Top 25 Early Contenders high school football team preview: No. 19 DeMatha

Elijah Brooks is starting his sixth season as head coach at DeMatha Catholic, and judging from his 46-12 record, three conference championships, a strong pipeline to college programs and No. 16 national ranking last season, his approval rating is high.

Located just 7.3 miles from the White House, DeMatha and its coach are acutely aware about perception.

The reality is, the Stags have established themselves as one of the top programs in the country, this season starting out at No. 19 nationally in the MaxPreps Early Contenders.

They boast two of the top 51 players in the country — defensive end Chase Young (No. 29) and running back Anthony McFarland (51) — a top-notch quarterback in Beau English and a big-time offensive tackle in Marcus Minor (6-4, 287).

Since Brooks took over in 2011, college coaches have been invading the DeMatha campus regularly. In that time, 21 Top 1,000-ranked players by 247Sports have secured college scholarships, including six last year and the 2011 No. 2 recruit overall Cyrus Kouandjio, now with the NFL's Buffalo Bills.

"We absolutely feel like our program has turned the corner and is one of the elite in the country," Brooks said. "To be among the best you have to play the best and we're doing that now."

They proved that to much of the prep nation last year with two wins to start the season over highly rated South Florida teams, Central (Miami) and American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.).

The host Stags beat Central 38-14 before traveling to Florida to pull out a 23-22 victory.

See the DeMatha Early Contenders photo shoot

This season, the Stags will play three formidable out-of-state teams, at home against Oxbridge Academy (West Palm Beach, Fla.) and away contests at Oscar Smith (Chesapeake, Va.) and Bishop McDevitt (Harrisburg, Pa.).

"We feel very good about this group upcoming," Brooks said. "They've been working very hard since January."

The Players
It starts with Young, the 32nd top senior recruit in the country according to 247Sports and No. 3 defensive end, and also McFarland (No. 52 overall, No. 4 all purpose running back).

Both players have been invited to next month's The Opening in Beaverton, Ore., and both share an extreme competitive edge.

"He is a true competitor who wears his emotions on his sleeve," Brooks said of the 5-foot-8, 186-pound McFarland. "His teammates follow that and try to match that. It sets the tone.

"What stands out about him on the field is his explosiveness. He honestly can score any time he touches the ball."

McFarland has 29 college offers, but appears to be leaning toward either Alabama, Miami or Maryland.

View this season's 247Sports Composite Rankings

Young (6-5, 225) also appears to be leaning toward Maryland, along with Ohio State, Alabama and USC.

"He's one of the most competitive kids I've ever coached," Brooks said. "Whether it's at practice or camps or games, he doesn't take a play off. He likes to mix it up."

Young and McFarland are just two of eight returning starters — a relative low number — but that also includes English, a 6-2, 190-pound quarterback who appears to be on the way to Army.

The Keys
Other players to watch are wide receiver Delante Hellams jr, defensive tackle Austin Fontain (one of the nation's top incoming juniors) incoming sophomores DeMarcco Hellams and Jermaine Johnson and Gilman transfers junior lineman Evan Gregory (6-5, 280) and defensive back Carlton Taylor (5-10, 180).

DeMarcco Hellams (6-2, 190), who already has 10 offers, could be one of the top 10 players overall in his class.

See more videos of the DeMatha Stags

"Big time," Brooks said. "Few know about him now, but he's going to step up and make huge contributions.

"We're not as deep as we have been in the past, but we're very talented at many positions. We have some young guys who will have to grow up in a hurry. But if they do, we can make another run."