Baltimore Rundown: BCL off to strong start, games to watch

Every Monday, I'll be coming at you with a rundown article from what happened in the previous week having to do with Baltimore Metro area programs. As public schools await their first official games in December, all of the attention has been on the private school programs and in particular, teams within the Baltimore Catholic League.   Let's get into the headlines.   Mount St. Joe's record is unblemished through five games   Head coach Pat Clatchey has his Gaels off to a 5-0 start to the season, winning their games by an average of 31 points. They enter the week coming off their most impressive win yet against St. Vincent Pallotti thanks to an 18-point performance from promising sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id='2546067' first='Aaron' last='Early Jr.'] [player_tooltip player_id='2252277' first='BJ' last='Ranson'] (St. Joe's commit) has been torching the nets as expected, freshman forward [player_tooltip player_id='2894300' first='Ciar' last='Word'] is showing good signs early in his high school career, and others are learning their roles within the rotation prior to the schedule ramping up. The Gaels will have their first true test of season this week, which will be included in the games to watch.   Calvert Hall controlling the controllables   There's no doubt that this year's roster for the Cardinals should give them a chance to pull off an upset win or two over the upper echelon teams. Cohesion and executing in crunch time will be the ultimate indicators but early on, their talented trio of 2027 [player_tooltip player_id='2926352' first='Cameron' last='Wood'], 2028 [player_tooltip player_id='2265685' first='Billy' last='Stanfield III'], and 2028 [player_tooltip player_id='2731617' first='Ellis' last='Johnson'] have been shouldering the production as expected. Through their first four games, head coach David Gately has his group winning by a combined 21.2 points per game. They escaped a close 5-points victory over Friends from the B Conference, but rebounded nicely in their next outing against Indian Creek where they won by a commanding 33 points. Confidence will be extremely important to this group, so the fast start will help. Their first test against BCL/MIAA A Conference competition comes this week in a rivalry matchup against Loyola Blakefield. The Cardinals will be favored in this one, but rivalry games typically have a habit of being close no matter what the two rosters look like.   St. Frances and Mount Carmel set to meet in the battle of 3-0 teams   The Panthers will travel to Essex on Tuesday and take on the reigning BCL and MIAA A Conference champions in a rare, early juggernaut matchup prior to Thanksgiving. Mount Carmel stands unbeaten through their first three games, outclassing teams by an average of 31.3 points per game. It's been a mixed bag in terms of stat leaders for the Cougars thus far, but it's expected given the depth and balance throughout their rotation. 2027 [player_tooltip player_id='2454529' first='Junior' last='Mancho']'s ability to man the paint at both ends has shined brightly against the three B Conference opponents. St. Frances comes into Tuesday's heavyweight bout dismantling their opponents by and average of 42 points per game, with one of their wins coming in the first BCL head-to-head of season at St. Mary's Annapolis. 2026 [player_tooltip player_id='2878470' first='Carter' last='Fisk'], 2026 Anthony Smith, and 2027 [player_tooltip player_id='2975252' first='TJ' last='Jones'] have been the stalwarts for Nick Myles this season, as expected.   Other notables performances   2028 [player_tooltip player_id='2715192' first='Nash' last='Avery'] made a splash in his first official game with Spalding as the No. 2 overall prospect in our 2028 rankings hung 26 points followed by his fellow frontcourt mate, who happens the be the No. 3 overall prospect in the same rankings, Braxton Bogard's 17 points in a win over Annapolis Area Christian.   John Carroll senior [player_tooltip player_id='1782586' first='Aidan' last='Able'] (UMBC commit) scored 24 points in their win over St. Paul's on Friday. His overall feel and playmaking ability on the ball continues to trend in the right direction as he not only prepares for the Division I level, but also putting himself in a position to steer the Patriots' boat in a well-balanced BCL landscape this season. Also for John Carroll in the outing, 2026 [player_tooltip player_id='2547300' first='Andrew' last='Clark'] and 2026 [player_tooltip player_id='2453731' first='Parris' last='Lee'] contributed double-digit scoring performances. 2029 David Mota is a freshman guard for head coach Seth Goldberg that showed toughness and good feel playing on the ball. Despite the loss, St. Paul's had a few underclassmen that caught my eye such as 2028 forward [player_tooltip player_id='2880721' first='Cole' last='Edwards'] and 2028 guard [player_tooltip player_id='2194765' first='Noah' last='Washington']. Another long-term name to keep an eye on with them is 2029 Devon Garrison.   Games to watch this week:   St. Frances @ Mount Carmel- Tuesday 6PM   Mount St. Joe @ John Carroll- Tuesday 7PM

Every Monday, I'll be coming at you with a rundown article from what happened in the previous week having to do with Baltimore Metro area programs. As public schools await their first official games in December, all of the attention has been on the private school programs and in particular, teams within the Baltimore Catholic League.