More News

The sports staff's annual daylong battle royal over the All-Gazette football team is still nearly two months away.

We have not yet polled coaches, we have not yet tracked down kicking statistics and at this point we would struggle to name five good offensive linemen, much less the five best in Montgomery County.

Still, this week marks the midway point of the regular season, and some patterns have emerged. With that in mind, consider this our "Watch List" for postseason awards.

Quarterback

It looks like a year for dual-threat quarterbacks, but Whitman's Henry Kuhn has been the county's best drop-back passer so far. He is completing more than 50 percent of his passes for 769 yards and 9 touchdowns, against just 3 interceptions.

Casey Fitzgerald of B-CC and Clarksburg's Andrew Veith (more on him later) are among the slew of running quarterbacks having great seasons. But two stand out above the rest.

Paint Branch senior Tracy Martin became a quarterback midway through last season. All he has done this year is throw for 656 yards and 10 touchdowns, and rushed for 312.

But top honors go to Alex Kantor of surprising Churchill. How about this for balance: Kantor has thrown for 397 yards and rushed for 396. He has also found the end zone 12 times and makes the decisions that have powered the Bulldogs to a 5-0 start.

Running back

Seven of last year's top 10 in rushing yardage were underclassmen. Yet somehow, only one is on The Gazette's shortlist for top back of the first five games.

That one is Blake's Kwabena Asante, who piled up 1,422 yards in 2008, the county's second-best total. Talk about consistency. Halfway through this season, Asante is also exactly halfway — 711 yards — to his '08 rushing total.

Just down New Hampshire Avenue, junior Devon Pestano has burst onto the scene for Springbrook. His summer audition landed him the leading role in the Blue Devils' pounding offense and he has earned rave reviews for his 617 yards and 10 touchdowns.

But nobody pounds like Ben Sasu. Finally Quince Orchard's main man, Sasu has the Cougars off to a 5-0 start. He leads the county with 13 touchdowns and is second behind Asante with 705 yards; his monster effort against Damascus was the highlight.

Wide receiver

Louis Young, tracked by BCS schools for three years, was a known quantity coming into 2009. His numbers are hardly off-the-charts — 12 catches, 218 yards — but Good Counsel has had little need to go to the air. Young is clearly the favorite target for first-year starting quarterback Zach Dancel.

Poolesville's Ben Hessels, on the other hand, flew under the radar until his 172-yard outburst in week one. He has fallen to fourth in the county in yardage (338) and fourth in receptions (19), and does not compete against the big boys. But check out his YouTube video: The kid is a player.

The clear star of the first half, though, has been Ivan Tagoe of Paint Branch. He leads the county in yards (418) and touchdowns (7) and is living up to his billing as the next coming of former Panther Dayon Arrington.

All-around

Springbrook's Mitchell Pollard will rarely post jaw-dropping receiving numbers with Pestano around. But he is over 200 through the air, and is always a threat on kick returns. He is also among the county's best cornerbacks.

Good Counsel sophomore Stefon Diggs' ludicrous three-touchdown outing against Gilman alone puts him in the conversation. He housed kick returns of 87 and 93 yards, then added a 12-yard run.

But this category belongs to Veith. With 434 yards passing, 351 rushing and 12 offensive touchdowns, he is among the county's best quarterbacks. What puts him here is his work in the secondary, where he beat Seneca Valley with an interception return for a touchdown in the final minute.

Coach of the mid-year

Plenty of good options here, as well. Churchill's Joe Allen and Whitman's Jim Kuhn are a combined 9-1. Together, they ruined Germantown's season and yanked the power southward.

Former Sherwood assistants Pat Cilento and Kevin Bernot have not lost yet in their head coaching careers. Despite lingering injuries to his best player, Crusoe Gongbay, Bernot is 5-0 at Rockville. Cilento is also perfect filling the shoes of Al Thomas, who mentored both with the Warriors.

Then there is 2007 Coach of the Year Larry Hurd, who has won 25 straight regular season games. Hard to beat that.