Bishop O'Connell and Paul VI High Schools both lost opening round games last weekend in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (W.C.A.C) football playoffs.

The sixth-seeded Knights traveled to Wheaton, Md., and dropped a 21-6 W.C.A.C. quarterfinal contest to third-seeded Good Counsel Nov. 8. The Knights, coached by Darrell Snyder finished with a 3-5 overall record 1-4 W.C.A.C.).

The eighth-seeded Paul VI Panthers traveled to top-seeded Gonzaga Nov. 9 and turned in a valiant effort despite losing 28-0. Paul VI drops to 1-7 overall on the season (0-5 W.C.A.C.).

The Knights’ defense forced a Good Counsel punt early in the first quarter. The Knights then drove 65 yards, but fumbled the ball away on the Falcon three-yard line.

After recovering, Good Counsel put together their longest drive of the game and scored when quarterback Reggie Gooch connected with tight end Robby Silk.

The Knights did themselves no favors by fumbling away the ensuing kickoff.

"We simply made too many mistakes tonight," said O'Connell senior standout two-way lineman Logan Wyllie.

The Falcons cashed in on the Knights charity. Good Counsel's Steve Salkeld eventually punched in a two-yard run [14-0, 9:59 remaining second quarter].

The Knights punted on their next possession, and then O'Connell senior defensive back Joey Thayer intercepted a Gooch pass.

O’Connell drove 45 yards on nine plays. The key play involved junior quarterback Bush Hamdan connecting with junior running back/wide receiver Jeremy Trimble. But the Knights eventually turned the ball over on downs.

Then, on "first down and ten" from the Falcon 25-yard line, Gooch was hit

hard by O'Connell senior captain/defensive end P.J. Smith.

Junior linebacker Steve Smith, P.J.'s brother, scooped up the loose ball and scored the Knights lone touchdown of the game.

"P.J. shot in and hit the quarterback straight on. I scooped up the ball and scored my first touchdown of the season," said Steve Smith.

O'Connell kept Good Counsel out of the end zone in the third quarter, but Devon McKnight ripped off a 19-yard scoring run (9:57 remaining fourth quarter) to propel the Falcons to a 21-6 advantage.

"Our defense played a good game, and we have played pretty well defensively all season. Tonight was a story of missed opportunities, and too many turnovers and penalties," said P.J. Smith.

On Nov. 16 sixth-seeded O'Connell will host seventh-seeded Carroll, and fifth-seeded McNamara will host eighth-seeded Paul VI in the "consolation" brackets. Top-seeded Gonzaga will host fourth-seeded St. Johnss and second-seeded DeMatha will host third-seeded Good Counsel in the championship brackets.

The Panther defense kept Gonzaga out of the endzone in the first quarter. The Eagles merely led 7-0 after the second quarter, and only led 14-0 after three quarters.

"Our defense was ready to play. Our whole team was ready to play," said first-year Panther coach Mark Collier.

"Defensively guys like Joe Herbert, Scott Flanagan, Nick Healy, Pat Healy, Darryl Proctor, Joe DePorter, Jabari Queen and Sam Ellis-Johnson played real well," said Collier.

Pat Healy recovered a fumble. Flanagan and Sam Ellis-Johnson each recorded interceptions.

"Offensively guys like Gabe Ralston, Calvin Salter, Mike Geraghty and A.J. Bergmann played pretty darn well," said Collier.

Ralston and Salter combined for almost 110 yards on the ground. Geraghty and Bergmann split time at quarterback. Geraghty connected with Sam Ellis-Johnson on a 50-yard pass play, the longest play from scrimmage for the Panthers.

"We had close to 220 yards of total offense. The playoffs gave us a second-chance this season" said coach Collier.