions linebackers and defensive lines to adjust.

All eyes will be on Marvin F. Wilson stadium when these two teams meet on November 4th. Good Counsel is currently ranked 41st in the nation and 2nd in Maryland while the Stags are 37th in the nation and 4th in Maryland according to MaxPreps. Both teams have elite offenses with the Stags scoring 215 points through 7 games and Good Counsel scoring 262 points through 7. Fans should expect a shootout that goes down to the wire. The key for the Stags to pull out the win will be their defense, which has only allowed 20 points all year.