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The DeMatha Stags football team are gearing up for their Oct. 3 matchup vs Riverdale Baptist. The contest is taking place at the Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex at 7 p.m.
DeMatha has had an excellent season so far with a 4-0 record going into their fixture against Riverdale Baptist. The Stags have beaten St. Joseph Prep, 45-17; Imhotep Charter, 30-14; Roman Catholic, 44-7; and are coming off a big win over Mt. Zion Prep Academy, 41-0. Riverdale Baptist is 1-3 while DeMatha is ranked 12th in the nation, second in Maryland, and first in the DMV.
The Crusaders were 10-0 last year including a win over Good Counsel. After the conclusion of last season though they lost a lot of players in the transfer portal to St. James.
Off to a 4-0 start, Coach Bill McGregor evaluates how the season has gone: “I’m really happy with where we are right now. The guys are working hard, we’ve had some great practices, and I am a firm believer in ‘you play like you practice.’ They have been working very hard.”
McGregor went on to validate their record by pointing that it is one of the toughest non-conference schedules DeMatha has faced in years. St. Joseph Prep and Roman Catholic are two perennial powers in Pennsylvania high school football. St Joseph’s Prep was the 6A state champion and Roman Catholic was a 5A state championship finalist in 2024.
The Stags have had a great season but have struggled with penalties, particularly holding. DeMatha has allowed a lot of yards this season on penalties. As the Stags gear up for conference play, they will have to clean this up. Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Mr. Luke Casey, talked on this season’s successes: “[The] biggest success has been the complimentary football we have been playing. All three phases of the game have worked well together and we’ve been able to play as a team which has been very important.”
The Stags have addressed the penalties by having ‘up-downs’ as an offensive unit for any penalty committed in practice. Even the coaches are doing them. “We have a ‘Stag Reminder’ or extra running for anyone who commits a penalty in game,” coach Casey added.
Coach McGregor says the team needs to execute better in all three phases and be more consistent in doing so. He talked about the team’s energy and toughness. “The [defensive backs] gave up a lot of pass yards which was not good. The defensive line [needs] to stop the run. I like where we are right now, but…we have an awful lot of work to get where we want to be.”
Coach Casey said DeMatha used the bye week “to get healthy.” Football players are always dealing with minor injuries. “We also used this week to clean up mistakes from the past four games,” Casey added, “as well as focus on ourselves and take a hard look in the mirror about what we’ve done well and what we’ve done poorly that may need to be addressed.”
Quarterback Tristian Sabb has been a big part of DeMatha’s early season success. “Tristan has shown confidence and a will to win in his first four games at DeMatha,” Casey said of his new quarterback. “He competes 110% every play.”
As the Stags prepare for Riverdale Baptist, Coach Casey knows how important it is the team get off to a strong start. “You can’t take any opponent lightly,” he says, “but to start fast you have to focus on doing your job, executing your assignment, limiting penalties. If you do that, good things will happen early.”
Riverdale Baptist has good defensive players, with Coach Casey pointing out their defensive backfield and their defensive line. “They have some athletes and no doubt they will be hungry for a win versus DeMatha,” he says.
The Stags started the season traveling to Pennsylvania and to Delaware but will not have to leave Maryland again this fall. Coach McGregor noted that it’s a lot easier and no longer sets off their routine of having to take long bus trips. “I purposely do that every year, to put us in tough situations so that we come into the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference and we’re used to being into tough parameters.”
As the Stags look ahead to the start of conference play, DeMatha has a tough road against opponents in enemy territory, facing off at Good Counsel on Oct. 10 and then at Bishop McNamara on Oct. 18. After that, St. John’s comes to town to face DeMatha on Oct. 24, with Gonzaga following a week later to end their regular season WCAC schedule.
Coach McGregor addressed DeMatha’s student body as we enter October: “I appreciate all the support from the students, [and I’d] love to get more guys out there. We need them as our 12th man and, of course, in the league home and away games, boy we need a 12th man all the way through.” He added, “It’s going to be tough. I can’t tell the student body enough how much they mean to our football team, how they help our team, and how they motivate our football team. So please come on out and be our 12th man and help us get through these next few weeks.”
