Gaithersburg Grad in National Playoffs With Maine

Axel Ofori, Jr., as a football standout at Gaithersburg High School, made a recruiting trip to Louisville with an eye on being a running back at the college level.

Now the Gaithersburg resident is a redshirt freshman defensive back at Maine, a Division I-AA school in the Colonial Athletic Association.

But don't feel sorry for Ofori that he is not with a major college program. After missing most of his senior year at Gaithersburg with a knee injury, Ofori is a key defender for a team that is in the national playoffs in the Football Championship Subdivision.

So what is the biggest adjustment to being a full-time defensive back after he started both ways as a junior in high school? "I would probably say just the technique," Ofori said after practice from Maine on Tuesday. "It is very crucial. Speed is everything. But technique can help you a lot."

For instance, he said, it is important for a defensive back to watch the hips of a wide receiver to see when he prepares to make a move. And Ofori said it is essential to anticipate when the opposing wideout is going to make a cut to try and get open.

Maine won last Saturday at Appalachian State in the playoffs and now advances to play again this Saturday (Dec. 10) at 2 p.m. at Georgia Southern, a school that is annually among the top at its level.

Why will be the key on defense for the Black Bears of Maine (9-3), who were ranked No. 8 in the country in early November when it lost at home to Towson? "Stop the run," Ofori said of Georgia Southern. "If everybody does their job we should be fine."

The 2010 Gaithersburg High graduate, a team captain under Kreg Kephart in high school, was an all-county and honorable mention all-state player. He was a state champion in track and is the son of Emily and Axel Ofori of Gaithersburg. His younger brother attends Gaithersburg Middle School.

Ofori sat out last year at Maine but practiced with the team as a redshirt. "The thing with Axel, he is very talented," Joe Rossi, the defensive coordinator for Maine, told Patch. "He is one of our more talented players in the secondary. He was real new to the position. Last year was a big learning curve for him. He has played a lot of important snaps for us this year. He has a bright future."

He has played in all 12 games and has 14 tackles. He has also returned one punt for no yards.

The game at Georgia Southern will be an interesting one for Ofori, who also attracted attention from that school while at Gaithersburg. He said he visited Louisville before his senior year but that school lost interest when they made a coaching change. Tennessee State also showed interest.

He expects another loud crowd this weekend on the road. "The crowd was very loud Saturday. We were underdogs but we got the job done," Ofori said. One of the top receivers for Maine is senior Derek Session, from Dunbar High in Baltimore. "He is probably as versatile a football player we have had here," Maine head coach Jack Cosgrove told Patch. "This year Derek has been more of a receiver for us. He is an outstanding blocker."

Ofori and Session are among a handul of players on the team from Maryland.

Maine was one of five teams from the CAA who appeared in the playoffs on Saturday but the only team that came away with a win. Towson of the CAA lost at home to Lehigh. With two more wins Maine would advance to the title game on Jan. 7 in Frisco, TX.

"I am not really surprised" of Maine's success, he said. "We worked hard in the off-season." And so did Ofori.