There will be plenty in this space about the Saturday state football championship games and the ramifications later. But we shouldn't let the season close on the splendid efforts of the local teams who played for state 3A and 4A titles late last week.

Arundel coach Chuck Markiewicz did a superb job in getting the fourth-ranked Wildcats back to the state title game for the first time in 28 years, aided in no small part by the fabulous arm of quarterback Nick Elko. Meanwhile, Steve Turnbaugh guided No.5 Hereford to its fifth championship game appearance in the last 10 years, behind the running of Lonnie Liggins.

But what the Bulls and Wildcats discovered in their losses to Damascus and Quince Orchard in their respective finals last week is a common lament for many suburban Baltimore area schools, namely that they usually cannot match the speed and athleticism of the Washington area schools that they frequently meet in the state playoffs. Holes that were opened easily during the regular season close faster in late November and December, which forces teams to press and play the game more quickly than they might normally.

All of that is said with this very important proviso: The Arundel and Hereford players and coaches don't have a single thing to feel sorry about. They reached a stage in the season that every kid and coach dreams about, and no one can take away their accomplishments.