Defending Class AAA champion Brentwood, state runner-up Siegel and perennial title contender Franklin are set to each play a pair of games against nationally renowned teams traveling from the D.C. area this weekend.
Bishop O’Connell, from Arlington, Va., will play Franklin and Siegel. Our Lady of Good Counsel, from Olney, Md., will play Brentwood and Franklin. St. John’s College High School, from Chevy Chase, D.C., will play Brentwood and Siegel.
“We and Franklin and Siegel have been pretty successful as a whole the last few years,” Brentwood coach Cal Long said. “It’s exciting to play against someone that’s been successful the way they have.”
Good Counsel is ranked seventh in the most recent National Soccer Coaches Association of America’s Top 25, with O’Connell 21st and Franklin tied for 25th.
Franklin coach Jimmy Burchett was the primary contact in arranging the matchups, which stem from a series of games dating back nearly 20 years.
“Back in the ’90s, (the late) Barry Redmond was into all the national rankings and he had contacts with teams up in the D.C. area,” Burchett said. “He’d put on the Tennessee Classic and he’d have teams from Knoxville and Memphis come in and play four or five days against some teams from up in the Northeast, to get a comparison for rankings.
“After he died, some of it died down, but some of those guys are still involved with their teams — and they like country music. So every three or four years, I’ll get an e-mail from them saying they want to come down.”
The schedule is as follows:
Thursday — Bishop O’Connell at Franklin, 7 p.m.
Friday — Our Lady of Good Counsel at Brentwood, 4 p.m.; Bishop O’Connell vs. Siegel at Franklin, 5 p.m.
Saturday — Our Lady of Good Counsel at Franklin, 2 p.m.; St. John’s College High School at Brentwood, 4 p.m.
Sunday — St. John’s College High School at Siegel, 1 p.m.
Good Counsel, O’Connell and Franklin are second, fourth and fifth in the current NSCAA Region IV poll, which also includes Hendersonville (No. 9) and Father Ryan (No. 11). Region IV encompasses the District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
