by Ariel Raymond Caraballo
The Northern Patriots have hired Tom Abel III as the new head coach of the football team. Coach Abel comes to Northern after many successful seasons at Dundalk High School, where he had a 28-6 overall record with multiple deep playoffs runs over the last three years. Coach Abel has been named to the Big 33 Maryland Roster in 2025, 2024 and 2022.
This season, Abel led his team to a 11-3 record before a devastating loss to Wise in the quarterfinals. Abel is replacing Northern’s former Head Coach Rich Holzer, who left the Patriots to go coach at Loyola University.
Northern football players believe that Abel is the right person to take the team further. “Working with a coach of Abel’s experience is a great opportunity,” said Defensive End Jasaiah Frantz.
Following Coach Abel is Coach Abel, Jr. Coach Abel, Jr. will be coaching Northern’s offensive line unit after coaching at Severn School, Dundalk HS, Wilde lake HS and Calvert HS.
In addition to bringing in Abel as the new Head Coach, the Patriots have also named Brendan Galligan as the offensive coordinator to strengthen their coaching staff.
Coach Galligan comes back to northern after previously being an assistant coach for Couch Crounse at Northern in 2020. Prior to coaching at northern, Coach Galligan was the head coach at Huntingtown High where he had led the Hurricanes to the state finals and a semi-final appearance, Coach Galligan accumulated a 23-4 record as a head coach.
To finish out the staff, the Patriots also brought in Coach Paul Hutchison as Assistant Head Coach and Co-Defensive Coordinator to lead the other side of the ball. Coach Hutchison previously was the interim coach, managing the team through the offseason and helping them through the coaching transition period.
This offseason has brought many of new faces to the Patriots, and with these new resources, the team goal is making a strong playoff run in the 2025 season.