During each week of the regular season, the Baltimore Ravens will recognize one local high school football game as its Ravens RISE High School Football Showdown.
This week's Showdown features the North County (Glen Burnie, Md.) Knights (3-6) at the Chesapeake-AA (Pasadena, Md.) Cougars (6-3). Kickoff on Friday evening (11/6) is 6:30 p.m. The Cougars aim to extend their current four-game winning streak over the Knights, while North County hopes to secure its best record since the 2010 campaign.
In conjunction with The Baltimore Sun, a voting poll is established each week to help select which Showdown will receive a visit to the game from Ravens Cheerleaders and mascot Poe, as well as a monetary donation for both school's respective athletic programs. Following the matchup, each game will be showcased through a detailed game recap and photo gallery.
Sean Sandora, varsity head football coach of the Dundalk (Baltimore, Md.) Owls, has been named the Ravens High School Coach of the Week. Now in its 19th year of existence, Sandora is the ninth recipient of the award in 2015.
Last Friday, Dundalk (9-0) earned a convincing victory over the Perry Hall (Baltimore, Md.) Gators, 55-34. Behind a dominating offensive performance, the Owls were led by QB Darrius Sample, who accounted for all eight Dundalk touchdowns (five rushing and three passing).
After taking an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter, Dundalk extended its advantage to 28-6 late in the second frame. The Gators charged back to get within one point, 28-27, in the third quarter, but the Owls answered with four straight scores to secure their ninth win of the season. The victory ties the Owls' most wins in a season under Sandora.
"This group has really bought into the philosophy of taking it one game at a time and not looking ahead to what's down the road," explained Sandora. "They also know they cannot execute every play perfectly, but they can give perfect effort on every play. They have done that this whole season, especially last Friday night."
Dundalk hosts the Franklin (Reisterstown, Md.) Indians (8-1) this Friday (11/6) in their final Baltimore County matchup of 2015. The winner of this contest earns the county 3A/4A championship and the No. 1 seed in the Class 3A North for the upcoming Maryland Public Secondary School Athletic Association postseason tournament.
Each week during the season, the Ravens honor a high school coach who has made a significant impact on his student-athletes. Each winner will be in attendance at the Ravens-Chiefs home game on Dec. 20 for an opportunity to be named the Ravens High School Coach of the Year. In addition, each coach receives a donation to the school's football program and an award from Ravens head coach John Harbaugh.
These initiatives are just a piece of Ravens RISE, the team's football outreach initiative presented by Wendy's. The program impacts a range of area football players from youth to high school, providing them with a year-round opportunity to "Play Like A Raven" through clinics, tournaments, grants, ticket donations and exclusive opportunities to play at M&T Bank Stadium and interact with Ravens players and coaches.
To learn more about Ravens RISE, go to www.BaltimoreRavens.com/RISE.
