High school football fans won't have to wait long to see one of the biggest area matchups of the season.
Third-ranked Arundel and No. 6 Old Mill kick off the first full weekend of football action tonight at 6:30 at Old Mill with potentially the biggest showdown in Anne Arundel County this fall.
There's a lot of season left to play afterward and several teams could have a say in the final county standings, but in November, everyone may look back to this game as the deciding factor in the county race and as a key factor in the final seeding order of the Class 4A East regional playoffs.
Arundel coach Chuck Markiewicz is trying to help his players keep the season opener in perspective. He urges the Wildcats to consider it just another game and not a potential county decider.
"If you look at it like that and you lose, then what do you do the rest of the year?" Markiewicz said. "We're excited about it, we're ready for it, but win, lose or draw, we've still got to play nine more."
Last year's results certainly affirm Markiewicz's outlook. The Wildcats fell to Old Mill during the regular season, but the two ended up sharing the county title. Arundel then went on to win the Class 4A East region title and play in the state semifinals. The Patriots fell to Severna Park in the East region opener.
Certainly, coaches are looking at this weekend's high-impact county games - and next weekend's when No. 4 River Hill plays No. 13 Wilde Lake and No. 7 Eastern Tech meets No. 9 Hereford - with the same mind-set: It's early, and all these teams could get a lot better as the season goes on.
"What usually happens early in the season is somebody doesn't win, somebody loses," Markiewicz said. "Hopefully, you don't make mistakes, and if we do, they don't capitalize on them. It's a pretty simple deal."
The Arundel-Old Mill game will feature two of the area's top players in Wildcats senior quarterback Billy Cosh and Old Mill's stellar two-way player, Josh Furman.
Cosh, an All-Metro first team selection last season, set eight state public school records as a junior while passing for 3,913 yards and 56 touchdowns. Furman, also a senior, had 87 tackles and eight sacks last season as a linebacker and ran for 800 yards and 14 touchdowns.
While this is the weekend's marquee matchup between area teams, there are some other big contests that highlight the opening weekend of public school action.
In Baltimore County, Milford Mill will take on No. 7 Eastern Tech tonight at CCBC-Essex at 7.
In a couple of Baltimore County-Harford County crossover games, No. 9 Hereford hosts North Harford and No. 11 Perry Hall heads to No. 15 Joppatowne. Both games kick off at 7 tonight.
In MIAA action, No. 2 Gilman (1-0) begins one of the most challenging stretches of its schedule, the toughest in the area. On Saturday, the Greyhounds host Bear Creek, from Lakewood, Colo., at 7 p.m. at Johnny Unitas Stadium. Bear Creek reached the state semifinals in Colorado's 5A division last season. On Sept. 11, the Greyhounds will play DeMatha, The Washington Post's No. 1 team, at Cardinal Gibbons at 7 p.m.
Another MIAA A Conference contender, No. 8 Mount St. Joseph (1-0), hosts one of Baltimore City's best teams in No. 10 Edmondson on Saturday at 1 p.m. This is the first of two MIAA foes for the Red Storm, which will play at defending A Conference champion Loyola on Sept. 12.
