High School Sports |

New coaches taking over football programs at Old Mill, Southern

Joey Hall thought the future would take him away from the Old Mill football program, perhaps to new Severn Run. And then, he learned the Patriots head coach, Mike Pfisterer, had stepped down.

Now, Hall won’t be assisting Severn Run reworking Old Mill prospects and existing athletes into Wolves. He’ll be trying to safeguard and expand what remains of the Patriots.

Most recently the Patriots junior varsity coach, Hall is maintaining most of the same staff while Jim Grim will step in as JV coach.

And just maybe, the new Old Mill coach might bring a state title in, too.

What may just seem like an inspiring wishlist from a new coach is actually extremely attainable for Old Mill football. In the years since the Patriots captured the 2011 Class 4A state title, even the very best Old Mill teams, loaded with college-level talent, were kept from reaching that same level by perennial powers such as Quince Orchard or Wise.

But upon the opening of Severn Run, and the lessening of the school population, Old Mill football will shift to Class 4A/3A this fall, creating a new road toward a state championship.

“It starts in the weight room, but the kids have to believe they are the best team in the state,” Hall said. “I feel like they were there last year, but this year, the leaders we have, they’re all in.

“And, I believe they believe in me. And if they believe in me, there isn’t anything we can’t do.”

The new coach eyes Connor Adams as a worthy successor to two-time Rhodes Trophy nominee Maximus Jones at running back, and to help Old Mill sustain rushing as one of its key offensive traits. But Hall also sees junior quarterback Trey Martini, who he personally ushered to Old Mill on the youth side several years ago, ready for a breakout season. And he’ll need to be.

“We’re still gonna run, but I want to pass a lot more,” Hall said. “Big shots — not just screens. I want everybody to see we have the best quarterback in the county. That’s how I feel.”

Trey Martini, Old Mill: 1,226 yards

One good year isn’t enough for Hall, but it’ll be hard to do as Old Mill’s pool of talent spreads thinner. Archbishop Spalding has attracted top talent from northern Anne Arundel County for years.Old Mill’s new down-the-street neighbors at Severn Run aren’t swiping too many players now — Hall knows only a few seniors are leaving from the enrollment papers — it’ll be an ongoing issue for years to come as school boundaries contract.

Being inside the building on a regular basis, Hall said, is crucial, too, to cultivating talent on Old Mill grounds. But the coach wants to go beyond that.

As commissioner of the Old Mill Youth Association, Hall plans to set up more events within the association geared towards Old Mill alone. He also intends to organize camps to sow devotion within young players before anyone else comes knocking.

That’s something Southern’s new coach, Cliff Green, hopes to do too. The numbers for the South County Youth Athletics are growing for football, and Green wants Southern to be a big part of that.

“I want to make sure we’re at practices, that we have a relationship where they can reach out to us if they need anything, and vice versa,” Green, a former Meade assistant said. “I don’t want us to be two different entities, but one. Camps for coaches, camps for the kids.”

The Bulldogs’ limited population area has always put Southern football — a sport that inherently needs dozens of participants — at a disadvantage. It doesn’t matter what kind of talent rolls through Southern’s blue and yellow halls; depth almost always wins out.

That’s not a problem Green had in his last two years at Meade, an overflowing 4A school, but is one he feels ready to tackle.

“[Talented] Southern kids try to go the private school route, and it’s my job to make sure they understand that we’re going to do the best for them,” Green said, “and that they can stay home.”

Green praised Meade coach Tanardo Sharps for showing him the methods to doing that. This past year, for instance, the Mustangs welcomed back several players from private schools including St. Vincent Pallotti and Annapolis Area Christian School.

“You take care of home. That’s being energetic, getting to know the kids, show them how to do things. It’s more than just football,” Green said. “It’s about teaching them how to be young men, to show them the big picture.”

On the first day of winter weight room training, Green admittedly felt surprised by the hunger the Bulldogs players greeted him with — but pleasantly so.

“They want to do more. They want to do better. They’ve shown they don’t mind competing. I want to make sure we’re competing every chance we get,” Green said.

And for Green, that doesn’t just mean being competitive in a Class 1A sense.

“The county has 14 schools now, and when people play against Southern High, I want them to know they’re playing a tough team,” Green said.