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Sports

Neubeiser, Northwest Gear Up for Season Opener

Jaguars travel to Blake to take on Bengals in Northwest's coach Mike Neubeiser's head coaching debut.

One thing is certain, no matter the outcome of Friday's season-opening football game between the Northwest Jaguars and the Blake Bengals: It will be a birthday that coach Mike Neubeiser will never forget. 

Neubeiser makes his coaching debut with Northwest on Friday — the same day he turns 39. Winning would be the icing on the cake.

"I just want everything to go right," Neubeiser said. "I don't want to make any silly mistakes, have any stupid penalties, or anything like that. I just want the kids to execute and be fundamentally sound."

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Ever since Neubeiser was named head coach of Northwest’s football team in December, he has set his sights on restoring the team to its 2003 glory, the year the Jaguars won the Maryland 3A state title.

At Blake, fans will see whether the hard work has paid off.

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Blake has struggled to keep pace with the rest of Montgomery County since opening its doors in 1999. The school has only had two winning seasons in that time and has not won more than three games in a season since 2004, including a 1-9 finish in the prior season.

Northwest also finished its 2010 season 1-9, though most Montgomery County football followers believe that Northwest has improved.

Neubeiser, however, isn't looking past the Bengals.

"They run the ball extremely well on offense and equally athletic on defense," Neubeiser said. "They're capable of making big plays at any time."

Neubeiser hopes to match Blake's athleticism with his team's physicality, which he made a focal point during training, building strength and toughness in his players.

On offense, junior quarterback and co-captain Matt Callahan will lead the effort, with receivers Tyler Ambush and Josh McDonald. Neubeiser will also be relying on Ambush and McDonald on the defensive side of the ball Friday, as well as defensive ends Nate Hartman and George Littleton.

"We're going to be very physical on both sides of the ball," said Neubeiser, who played at Gaithersburg High School and Wake Forest University. "We've been a little sloppy in some of our scrimmages but I know we'll be ready on Friday and execute the best we can." 

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