The schools have played in many sports over the years, and have scrimmaged on the gridiron on occasion.
But until today, Sept. 21, the Bishop O’Connell Knights and Potomac School Panthers have never met in varsity high-school football. That ends with a noon kickoff at the Potomac School in McLean in non-conference private-school action.
The Panthers enter the contest with a 1-1 record and O’Connell stands 0-3. Potomac School had a bye last week and O’Connell was missing three starting offensive linemen when it lost to host Bullis, 41-0.
The schools are located about three miles apart, or about 10 minutes away driving time. For reasons neither football staff really knows, the squads were never previously scheduled in regular-season football before this fall.
The arrangement evolved last season when first-year O’Connell coach Todd Sabatino and then Potomac School coach C.J. Remmo agreed to the 2024 meeting.
“I want to play local teams like that, and we hope to work something out so we continue playing them in future years,” Sabatino said.
Remmo is no longer Potomac School’s coach, having taken a job on the west coast. Dan Wolff is now the Panthers’ head coach, and has been looking forward to the game and developing an annual rivalry between the Division I independent state teams.
“It make so much sense for the two teams to meet every year,” Wolff said.
O’Connell plays in the Metro Division of the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference and Potomac School in the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference.
Last season, O’Connell faced another local private-school team – the Flint Hill Huskies of Oakton, also from the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference – for the first time. The teams do not meet this season, but could be scheduled in the future.
After facing Potomac School, O’Connell also plays Northern Virginia private-schools Bishop Ireton, St. Paul VI Catholic and John Paul the Great in coming weeks.
The only other Northern Virginia private-school opponent Potomac School faces this season is St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes of Alexandria on Sept. 28. at noon.
O’Connell and Potomac School varsity teams are scheduled to meet in girls soccer this fall in an Oct. 4 clash in McLean. The teams met in the finals of the Northern Virginia girls state tournament the last few seasons.
NOTES: The O’Connell and Potomac School baseball teams met twice during the 2024 spring season and split the games, with the Knights winning the second in a state-tournament playoff contest . . . Current Bishop O’Connell head of school Bill Crittenberger has a past connection to Potomac School. He was a full-time teacher at the school years ago and also an assistant football coach and the head girls varsity basketball coach.
