<head> <title>Mount Carmel to Start Playing Football</title>
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Mt. Carmel to Start Playing Football
- Article & photo by Ben Boehl -
 

Mount Carmel AD Mike Naunton, Councilman Joe Bartenfelder, Mount Carmel Football Coach Robb Johnson and Chapel Hills owner Russell Berk (pictured left to right).
After 50 years, Mount Carmel High School will have its first football team starting this fall. The school announced they will start with an eight-game schedule in 2010 and will join the MIAA (Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association) League for a full schedule in 2011.
Director of Athletics Mike Naunton said it’s time to add a football team to the athletic program. “The kids in middle school DON’T know what it’s like not having football in their lives. There was a period when kids in the area didn’t have a football team when the Colts left, but this generation has grown with up football as the Ravens have been in Baltimore for 15 years,” Naunton explained. “We thought it was time to start a football program. Kids entering high school today have grown up playing football in rec. leagues and we have some good young players out there.”
“Mount Carmel is the only private school on the east side and it’s important we help it remain strong and vibrant for the community,” Bartenfelder said, whose two sons attend the school.”
Mount Carmel has already hired its first football coach, Robb Johnson. He was an assistant head coach at Bowie State and was the head coach at Pikesville High School in 2007. Johnson played at Overlea High and later played college football at Morgan State.
Johnson is excited about being the first head coach at Mount Carmel. He is an Essex resident and believes his team will be competitive because most of his players have grown up playing rec. football. “I don’t think it will be much of a learning curve,” he noted. “I think these kids are ready to play.”
A football program was also added to help the school’s enrollment. Naunton said the school has already heard from 25 students that plan to play football in the fall. “We know that there have been students that didn’t come to our school in the past because they want to play football,” he acknowledged.

Although Mount Carmel won’t play any of the Essex schools (Chesapeake, Eastern Tech or Kenwood) this year in football, Naunton hopes to play some of the schools in football in the future. He is just happy to add a football program to the school.
“Football is a community builder. There is always the big build-up for the game,” Naunton said. “It’s the one sports that everyone knows and loves to talk about.”
Bartenfelder agrees and stated football will be a nice addition to the school. “It’s important to help round out that educational experience. Participating in extracurricular activities helps add to that experience,” he said.