Announcing the Capital One Bank Washington, D.C. Coach of the Week

We know that coaches play a vital role in their community that is often under-appreciated. To honor the tremendous work that coaches provide, MaxPreps has teamed up with Capital One Bank to recognize a Coach of the Week in the Washington, D.C. area!

What makes someone a candidate for the honor, you might ask? Well, it's anybody whose hard work, effort and skill produces positives for his or her team and school.

Every coach knows that his or her responsibilities do not begin and end with the game clock. Commitment to the time-honored principles of preparation, dedication, team above self, hard work and perseverance will not only be rewarded on the scoreboard but, more importantly, they are also rewarded in life — now and throughout the future — for each athlete trusted to our care. This notion isn't just a slick piece of marketing — it is a guiding principle for MaxPreps.

We need your help. We are looking for high school coaches in the Washington, D.C. area who are worthy and deserving of the special recognition for their work with young people on and off the field. We're not just looking for a coach who wins a big game ... we're looking for men and women whose impact and influence extend beyond the field — on campus, inside the classroom and throughout the community.

To nominate, please send the following information to coachoftheweek@maxpreps.com:
Coach's name:
Coach's school:
Why he or she is deserving:



The winner of the Coach of the Week award will be announced on MaxPreps every Wednesday this season, so be sure to get your nominations in by noon on Mondays.

Click 'Next' to see all the winners.{PAGEBREAK}
Jenica Brown has built Loudoun County (Leesburg, Va.) into not only a state — but also a national — volleyball power. For her outstanding unbeaten season in 2013, she has been named the Capital One Bank Washington, D.C. Coach of the Year.

Her Raiders finished the season with a perfect 31-0 record, a 49-match winning streak and their sixth Class 4A state championship in the past seven years. Even so, their most amazing feat may have been winning 88 of 90 sets. Their total domination earned them the No. 12 position in the final MaxPreps Xcellent 25 national rankings.

When told of her latest honor (she also was a recent coach of the week selection), she told MaxPreps, "That's awesome. For volleyball, it's easy to be overlooked. You have to make a strong stand to be seen. For the last seven years we have kept moving forward. When it came to high-pressure situations, we didn't falter or get down on ourselves."

Brown receives great support from her brother and chief assistant coach, Jarod, and her father, John, who scouts key opponents. Loudoun County has an amazing 222-11 record since Jarod came aboard.

The Raiders will lose five key seniors through graduation in the spring: 6-foot-2 middle hitter Jane Feddersen (Virginia Commonwealth), 6-0 outside hitter Maggie Phillips (U.S. Naval Academy), libero Kelsey Slack, 5-10 setter Mandy Powers (UNC Asheville) and defensive specialist Kelsey Anderson (Shepherd University).



Feddersen had 109 blocks and was 40.9 percent in hitting. Phillips and Slack each had 40 service aces, while Slack also had 350 digs. Powers had 641 assists.

However, they also will return five of their top 10 to make a run at another state championship. And one of them is 6-3 sophomore outside hitter Taylor Borup, a UNC commitment who led the Raiders with 320 kills.

Could there be another state championship in 2014?

"It's always our goal to work hard and improve everybody's skills and get to the state finals again," said Brown. "Next year we have to work really, really hard and dig deep."

The long winning streak will probably provide extra pressure.

"For the past four or five years, it's been that way — everybody trying to give us their best game," said Brown. "We don't expect to win every game. We're not afraid to lose the streak."{PAGEBREAK}
The Westfield (Chantilly, Va.) football team (11-2) avenged a 28-24 regular-season loss on Saturday by nipping previously undefeated Lake Braddock (Burke) 19-16 during the Class 6A state quarterfinals.



"It was a pretty big win," coach Kyle Simmons told MaxPreps. "We've been playing on Thanksgiving weekend the last two years and lost both times. I would say everybody in the area would consider this a big upset. They have a very high-powered offense. We're one step closer to the big prize of playing for the state championship."

Simmons said his team had five very good days of practice and he used a somewhat different approach the second time around.

"We brought some pressure differently than what we had done in the first game," he said. "It was their lowest point total of the year."

Trailing by 13 points with five minutes left — and playing most of the game without their best player — they rallied to tie the game at 16 with 15 seconds left. Due to penalties, they attempted the decisive extra-point kick five times before Conor Bouveron converted. A safety was added as time expired.

The hero's role belonged to Evan Gray, a 6-foot, 221-pound junior who had mainly been a blocker until top ball carrier Tyler Thrasher-Walker (6-2, 185, senior) went down with an injury in the second quarter after gaining 98 yards on 17 carries. Gray stepped up and finished with 159 yards and one touchdown on 25 carries.

Simmons played three sports at Colonel Richardson (Federalsburg, Md.) and football for four years at Salisbury University, but never thought much about coaching until he had begun his career as an elementary teacher. He accepted an assistant football coaching position at Lake Braddock in 1993 and wound up at Westfield when it opened in 2000.

He has been head coach at Westfield the last three years, posting outstanding consecutive records of 12-1, 12-1 and 11-2 at the school of 2,800 students in grades 9-12.



Now the Bulldogs have an opportunity to avenge their other loss when they play unbeaten Centreville (Clifton) Saturday in the Class 6A state semifinals.

"We lost 28-0 to them early in the season," said Simmons. "We are better. They also are a district rival, just five miles apart. A lot of their kids came to our school when it opened."{PAGEBREAK}
Volleyball truly is a family affair at Loudoun County (Leesburg, Va.) where Jenica Brown is the head coach, her brother Jarod is a key assistant and her father John does scouting of key future opponents.

That combination clicked big-time this year while leading the Raiders to a 31-0 record and 49-game winning streak. The pinnacle came on Saturday in Richmond, Va., when they notched their sixth state championship in the last seven years with a 25-20, 23-25, 25-12, 25-23 victory over Jamestown (27-2) during the Class 4A finals.

For her efforts, Jenica has been named the Capital One Bank Washington, D.C. Coach of the Week.

Perhaps, the most amazing feat was winning 88 of 90 sets — the best mark in her 12 years as head coach — and establishing the current squad as arguably the best in school history.

National volleyball expert John Tawa told MaxPreps, "This is a very, very good team. Lots of size and power. Since Jarod joined his sister on staff eight years ago, they are 222-11."

Olivia Aycock, a 5-foot-10 junior, paced the Raiders with 13 kills in the title game, followed closely by 6-3 sophomore Taylor Borup with 12. Six-foot senior Maggie Phillips had nine. Mandy Powers, a 5-10 senior, was the assist leader with 33 and 6-2 senior Jane Feddersen made six blocks.



The coaching honor caught Brown by surprise.

"I'm kind of in shock," she said. "I just have the satisfaction of giving my girls 100 percent of what I have."

Brown is a 1997 graduate of Jefferson (Shenandoah Junction, W.Va.), where she played two years of volleyball and was captain as a senior; and a 2001 graduate of Shepherd College, where she played four more years of volleyball.

Her father, a former golf coach at Loudoun County, has been a major influence on her career. His scouting alone gives the team an edge that many others do not have.

"My dad convinced me to take the freshman position (at Loudoun) to help me get my foot in the door for a teaching position," she said. "It had to do with my knowledge of the game."

After one year as freshman coach, however, she took over the varsity and accepted a major challenge because the program was down at the time.



"It was a good way to build, because we had to start at the bottom," she said.

Her first year the Raiders finished around .500, and even that was a big step. Her second year they reached the state semifinals. In 2006 they were second in the state, but that left a bad taste in everyone's mouth because by then they had a winning mentality.

"These girls were devastated and took it to heart as a huge challenge," said Brown. "They came back and dominated."

The result was a Class AA state title in 2007 and the team's first undefeated season.

The Raiders will lose five seniors, and four of them will be playing college volleyball in the fall. Five others return and — with her dynasty fully established — coach Brown believes they have potential to again return to the state finals in 2014.{PAGEBREAK}
A young but talented Arundel (Gambrills, Md.) football team received a major wake-up call in its eighth game of the season when Broadneck (Annapolis, Md.) pulled off a 37-18 upset.

Coach Chuck Markiewicz told MaxPreps, "We have a lot of tradition and pride in our program, but I don't think they got it until we got beat by Broadneck. Our first half was terrible."



That poor showing spurred the Wildcats to win their last three outings, including Friday's stunning 25-22 upset of previously unbeaten Old Mill (Millersville, Md.) during the Class 4A state playoffs. It marked the first time Arundel had ever beaten Old Mill in the playoffs. Old Mill had previously handed the Wildcats a 24-14 defeat in the second game of the year.

The Wildcats will carry a 9-2 record against Meade (Fort Meade) on Friday in the Class 4A regional championship game.

For his efforts, Markiewicz has been named the Capital One Bank Washington, D.C. Coach of the Week.

Junior quarterback Anthony Messenger spearheaded the big upset by completing 28 of 40 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns and adding 56 yards on the ground. The 5-foot-11, 170-pounder hit Don Keith with the winning 22-yard touchdown pass with just 1:12 left. Linebacker Kwame Kumah (6-3, 190) was the tackle leader, while sophomore Andrew Cassard made a crucial interception at his one-yard line.

Even returning just four starters, Markiewicz felt he could field a good team because the underclassmen had gone 18-0-2 during their ninth- and tenth-grade years.

A 1973 graduate of Arundel, where he played football, baseball and wrestled, Markiewicz has won 210 games in his 27th year as a head coach. He said he wanted to be a coach ever since he was six years old and returning to Arundel was his goal following his 1978 graduation from Salisbury State College.

It took a while to get back, even though he started his career as an assistant JV football coach at Arundel in 1978. He also assisted in wrestling and lacrosse. He then coached at Chesapeake (Pasadena, Md.) and Meade (Fort Meade, Md.) before getting the head football position at the new North County (Ferndale, Md.) High School. He was there for 10 years and won the Class 4A state title in 1994.



Markiewicz finally realized his dream in 2000 when he returned to his alma mater as head football coach.

"My wife taught at Arundel and I used to attend their basketball games," he said. "I heard that the football job was open and one night I was sitting behind their principal. The next thing I knew I was the head football coach. It was pretty special."

The 58-year-old coach, who retired as a teacher last spring, still loves his school and his job.

"I'm pretty lucky," he said. "I know people who still don't know what they want to do in life."{PAGEBREAK}
The proverbial 1,000-pound gorilla has been banished from the Washington-Lee (Arlington, Va.) football program following a huge 10-0 victory over arch rival Yorktown (Arlington, Va.).

Both teams had 6-0 records in the battle for the district championship, which Washington-Lee had not won in 38 years. Making the odds even bigger, Yorktown had won its last 27 district games and 30 in a row against Washington-Lee.

Even though the Generals had upset Yorktown once in the state playoffs (2010), they continued to face the winless district stigma year after year.

Coach Josh Shapiro told MaxPreps, "It was an extremely big win for our football team and community. It was a good weight to be lifted off this program and community."



For the great effort, Shapiro has been named the Capital One Bank Washington, D.C. Coach of the Week.

Senior linebacker Aaron Patron (5-9, 195) led a superb defensive effort with 10 tackles, while another senior, tackle Peter Griffin (6-1, 225), contributed three sacks and five other tackles for losses. Junior Daquay Harris (5-10, 165) paced the offense by running for 202 yards. 

When the game ended, a standing-room-only crowd of close to 5,000 broke into a wild celebration.

"My quarterback sprinted off the field and I jumped into his arms and the Gatorade came after that," said Shapiro.

The next morning the players were treated to a big, hot breakfast put together by the parents.

In his seventh year as head football coach, Shapiro actually started his career in baseball.



He was a standout outfielder at Mendon (Pittsford, N.Y.) and also played basketball before graduating in 1989. He did play freshman football but was forced to give up that sport following a serious leg injury. He then played four years of baseball at Cortland State University, graduating in 1993.

Over the next seven years he coached baseball in Boston and New York City before landing a job as assistant baseball and football coach at Dwight-Englewood (Englewood, N.J.).

"I think I was a good baseball player, but football to me was a lot more fun and intense," he said.

Shapiro came to Washington-Lee in 2003 as an assistant and his dream came true in 2007 when he was named head football coach.

With 24 seniors and an overall 8-2 record, Shapiro is fielding the school's best team in many years. He has a playoff game Friday and says that everyone connected to the program "realizes this is a good run, but it's not over yet."{PAGEBREAK}
Third-year Northwest (Germantown, Md.) football coach Mike Neubeiser will long cherish last Friday's stunning 35-21 upset of previously unbeaten Quince Orchard (Gaithersburg, Md.) before a standing-room-only crowd.

"That was the biggest win for our program, because Quince Orchard has such a great program," said Neubeiser, who had been an assistant at three schools. "We are trying to get to their level."



Now 7-2 for the year, the Jaguars' big effort enabled Neubeiser to be named Capital One Bank Washington, D.C. Coach of the Week.
 
"It feels great and is nice for our program," he said.

He was the first to concede, "Definitely, we felt we were the underdog, but the kids embraced that. A big advantage is that all the kids knew each other."

The schools are five miles apart and some of the players were teammates in youth leagues.

"Our kids executed the passing game really well," he said. "The biggest difference was our offensive line. They had their best execution of the year."

Senior left tackle Brandon Hungerford (5-11, 225) was the leader on that offensive line, but there were heroes galore.

Sophomore quarterback Mark Pierce (6-0, 175) — a first-year starter — was outstanding on a huge stage. He completed 19 of 29 passes for 331 yards and four touchdowns. Two seniors shared in the pass-catching honors. Joshua Gills (5-10, 175) snared six passes for 72 yards and two touchdowns, while Matt Watson (6-2, 165) gained 113 yards and also scored twice on three catches.



Defensively, Neubeiser noted that linebacker Rasheed Gillis (6-0, 205) "was in their backfield the whole game. On the very first play he had a sack." He also mentioned that junior safety Troy Lefeged "had some big pass breakups."

Neubeiser is a 1990 graduate of Gathersburg (Md.) High School where he played linebacker and left tackle and made All-State after being named captain and leading his team in tackles as a senior. He also placed second in the discus at the state track & field meet.

He was a starting linebacker off and on for three years at Wake Forest University before graduating in 1995.

He attributes his love for coaching to his uncle, Fred Joyce, who was a legendary coach at Gaithersburg and is a member of the Maryland Hall of Fame.

After 13 years as an assistant coach, Neubeiser left the profession for two years, However, three years ago the head job opened at Northwest and now he's back in it for the long haul.{PAGEBREAK}
The Quince Orchard (Gaithersburg, Md.) football team won the battle of unbeatens on Friday night with a surprising 41-6 rout of city rival Gaithersburg and appears to be a team on a mission after finishing second the past two years in the Class 4A state tournament.

For that effort, Dave Mencarini has been named the Capital One Bank Washington, D.C. Coach of the Week.

Mencarini told MaxPreps that the award "Is a great honor and credit to our kids and coaching staff."



He called the team's eighth straight win over its city rival, "A huge win for the team and program, because it solidifies our position for the playoffs. It was a total team victory. In my tenth year as coach, it was one of the most complete team victories. The kids played their hearts out."

Quarterback Mike Murtaugh (5-11, 175) completed seven of nine passes for 144 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Junior Kyle Green (5-9, 175) ran 17 times for 144 yards and one touchdown. The defense allowed just 149 yards and the offense never had to punt. Tackle Adam McLean paced the defense with two sacks and three other tackles for losses.

Mencarini has compiled an outstanding 105-16 record — including the Class 4A state title in 2007 — in his tenth year as head coach. The first assistant he hired was his father, Joe Mencarini, who coaches the secondary and has been in the business for 44 years.

There was never a doubt Dave Mencarini wanted to be a football coach.

"I grew up as the ballboy and waterboy," he said. "It was what I always wanted to do."

He was a standout wide receiver for Rockville (Md.) where he was a senior captain and still ranks No. 2 in career receptions. After graduating in 1992, he attended Millersville University in Lancaster, Pa., where he played wide receiver for two years. He graduated from College in 1996 and was an assistant coach at three schools before landing at Quince Orchard, now a school of 1700 students in grades 9-12, in 2002. Two years later he got the head job.



The Cougars have posted four shutouts this year and haven't given up more than seven points in a game.

"At this point of the year, the schedule we've played has prepared us for anything we'll see in the postseason," he said.

That postseason could bring another matchup with Gaithersburg. The battle-tested Cougars are ready, however. Five of them played on both runner-up teams.

"Those were heart-breaking defeats," Mencarini said with the pain still apparent in his voice.{PAGEBREAK}
In her fourth year as head volleyball coach at Damascus (Md.), Becky Ronquillo had never beaten powerhouse Sherwood (Sandy Spring, Md.).

It's no wonder, however, because Sherwood had won three consecutive Class 4A state titles and was riding a 68-match winning streak when it played host to Damascus on Thursday.

Surprisingly, Damascus won the first two games by narrow margins of 25-19 and 25-23, but Sherwood rebounded to tie the match with 30-28 and 25-21 wins. The heated match went into a fifth-game tie-breaker and the underdog Hornets emerged with a solid 15-6 upset victory.

For her once-beaten team's outstanding performance, the 29-year-old Ronquillo has been named the Capital One Bank Washington, D.C. Coach of the Week.



"My seniors have been waiting for this for three years," said Ronquillo. "I worked them really hard this past week. It was 'who wants it more?' I had a good feeling, like a calming. This rejuvenates my team for the playoffs and kind of builds them up for the state. We are a small 3A school and they are a large 4A. It's one of those big ones. A lot of my girls play club volleyball with them. It's a good measuring stick."

She noted that her girls are fighters and they took over in the decisive game.

"I don't know what happened to Sherwood, but my girls really elevated," she said.

Playing at the highest level, senior Annika Schwartz put down five of her team-high 25 kills in the decisive fifth game. She also had 15 digs. Senior setter Carly Marella had 44 assists and another senior, Madison Wyatt, had 15 kills.

The 5-foot-9 Ronquillo played volleyball, basketball and softball at Troy in Pennsylvania, where she was volleyball captain as a junior and senior and led her team in kills as a senior.

She noted, "I was a blocker. I always prided myself in blocking."



She did not play in college, where she majored in education. She never set out to be a coach, but in her second year at Damascus she took the JV volleyball position and held it until the varsity job opened.

Ronquillo teaches special education and her simple explanation for entering the coaching field is, "I always had the competitor in me."

She was hesitant to list the Sherwood upset as her biggest win.

"It's up there," she conceded. "I'm hoping to get a bigger win come November. I look for this to be a stepping stone."{PAGEBREAK}
Not even a heavy downpour could keep Patuxent (Lusby, Md.) from winning the battle of 5-0 football teams on Friday night.

The Class 2A Panthers stopped archrival Huntingtown (Md.) 20-10, snapping a five-game losing streak against the Class 3A visitors.

For his team's stellar efforts, Patuxent's Steve Crounse has been named Capital One Bank Washington, D.C. Coach of the Week.

Crounse told MaxPreps, "It's flattering and very humbling to be chosen, but all that is because of all my kids and assistant coaches. It was a big win for us from a confidence standpoint and justification for all of our hard work. It was a lot for the psyche of our team and how we feel about ourselves. It was a great win for our community."



He pointed out that the Panthers, who won the first four meetings, have now tied the series at five wins apiece.

"It's real heated competition and a lot of pride on the line. We are the smallest team in the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference (1,130 students in grades 9-12) and it's a source of pride."

The Panthers' coach had to be especially proud of his own son, junior quarterback Tyler Crounse (6-0, 180), who sloshed through the mud 30 times for 248 yards. Senior Rafiq Douglas ran 23 times for 133 yards and three touchdowns. Junior linebacker Geoff Ricker made 13 tackles, including three for losses.

The older Crounse played quarterback and safety at Abington Heights (Clarks Summit, Pa.) and graduated in 1988. He later attended West Chester University where he was an All-American baseball catcher. He became head coach at Patuxent  in 2002, winning four conference titles.

He said that his biggest goal is to advance as far as possible in the state tournament.

This could be the Panthers' year, because they returned eight starters on offense and eight more on defense with some dynamic sophomores fitting in. He also is very high on his offensive line.



"We have a lot of pieces in place," he said confidently. "This is one of the most complete teams we've had."{PAGEBREAK}
In recent years, Dunbar has been the measuring stick when it comes to high school football in the Washington, D.C. area.

The Crimson Tide were off to another great start this year, winning their first four games and outscoring their opponents by a whopping 144-8 margin.

However, on Friday they ran into a nearly air-tight defense and were handed a 13-6 loss by up-and-coming Wilson.

For that major victory, Wilson's third-year head coach Mark Martin has been named Capital One Bank Washington, D.C. Coach of the Week.

"It's always a big win when you beat a good, well-coached team," said Martin. "Dunbar has tradition and they have dominated. They are one of the teams you measure yourself against. We beat Dunbar last year (20-13). Before that we probably had lost to them about 12 times in a row. To come back and beat them again shows we are going in the right direction."

The victory gave Wilson a 4-2 record this year and ran Martin's career record to 18-10.

Sophomore Abdul Adams (5-11, 185) set the pace by rushing 13 times for 100 yards and one touchdown. Junior Larry Frazier added 81 yards on 13 carries and senior Scott Beumel passed for 94 yards. Leading the superb defense was senior Fred Anderson, who had 12 tackles and returned an interception for a 47-yard touchdown.



Martin credited defensive coordinator William Haith with an outstanding game plan.

"Haith had been studying films like crazy," said Martin. "He came up with a game plan and I said, 'Let's go with it.' We love being the underdog. We played fast and physical, we tried to minimize penalties and mistakes and played outstanding defense."

Martin's roots run deep with the Wilson Tigers.

At 5-foot-8 and 175 pounds, he was an All-Met cornerback and made 22 interceptions during his three-year career. He also was an outstanding sprinter for the track team.

Martin graduated from Wilson in 1984 and played wide receiver for two years at Morgan State University. After college he played semi-pro football for 14 years and in 1999 he founded the D.C. Explosion. One of his former players, Greg Toler, is now a standout cornerback for the Indianapolis Colts.

He launched his coaching career as an assistant at Wilson in 2000 and fulfilled his longtime dream when he became head coach in 2011.{PAGEBREAK}
Elijah Brooks played for two legendary coaches at DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) and now he's putting that experience into good use in his third year as head football coach at his alma mater.



On Friday Brooks guided the Stags (5-1) to an impressive 21-0 victory over archrival Our Lady of Good Counsel (Olney, Md.). It marked the first time in at least 13 years that Good Counsel had been shut out and snapped a four-game winning streak against DeMatha.

The impressive victory has earned Brooks the honor of being named this season's first Capital One Bank Washington, D.C. Coach of the Week.

"It was a huge win for us," he said. "We stayed unbeaten in the conference (Washington Catholic Athletic Conference) and because we had lost to them four years in a row. They've won the last four (conference titles). They've been such an explosive team. For us to think we could come away with a shutout — there wasn't even a thought."

The Stags' finest defensive effort of the year yielded only 107 yards and three first downs. Middle linebacker Dale Matthews set the pace with nine tackles, four for losses. The game-changer was a 99-yard interception return by cornerback Cam Phillips, and a 95-yard touchdown run by Taiwan Deal was a clincher in the fourth quarter.

Brooks played football under Bill McGregor and basketball under Morgan Wootten. He helped both teams win a pair of championships in the highly competitive WCAC. During his senior year (2001-02) he captained both teams, leading the football squad in rushing and the basketball squad in assists.

He played football for one year at Kent State University before playing his final three years at William & Mary, where he finished No. 6 in career rushing.

Graduating in 2007, he was hired to teach history and psychology and as an assistant football coach at DeMatha. He now teaches Body Composition, a weight-training elective for upperclassmen.



Replacing McGregor as head coach could be a pressure-filled job.

"When a guy has done such a fantastic job putting our program on the map for 29 years, it's big shoes to fill," said Brooks. "But I have a great support system with the DeMatha community and my family.

"They (McGregor and Wootten) paved the right way to prepare for games and the way to lead as a player and coach. They provided so many life lessons that I still carry with me today."