Senior wide receiver Max Moss patiently waited for his turn to make an impact on the football field. Now a senior at Archbishop Spalding, his time to shine has finally arrived and he is making the most of it.
Moss continued his hot start to the season this past Friday, catching eight passes for 196 yards and four touchdowns as the Cavaliers beat Gonzaga, 41-21, in a meeting of two of the Washington area’s top private schools. For his efforts, he was named the Military Bowl DC Touchdown Club High School Football Player of the Week.
“I feel really good for Max,” Spalding Coach Kyle Schmitt said. “We all stress patience, that good things are coming. But so many kids run from that these days. Max had opportunities where he could have said, ‘They don’t throw the ball enough’ or ‘They don’t get me the ball enough.’ But he loves Spalding and saw the opportunity to play with [quarterback Malik Washington] who is one of his good friends and saw this was the best place for him. He stuck it out.
“If I was a college program, I’d be seeking as many of those guys as possible, because it is so easy to leave when things get tough.”
Moss, who is 6 feet and 185 pounds, performed well on the college camp circuit this past spring and summer, Schmitt said, but recruiters were not yet sold. “His production didn’t meet his ability yet,” Schmitt said. “Obviously, that is happening now.”
Indeed, he has more catches for more yards and more touchdowns in four games this season than he did all of last season. In the season’s second game, Moss caught a 96-yard touchdown against Broadneck. One week later, he caught the game-winning 83-yard touchdown with 57 seconds left in a 20-13 victory over Imhotep Charter of Philadelphia.
“He’s really just had a great first four weeks of the season,” Schmitt said. “He has played all over the field for us and made a variety of explosive plays. … Obviously, Friday night, Gonzaga had no answer for him. That was the key to the game.”
This week’s DC Touchdown Club Player of the Week High School Football Player of the Week Honor Roll:
ANNE ARUNDEL
South River RB Trashaun Timmons rushed 45 times for 220 yards and three touchdowns as the Seahawks beat Glen Burnie 20-14.
DC
Dunbar WR-DB Kenyatta Carmichael caught two touchdown passes and returned two interceptions for touchdowns as the Crimson Tide beat McKinley Tech 56-8.
FREDERICK
Catoctin QB-WR Connor Crum threw a 34-yard touchdown pass, caught a 9-yard touchdown pass, had a touchdown run, returned an interception 69 yards and kicked four extra points as the Cougars beat Thomas Johnson 34-7.
HOWARD
Atholton QB Miles Scott completed 5 of 9 passes for 85 yards and two touchdowns and rushed four times for 63 yards and two touchdowns as the Raiders beat Centennial 37-7.
LOUDOUN
John Champe QB Patrick Bryan completed 17 of 27 passes for 373 yards and five touchdowns as the Knights beat Colgan 49-29.
MONTGOMERY
Churchill WR-DB Ezekiel Avit caught six passes for 62 yards and one touchdown and rushed three times for 42 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning 34-yard score on a reverse with 29 seconds left as the Bulldogs beat Bethesda-Chevy Chase 28-21.
NORTHERN REGION
West Springfield QB Emmanuel Baskerville completed 16 of 26 passes for 315 yards and two touchdowns and rushed 14 times for 155 yards and two touchdowns as the Spartans beat Washington-Liberty 28-21.
PRINCE GEORGE’S
Oxon Hill RB Cameron Azodeh rushed six times for 114 yards and three touchdowns and caught two passes for 64 yards as the Clippers beat Northwestern 49-0.
PRINCE WILLIAM
Battlefield QB Braden Boggs completed 6 of 7 passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another score as the Bobcats beat Hylton 48-0.
SOUTHERN MARYLAND
Lackey RB-S Jamari Somerville rushed 17 times for 231 yards and three touchdowns and on defense made seven tackles with two tackles for loss broke up two passes as the Chargers beat Thomas Stone 49-7.
WCAC
Good Counsel RB Dilin Jones rushed 11 times for 149 yards and two touchdowns as the Falcons beat Mount St. Joseph 52-13.