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Mencarini, Cougars Looking to Extend Win Streak Against Northwest

Quince Orchard faces the Jaguars on the road Friday night at 6:30 p.m.; Northwest coach Mike Neubeiser faces his old team.

It was nearly five years ago but it might as well have been last week as far as Dave Mencarini is concerned. The memory remains fresh.

In 2006, long before this current group of Cougars even began attending Quince Orchard High School, Mencarini's team found itself in a 35-0 hole just 20 minutes into a semi-final playoff game against Northwest before eventually losing 56-35 to the Jaguars, abruptly ending the Cougar's season on the most bitter of notes.

A year later, QO won its second state title in school history and the Cougars haven't lost to Northwest since. This Friday night, Mencarini plans to keep it that way for at least one more year.

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"I told our kids about that yesterday," Mencarini said. "I told them, 'you'll never be in that kind of situation in your life, but I was, and I'll never forget that.' That was embarrassing for me because our guys weren't prepared to play that night. That definitely still stings."

That one game, however, which by any measure was the worst loss in Mencarini's head coaching career, provided a lesson for Mencarini that has stayed with him since that night, the eighth-year coach said.

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"I learned a lot from that game from a head coaching perspective of how to manage your team," Mencarini said. "I made the decision after that game I was going to do a lot of things differently going into 2007. I took a stance on a lot of little things and I don't think it's any coincidence we won the [state championship] that year."

Since then, Quince Orchard has been the county's most successful program, having gone 47-6 over the last four-plus seasons. So far in 2011, the Cougars are once again proving to be the team to beat in Montgomery County after a 3-0 start that includes a season-opening win over Sherwood and a 24-8 win over previously unbeaten Paint Branch last Saturday.

To overcome (1-2) this week, though, the Cougars will need to do it without their starting quarterback, Billy Plante, who injured his throwing hand in Saturday's win over Paint Branch. Quince Orchard will rely on senior Lucas Bogart to run the offense Friday night. Mencarini is confident in his back-up quarterback's ability to get the job done.

Additionally, Mencarini will continue to lean on running back Mark Green, who is currently second in the league (347 yards) in rushing behind Gaithersburg's Solomon Vault (432).

Northwest's passing game, meanwhile, is one of the best in the league with second-year starter Matty Callahan leading the effort for the Jaguars. His 509 yards through the air is good for second in the conference. And his six touchdown passes on the year place him in the top 10 in the entire Washington area. He had three touchdown passes in last week's win over Magruder. Putting pressure on Callahan will be a key focus for Mencarini and his defense.

This game is also a homecoming of sorts for Northwest coach Mike Neubeiser. Neubeiser is in his first year as coach of Northwest and spent several seasons as the defensive coordinator for Quince Orchard, including 2006 and 2007.

Neubeiser, who was a member of the inaugural staff at Northwest before going to Quince Orchard in 2004, has mixed feelings about coaching against the team he helped win a state championship with.

"I am very good friends with all those guys still," Neubeiser said. "Dave [Mencarini] is one of my best friends. He's helped me tremendously as I have been getting my program up and running. I love those guys like family."

Mencarini said that he's trying not to let his relationship with Neubeiser get in the way of Friday's game, stating that he has known Neubeiser since they were 3-years-old.

"It's not fun when you have to play your closest friends. But, as far as our players are concerned, it's still Northwest," Mencarini said, adding that emotions have been high at practice this week. "It's their rival. Our senior class has never lost to them. It's easy for the kids to get excited because of who we're playing."

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