Arundel varsity football coach Chuck Markiewicz got his 157th career victory Friday night in a palm-sweating, 20-19 victory. Getting number 157 ties Markiewicz with Annapolis' late, great coach Al Laramore for the most wins in Anne Arundel County history.

Last night, Markiewicz said if he gets the record all to himself next week against 4-2 Severna Park, he won't see it as a major personal achievement, though "it is flattering." But Markiewicz added, "It's no accident either. I've had good people working with me for a long time and we work pretty hard at [winning]."

If you look at the Top 5 in The Baltimore Sun's football poll, you'll see teams consistently scoring 40 and 50 points. Some of them, like River Hill, Loyola and Dunbar, have been doing it consistently for several years.

No. 10-ranked Arundel, 5-1, has been averaging 35 points a game for no less than 10 years. It may go a long way in accounting for those 157 victories.

"We plan for the year ahead every year," said Markiewicz. "We don't believe in having a good team one-in-three years. We believe in having a good team every year."

Markiewicz said there is no excuse for not having a good team.

"I don't know what the philosophies are at other schools," he said. "But it's your job as a coach to look forward and prepare your team to be ready, [no matter how many seniors you might lose to graduation.] A perfect example came against Annapolis. We have a guard who is a junior. We know he will be starting next season, so we put him into that game and got him quality minutes in a close game. It wasn't mop-up time."

Winning and scoring a lot of points isn't a trend at Arundel. It's a tradition.

-- Sandra McKee