MaxPreps 2012 Preseason Xcellent 25 Football preview: No. 10 Our Lady of Good Counsel

An undefeated, Top 5 finish in 2011 will be hard for Our Lady of Good Counsel (Olney, Md.) to top.

Incredibly, however, the 2012 Falcons have the potential to be even stronger this fall than they were a year ago.

Head coach Bob Milloy will need to find a way to replace the two-way production of Stefon Diggs, the team’s go-to player a year ago. If that happens, Good Counsel could be truly elite.

MaxPreps Preseason Top 25 Early Contenders



Virginia commit Brendan Marshall is back at the helm for the team’s offense. He’ll take snaps from Michael Konrad, who returns on an offensive line that also brings back Sam Mustipher and Joe Ralli.

Clemson commit Dorian O'Daniel will be the team’s leading rusher this season. CJ Carroll and Andre Levrone will likely be Marshall’s top targets this season.

Defensively, Good Counsel is teeming with young men who will play on Saturdays. Mustipher and O’Daniel play both ways, with Mustipher leading the defensive line and O’Daniel heading the team’s linebackers.

O’Daniel is joined by Darien Carr, Reggie McGee and Marcel Ngachie. It could be the team’s deepest unit, and the strongest that Good Counsel has been at the position since the days of Jelani Jenkins.

The team’s secondary might be even stronger than the linebackers. Blue-chip recruit Kendall Fuller is extremely talented. Kirk Garner and CJ Jones will ensure there’s little drop off from last year’s unit. Class of 2015 defensive back Roger Richardson could see time as a sophomore.

Local look: "Since coming to Good Counsel, Bob Milloy has built the preeminent program in the area, surpassing in recent years a historic DeMatha team in the highly competitive WCAC. The Falcons continue to pump out major prospects, from Jelani Jenkins to last year's All-Met Player of the Year, Stefon Diggs, and their overall depth and competitiveness is unmatched in the region. They will reload again this year led by All-Mets Dorian O'Daniel and Kendall Fuller, two top national recruits, and they're certainly the favorites to defend their WCAC title, especially after such a dominant season last year."
- Paul Tenorio, Washington Post
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Size: Washington Catholic Athletic Conference member (Good Counsel does not participate in Maryland Public Secondary School Athletic Association)



Enrollment: 1,050 (Approx.)


2011 finish: 12-0, WCAC champion


Head coach: Bob Milloy


Career record: 365-106-1


Years at school: 11


Notable players coached:
LB Jelani Jenkins (Florida)



RB Caleb Porzel (Maryland)

DB Louis Young (Stanford)

WR Stefon Diggs (Maryland)
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No. of returning starters: 6 (offense), 6 (defense)

Key losses:
WR/DB Stefon Diggs

RB Wes Brown



OL Mike Madaras

Key returners:
QB Brendan Marshall

LB/DB Dorian O'Daniel

DB Kendall Fuller

DL Sam Mustipher

Key newcomers:
DB Roger Richardson



DB Kobie Walker

OL Jemal Averette
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Toughest game: Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas). Taking on the Nevada powerhouse will be tough, but the game will be even more difficult for Good Counsel because it has to travel across the country.

Question mark: Can this team be even better than last year? There are many signs that this year’s Good Counsel squad could be even stronger than last year. However, with the loss of Diggs as well as Mike Madaras and Ryan Watson, that won’t be easy.

Local outlook: Good Counsel will be challenged for supremacy in Maryland by Gilman, which beat Good Counsel two years ago and nearly claimed another victory last year. The schools are relatively close in proximity and occasionally compete for students. The rivalry has been taken up a notch since former DeMatha head coach Bill McGregor joined Gilman’s staff.

Overall outlook: This team could vie for a No. 1 finish, or it could have several losses and drop out of the Xcellent 25. With the coaching talent, and developing chemistry of this year’s squad, we’re leaning toward the former happening in 2012.



Coach quote: “This team has a chance to be very special but they are going to have to want it.  Coming off of three straight championships and a Top 5 national ranking is a tough hurdle but they have the talent to do it.”
- Our Lady of Good Counsel coach Bob Milloy
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