Seneca Valley Football Primed for Post-Season Run

Fred Kim is no stranger to post-season high school football. Kim, now in his eighth season as head coach at Seneca Valley, has been part of numerous state title teams as both a player and later as an assistant for the Screamin' Eagles.

But despite taking the Germantown school to the playoffs six times in his first seven years as head coach, Kim has yet to experience championship glory since taking over for Terry Changuris in 2004.

Kim will get another crack at bringing home the school's unprecedented 13th state championship — which would be its first since 2002 — when the Screamin' Eagles host Thomas Johnson of Frederick, Md., on Friday in the first round of the Maryland 3A playoffs.

Keeping the Eagles grounded

For the fourth time since Kim has been at the helm, the Screamin' Eagles finished the regular season with nine wins or more, once again making the team one of the favorites to win the state title.  Seneca enters the playoffs as the top seed in the 3A West region and the favorite to advance to the state semi-finals.

But Kim isn't allowing his athletes to assume that regular season success will translate into post-season success, especially considering what has happened the past couple years.

"We try to emphasize to the kids that the regular season is over and we can't look back," Kim said. "This is a new season. You lose, it's over. Our sense of urgency has to be up in every facet of what we do."

Been there, done that?

In fact, this is not the first time that Seneca Valley has been considered a favorite to win the state title since Kim has been there.

The closest the team came was in 2008, when the Screamin’ Eagles went 10-0 in the regular season and won its first two playoff games before being stunned in overtime by Westlake in the state semi-finals. 

For this round of playoffs, Kim said he isn't letting his players look past their first opponent. Thomas Johnson, Kim said, is one of the powers of Frederick County.

"They are always very talented and I don't see one weakness on their offensive side of the ball,” Kim said. “They are well-coached. They're going to be a huge challenge for us, without question."

But Kim said that this year's team has a different mindset than some of his past teams.

"This year's team might not be as physically talented as some of our previous teams," Kim said. "But we've been focused on ensuring that we are a more focused football team from top to bottom. We've tried to sacrifice more, work harder, increase our effort level, and strengthen our character, which I think we've done. This team is all about winning as a team. Those have been the big differences in this year's team."

New team, new attitude

James Jones-Williams has been Kim's top offensive weapon this season. The junior running back finished second in the conference in rushing with 1,145 yards and 10 touchdowns.  The team’s quarterback, Tanner Vallely, who finished the year second in the conference with 760 yards passing, has also been a big part of the team’s success.

As for his lack of championship success as Seneca’s head coach, Kim said it’s not a lost fact. His predecessors Al Thomas (five titles) and Changuris  (seven titles) are, in his opinion, the best coaches in state history.

"I am reminded through things like message boards that I am the only Seneca coach that hasn't won a state championship," said Kim.

But he is not letting this fact define who he is as a coach.

"It doesn't destroy my resolve though. We continue to fight and work hard. We haven't necessarily gotten the results from all of our hard work and that's been frustrating, but we'll keep pushing and make sure we continue to uphold the standards of this football program."