Howard County -- Home of soccer champions?
From The Sun's Glenn Graham:
The state soccer championships are set to run from Thursday through Saturday and, once again, Howard County will be well represented with four entries.
After going 4-for-4 in title games last year -- Hammond and Mount Hebron won boys titles, and River Hill and Glenelg claimed girls crowns -- the county has totaled a whopping 62 state championships (42 boys titles since 1969 and 20 girls titles since 1989).
Plenty of great storylines can be found this year.
Can the Wilde Lake girls team win its first crown in coach Dave Procida's last season? Can River Hill, which swept the boys and girls cross country state finals last Saturday, do the same in soccer this Saturday? Will the Glenelg girls, winners of the Class 2A state crown last year, come back and win the program's fifth title at the 1A ranks?
The county's long-standing success has come with plenty of constants -- with consistently strong coaching, outstanding feeder programs and a never-ending passion for the sport at the top of the list.
