Varsity football is back with games every Friday night.  

     The team this season is coached by Mark Filiaggi and Justin Martinek. There are nine total games this season, three of which have already been played as of September 21. There are five home games and four away games during the season. Their record is 2-1, having won against Perryville High School and C. Milton Wright High School and lost against Bel Air High School.  

     According to the coaches, the team has been playing well and getting better since the beginning of the season.  

     Mark Filiaggi, coach of the team, had great things to say about the boys. “The last time we had a football season I think we only had three wins for the whole season, so two wins already out of two is great.” 

     Everyone had to adjust after going through Covid last year, especially the athletes whose seasons were cancelled. Filiaggi said, “I think the boys are very happy to be playing again. We had a lot of new players come out and it was definitely different because of not having sports last year. Virtually, everyone on varsity has never played varsity before… so it’s basically new to everybody.”  

     There have been many promising players to stand out to coaches, fans, and anyone catching a few plays of a game. 

     Junior quarterback Owen Smith has had very high stats this season according to Filiaggi. In the C. Milton Wright game alone, he had 100 rushing yards and 175 throwing yards.  

     Junior Wyatt Ralph was also spoken very highly of. “Ralph is a really great wide receiver. He’s been standing out a lot with catches in the end zone.” 

     On defense, Garrett Reineke and Oakley Miller are, “… usually all over the field making tackles.” 

     Filiaggi described a key factor that was making North Harford stand out over other teams was the way the boys have been working together. “I think they’re really playing as a team. Not everybody gets along all the time, but they understand that they need to rely on each other and work together in order to win. Football is very much a team sport, and you can’t just do your own thing. Overall, they’re working together, they’re cooperating, they’re not fighting amongst each other… and hopefully, we can continue that.” 

     Filiaggi’s “big matchups of the season” are coming up soon. 

3. Milton, Bel Air and Fallston are the big games for this season. The team was able to beat Perryville, winning 14-6 on September 3.  They also beat Bel Air in an action-packed game, winning 23-15 on September 10. On September 17, the boys played a rough game at Bel Air, losing 6-28. Though it was a hard game, the coaches and players are sure to get back on track.