Here are 10 Washington County fall sports storylines to follow

Note: Due to a reporter's error, incorrect information about the 2022 Washington County boys soccer player of the year award appeared in this story. St. Maria Goretti's Isaiah Hamilton was the player of the year. The Herald-Mail apologizes for the error.

Here are 10 Washington County high school fall sports storylines we will be following throughout the season:

Can Williamsport make another deep football playoff run?

The Wildcats are enjoying a renaissance. The 2021 and 2022 seasons are arguably their best since a pair of 8-2 campaigns in the 1970s (A 7-3 season in 2017 also is in the argument.) And what isn't up for argument is the fact that Williamsport has had more postseason success over the last two years than ever before in program history. The Wildcats won a pair of playoff games in each of the past two seasons, twice reaching the Class 2A-1A state quarterfinals.

What about this year? Senior Corry Nelson is the reigning county offensive player of the year, and Williamsport plans to move him all around the backfield to give him as many opportunities as possible. Junior Ceonta Wilmore is a stud athlete (he also excels on the basketball court) who makes big plays as both a receiver and linebacker. The Wildcats will be breaking in a new starting quarterback in senior Nolan Raley, a transfer from South Hagerstown.

Which football teams can challenge Williamsport for county supremacy?

In the previous two seasons, that answer has been Saint James, which dominated the Wildcats 41-13 in 2021 and 43-13 last fall. The Saints have won back-to-back Mid-Atlantic Conference championships. But Saint James has a lot of holes to fill after the graduations of offensive standouts Joshua Farquharson-Seaforth, Jack Ashby-Jacobs and Kyle Simon-Guerin, as well as Devan Houstan, the 2021 county defensive player of the year who is now at Notre Dame. The Saints and Wildcats do not play each other this season.

Smithsburg (Sept. 8), Clear Spring (Sept. 22), Boonsboro (Sept. 29), North Hagerstown (Oct. 6) and South Hagerstown (Oct. 13) will all get a crack at Williamsport. The Leopards boast the county's top returning running back in senior Ashton Redman. The Warriors went 7-4 last year with a playoff victory, but are in a similar situation to Saint James, having to replace a high number of starters who graduated. The Hubs have a capable air attack with senior quarterback Luke Kercheval and senior receiver Ryder Johnston, but a lot of question marks otherwise. The Rebels boast a four-year starting QB in Lance Ford, who can be a threat with both his arm and his legs, and several other experienced starters.

North Hagerstown volleyball enters a new era

No first-year head coach has bigger shoes to try to fill than Lacie Johnson -- both this fall and across the entire school year. Johnson takes over as the Hubs' volleyball leader after Megan Crawford's 17 sensationally successful seasons, during which North compiled a 231-55 record and four Class 3A state championships (2011, 2012, 2014 and 2022).

Johnson, an assistant under Crawford last year, grew up in the Williamsport program and played on Wildcats teams that won three straight Class 1A state championships, from 2003 to 2005. That kind of background worked out well for the Hubs with Crawford, who also played for a Williamsport championship team in 1999.

Much like the head coach, this year's Hubs are going to have a different look. North graduated four all-county first-team honorees, including two-time county player of the year Gabby Grantham-Medley (now at Duquesne for basketball) and standout middle hitter Armani Kenney (now at Navy). The Hubs won't be the same juggernaut that went 37-2 over the last two seasons, but they still have some solid returning talent, including a pair of offensive weapons in sisters Baylee Doolan and Caydence Doolan.

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Will 1A West volleyball be wild again in 2023?

Last year's 1A West Region II tournament featured a trio of tight matches. Clear Spring edged Williamsport in five sets, and Smithsburg upset Boonsboro in four sets in the semifinals, before the Blazers held off the Leopards in a five-set final on the way to winning the state title.

This year's 1A West regions look significantly different. Clear Spring is now in Region I, which also features Hancock and Garrett County and Allegany County schools. Smithsburg and Boonsboro remain in Region II, while Williamsport returned to Class 2A. There's a chance two Washington County teams could qualify for the Class 1A state tournament.

The Blazers graduated a quartet of players who earned all-county first-team or second-team honors, including first-team standout Morgan Householder. They do return arguably their biggest weapon in hard-swinging lefty Addy Zeigler, an all-county first-teamer in 2022, as well as second-team libero Emerson Moats.

On paper, the Leopards might be the favorite to return to the state throne they sat on nine times from 2009 to 2019, though they will certainly have to earn it. They have a quartet of all-county honorees returning to the starting lineup in setter Chloe Fisher (a first-team selection), hitters Emily Ryder and Kassidy Meadows, and Sid Cecco, who played libero last year but will shift positions with the return from injury of Calli Haugh.

The Warriors won the CMC Gambrill title last year and have the talent to compete against anybody. Outside hitter Rosslyn Briggs and libero Breann Reed earned all-county honors in 2022.

Which boys soccer team will emerge as the county's best?

This question took a turn when North Hagerstown's Drew Lobley, an all-county first-team star and one of the best midfielders in Maryland, was lost for the season with a torn ACL. It's a massive blow for the Hubs, but they can't be written off with three all-county honorees in the fold in first-team defender Sanzhar Zhandossov, second-team forward Bryson Rohrer and second-team goalie Darius Geaman.

Rival South Hagerstown has a trio of all-county performers returning in senior forward Seth Seaward, senior midfielder Nate Myers and junior defender Michael Anderson. Clear Spring also returns a trio of senior all-county honorees, with midfielders Ben Rankin and Jonny Tiznado joining defender Dillon Albowicz. Williamsport has a pair of all-county honorees back in first-team forward MJ Ribis and second-team midfielder Matthew Downs. Boonsboro returns a pair of all-county second-team honorees in forward Carlos Pazos and defender Tyler Sadler.

Those five teams will join Smithsburg in the Stan Stouffer Showcase on the first two Saturdays of the season (Sept. 2 and 9), an event that should provide a good early season measuring stick.

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Will St. Maria Goretti's girls soccer team score 100 goals?

That's one way of saying that the Gaels are going to be really good. Again.

Last year, Goretti finished with the county's best winning percentage, going 13-4, and posted a 93-42 scoring margin. Those 93 goals led the county by a wide margin -- Smithsburg was second with 49.

The scary thing for the Gaels' opponents is that most of Goretti's firepower returns, including a pair of all-county first-teamers in senior player of the year contender Mollie Rebuck (28 goals, 15 assists in 2022) and senior Peyton Miller (12 goals, 13 assists). Seniors Danielle Fish (15 goals) and Jadyn Murray (six goals, eight assists) were on the all-county second team.

Which girls soccer team will take home the Tesla Cup as county champion?

Last year's race for the Tesla Cup came down to a tight three-team battle between Smithsburg, Boonsboro and North Hagerstown. The Warriors' 1-0 overtime victory over Smithsburg gave Boonsboro the trophy. The Hubs defeated Boonsboro, and the Leopards got past North in the other regular-season meetings.

The Warriors and Leopards also are 1A West Region II rivals and could collide again in the playoffs. Smithsburg paid back Boonsboro with a 3-1 victory in the region semifinals last year.

Boonsboro returns all-county second-team midfielders Macy Rhinaman and Faith Santora, both seniors. Smithsburg welcomes back first-team midfielder Nicole Calp (seven goals) but graduated four other first-team standouts and is without second-team defender Alaina Pate, who is recovering from an ACL tear. North is led by first-team scoring threat Samantha O'Connor (nine goals).

Can any county team challenge North Hagerstown in boys cross country?

Well, no. Barring injuries, the Hubs should run away with the county team title again -- although they are unlikely to do so with a perfect score this year, with Smithsburg's Michael Wynkoop and Boonsboro's Jakob Davidson looking like contenders to crack the county's top five.

That said, no team can match the Hubs' depth. They return all-county first-teamers Rishi Bhat, Walker Mason, Sullivan McGreevy and Carson Wilt, along with second-teamer Landon Call, and add another second-teamer in Nicholas Smallwood, who transferred from St. Maria Goretti. North won the CMC overall title last year and finished ninth in the Class 3A state meet. The Hubs could end up even higher in the state standings come November.

Lauren Stine vs. Caroline Matthews, for one final year

North Hagerstown junior Lauren Stine and Boonsboro senior Caroline Matthews are two of the best runners in the state, and we get to enjoy their matchups, in cross country and on the track, for one more school year.

Last year, Stine was dominant in winning the county cross country title before finishing second in the Class 3A state race to earn runner of the year honors. Matthews wasn't in top form -- she was diagnosed with POTS, an autoimmune disorder, after the season -- but still managed to finish second in the county and fifth in Class 1A.

Matthews rebounded on the track once she had a treatment plan, winning county titles in the 3,200 both indoors and outdoors and the Class 1A state title in the event indoors, with a top time of 11:06.75 in the county outdoor meet. She was the indoor track girls athlete of the year.

Stine saved her best track performance of her sophomore season for last, winning the Class 3A outdoor 3,200 state title with a massive personal record of 10:54.42 -- the second-fastest 3,200 ever run by a county girls athlete.

Will it be a lucky seven straight WCPS golf titles for Boonsboro?

This looks very likely, as the Warriors continue to boast the county's deepest squad. Sophomore Piper Meredith, the reigning Class 2A-1A District 1 girls champion who finished fourth in the state tournament, was an all-county first-team honoree, and junior Kadan Jones was a second-team selection.

In a nine-team match at Black Rock last week, Boonsboro placed third and easily outpaced county public-school rivals Williamsport, North Hagerstown and Smithsburg, with Meredith, Jones and Zach Kidd each shooting 38s.

Two other county golfers stood out in that match last week. St. Maria Goretti junior Roland Wright tied for medalist honors with a 34 and was an all-county first-teamer last year. Williamsport senior Ryan Acre, a second-team honoree, impressed with a 35 to finish third.

Other county golfers to watch are Saint James junior Danny McElroy and South Hagerstown sophomore Luke Leisinger and junior Jack Rhodes. All three were all-county second-team honorees a year ago.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: 2023 Washington County high school fall sports storylines