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C.H. Flowers looks to hold its current position in the 4A South. The Jaguars currently fill the second spot, as Suitland sits in the third spot, respectively. The two teams will meet Saturday. 
Prince George's County, Content Manager
Week 9 in Prince George's County is the week of playoff positioning. Every team is well in its respective run for the playoffs as week 9 is viewed as the unofficial official start to the playoffs. A loss in week 9, and a team can lose one or two spots in its playoff standing. On the other hand, win a game during week 9, and a team can put a stronghold on its current position, if not better it. Two games highlight the week 9 schedules, and each will help put a fuzzy playoff picture more into focus.
C.H. Flowers (7-1) will host Suitland (7-1) Saturday in a key 4A South matchup. Both teams sit behind first-place Eleanor Roosevelt (8-0), Roosevelt representing both team's respective losses, and Flowers narrowly holds second place over Suitland. The winner of Saturday's contest will more than likely lock itself into a No. 2 seeding in the 4A South regional playoffs. Suitland will visit Flowers and is looking for its third consecutive win, after defeating Laurel last week, 34-14.
"This game is important, but like I tell my kids, it is not the end of the world," Suitland head coach Nick Lynch said. "Without putting anyone else down, but if we take care of what we have to take care of, this game basically decides if we play Flowers there, or if we play them here [in the playoffs]."
As far as the mindset of his team, Lynch added: "I am very pleased with the team mindset. It would have been nice to be undefeated, but I think a loss gains our kids' attention. ... Right now, we are just going to take it one week at a time. ... We don't change our mindset or emotions based on the teams we play. We have the same emotions regardless of who we play."
As the top of the 4A South plays itself out, the current top seed in the 3A South, Friendly, 7-1 after defeating Largo 27-20 last week, will visit Gwynn Park Saturday afternoon, as it looks to stay on the top of the tightly-contested 3A South.
"Saturday's game is very important," Friendly head coach John Morgan said. "[Gwynn Park head] coach [Danny] Hayes does a great job with that program and they always have a winning record. A win against them would kind of solidify our top spot. ... With a seven-game winning streak it is easy to get a big head, and it is my job to not allow that to happen. I think it was good for us to have a tough game against Largo last week. That helped them see that we are not yet where we want to be."
Gwynn Park also improved to 7-1 after its 30-6 victory over Surrattsville (2-6), and currently sits in the third spot in the 2A South with Patuxent (6-2, Southern Maryland Athletic Conference) and Douglass-PG (6-2) hard on its heels. With a win at home against Friendly, Gwynn Park will help further cement its place in the 2A South's third-spot.
Douglass-PG will visit Potomac (5-3) Saturday as Potomac remains tied, record wise, with SMAC competitors Chopticon and Lackey in the 3A South and will have to win and get some help to earn a playoff berth. Potomac earned a victory last week to help its own case, 42-0, at Crossland (2-6), and will attempt to continue its winning ways against Douglass.
As Roosevelt, Flowers, and Suitland have the top three spots in the 4A South seemingly secure, the battle for the fourth and final spot is amongst three teams, as Oxon Hill, DuVal, and Henry Wise each enter week 9 with identical 5-3 records. The Clippers currently fill the fourth spot after its victory over Bowie (3-5) last week, 40-6. Bowie will host Roosevelt in week 9.
In a contest to remain in the playoff hunt, DuVal, fresh off its 55-0 victory over High Point (0-8), will host Wise, which defeated Parkdale 35-6 last week, in a critical matchup of two 5-3 teams. The winner will have high hopes of getting into the playoffs entering the last week of the regular season. High Point will visit Bladensburg as the Mustangs dropped to 3-5 after a 22-7 loss to Northwestern-PG (3-5).
Oxon Hill is set to visit Parkdale (0-8) Saturday afternoon.
"Every game from here on out is important," Oxon Hill head coach Walter Cross said. "We have to win out to get in. ... We are OK, and there are a few things we have to get squared away, but we are just trying to focus to make sure we won't have any slip-ups. ... We also are really focused on grades. Practice has been short so we can allow the kids to get their work done with grades coming out [soon]."
Central climbed to .500 (4-4) after its 8-6 victory over Forestville (3-5) and will host Fairmont Heights (0-8) on Saturday. Forestville will visit Crossland in its week 9 matchup.
Rounding out week 9, will be matchups of Northwestern at Laurel (2-6), and Surrattsville at Largo (4-4).
tmccray@digitalsports.com
