The IAAM girls soccer championship games this weekend have been changed from their previously scheduled times. The C Conference championship between Annapolis Area Christian School and St. Timothy's will now take place at 4 p.m. Saturday at Archbishop Spalding with the A and B title games set for Sunday at Gerstell Academy in Finksburg. The A Conference championship between Spalding and Mercy will now start at 1 p.m. with the B title game -- St. John's vs. Bryn Mawr -- to follow at 3 p.m.

Posted by Glenn Graham at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Girls soccer
        

Archbishop Spalding junior goalkeeper Jocelyn McCoy, The Sun's female athlete of the week, was named the ESPN RISE magazine girls soccer player of the week. McCoy is 17-0-1 with 14 shutouts this season for the No. 1 Cavaliers, who are ranked No. 4 nationally by ESPN RISE. Spalding, the defending Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference champions, are set to play host to No. 10 John Carroll in Thursday's semifinal round. Game time is 3:45 p.m.

Posted by Glenn Graham at 12:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Girls soccer
        

Mount de Sales athletic director Gene Williams reports that a water main break forced the school to close at 10:30 this morning, but that all playoff games will go on with a few adjustments:

The IAAM A Conference volleyball semifinal game to be hosted by Mount de Sales with McDonogh has been moved to McDonogh. The starting time remains 4:15 p.m.

The IAAM B conference semifinal field hockey game, also with McDonogh, will be played at St. Paul’s at 2 p.m.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

For the first time since the school opened in 1845 and moved to Towson 115 years later, Calvert Hall will host an athletic event under the lights on campus. The Cardinals will play the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A conference soccer semifinal at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 5. The game will be against the winner of Friday’s game between Mount St. Joseph and Archbishop Curley.

Calvert Hall athletic director Lou Eckerl said President Brother Thomas Zoppo decided to look into having a night event at Calvert Hall so more parents would be able to attend, especially with daylight savings time. Zoppo decided that a soccer playoff game would be good to determine the positives and negatives of hosting games in the evening. The school is renting the lights for the game.

The Cardinals (10-5) entered the MIAA playoffs as a No. 2 seed, earning a first-round bye. Calvert Hall is seeking its first title since 2003.

-- Todd Karpovich

Posted by Kevin Eck at 8:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Boys soccer
        

The recent rains have forced postponement of Wednesday's scheduled Baltimore City cross county championship meet at Herring Run Park. City officials moved the meet back a day, and it's scheduled to take place Thursday at 4 p.m.

But the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland's meet will go on today. The varsity race is set to begin at 3 p.m. at Oregon Ridge. The Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association meet will take place next Thursday at Oregon Ridge.

That had been originally planned for next Wednesday, but conference officials switched it to Nov. 5.

--Jeff Seidel

Posted by baltimoresun.com at 2:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Cross country
        

Crammed in its own end for the first 15 minutes of Tuesday's Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference quarterfinal against No. 2 McDonogh, you wouldn't blame the Mercy girls soccer team for surrendering as shot after shot was directed at its goal. After all, the Eagles had beaten the Magic, 3-0, less than a week ago and also eliminated it in last year's playoffs.

Instead the Magic showed poise, making some slight adjustments to even the playing field and have a chance.

After sophomore midfielder Lexie Niedoba cleanly struck a free kick from 25 yards, inches past the McDonogh wall and just inside the near post, the Magic had a 1-0 lead with 20 minutes to play. More strong defense protected the lead and the Magic moved on to Thursday's semifinal round at Notre Dame Prep.

Mercy coach Albert Oni, who praised the play of center midfielder Jordan Stenger, said last year's playoff experience against McDonogh, a 1-0 semifinal setback that was decided late in the game, played a big role in Tuesday's outcome.

"I think it shows the character of our kids," he said. "The experience last year is what has driven us all season. Win, lose or draw you can't take away that experience we gained and the kids knew they could play with McDonogh."

Posted by Glenn Graham at 1:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Girls soccer
        

The District V soccer championships -- originally scheduled to be played today at Long Reach -- have been moved to Arundel High; the times have not changed. The girls game -- Severna Park vs. Reservoir -- will take place at 5 p.m., followed by the boys game -- Severna Park vs. Marriotts Ridge -- at 7.

Posted by baltimoresun.com at 2:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

McDonogh's Rudy Johnson sure knows how to rally his team.

The senior quarterback threw three touchdown passes in the final five minutes to boost the No. 2 Eagles from 19 points down to a 27-26 win over Georgetown Prep on Friday, a victory that kept them unbeaten in the MIAA A Conference.

“I’ve never seen anything like it in high school football,” McDonogh coach Dom Damico said. “In six minutes, Rudy threw for a couple hundred yards and three scores.”

Johnson -- 6 feet 2, 210 pounds and headed for Buffalo -- finished with 335 yards and four touchdowns, but the final minutes may have been the most impressive comeback of the season.

When Dominic Bryan’s 1-yard touchdown run gave Georgetown Prep a 26-7 lead with about 6:40 to go in the game, the Eagles appeared to be cooked, but Johnson didn’t think so.

First, Johnson hit Justin Gross with a 4-yard pass and then he hit Gabe Macis with a 32-yarder with about 3:30 to go to pull within 26-20. Macis caught a 34-yard touchdown pass with 22 seconds left to tie the game and Sam Eby nailed the game-winning extra point.

“He’s a very humble kid,” Damico said, “but I’ll tell you what, he’s been in McDonogh since middle school and he’s just very, very competitive in everything, even middle school gym classes. He plays hard and tries to compete in every little game he plays. I think if you put him in a competitive or challenging situation, he’ll play hard. Just an ultra-competitive type of kid.”

In addition to Johnson’s heroics, Damico sited Macis (nine catches for 150 yards, two TDs) and linebacker Isaac Jorgensen for their contributions to the win.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 2:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Football
        

Another week, another handful of touchdowns for Arundel’s record-setting quarterback Billy Cosh.

The All-Metro senior threw for four touchdowns in Friday night’s 60-0 win over Northeast to increase his state-record passing touchdowns career total to 94. He has 37 passing touchdowns this season for the No. 1 Wildcats (8-0).

Cosh, who is headed for Kansas State, holds nine state records and is tied for another. (A few weeks ago, I wrote that Cosh held eight records outright, but I missed one: most passing yards in a game – 475 in last year’s state semifinal against Linganore.) He now holds all of the state single-game and single-season passing records except best completion percentage in a season, .694 by Ryan Fleetwood of Cambridge-South Dorchester in 1993. Cosh’s percentage this season is .673.

With two regular-season games remaining and up to four more in the playoffs, Cosh continues to close in on these state public school career records, all set by Mike Pfisterer at North County between 1997 and 2000:

Most passing yards: Pfisterer 6,522, Cosh 6,172
Most passes attempted: Pfisterer 902, Cosh 731.
Most passes completed: Pfisterer 548, Cosh 482.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Football
        

Week 8 was a big one for several former local high school football standouts, including a couple of true freshmen who found the end zone.

Three-time Baltimore Sun All-Metro Player of the Year Tavon Austin (Dunbar) wasted no time in scoring his second touchdown of the season for West Virginia. The freshman took the opening kickoff of the Mountaineers’ home game against Connecticut 98 yards to the house. It was West Virginia’s longest play of the season, and the Mountaineers went on to win, 28-24. Freshman defensive back Terence Garvin (Loyola) assisted on a tackle on kickoff coverage for West Virginia in the first quarter. Huskies starting safety Jerome Junior (Archbishop Curley) was playing in his first game since fellow defensive back Jasper Howard was stabbed to death early Oct. 18 on Connecticut’s campus in Storrs. The redshirt freshman made five tackles (three solo, two assists).

Army might have fallen, 27-10, to visiting Rutgers on Friday, but freshman slotback Lonnie Liggins (Hereford) came through in a big way, taking his only touch of the game, a first-and-10 carry from the Scarlet Knights’ 17-yard line, in for a touchdown in the third quarter. The score pulled the Black Knights within 17-10. Army junior linebacker Jacob Bohn (Mount St. Joseph) played but recorded no statistics, as did Rutgers senior wide receiver Andrew DePaola (Hereford).

Baltimore native Matt Brown had two long kickoff returns in Temple’s 40-24 road victory over Toledo. The freshman ran back kicks 47 and 45 yards, and had a third return of 18 yards. He also carried three times for a total of 13 yards, his longest rush an 8-yard gain. Owls sophomore offensive linemen Sean and Pat Boyle (Calvert Hall) got onto the field in the win.

Among the few positives for Maryland in its 17-13 loss to host Duke was the play of several defensive players, including defensive back Eric Franklin (Archbishop Curley), who made his college debut. The true freshman entered the game after Terps safety Antwine Perez was injured after a tackle at the end of the first quarter. Franklin made an impact, sacking Duke quarterback Thaddeus Lewis for a loss of 8 yards. Maryland starting strong safety Jamari McCollough (Randallstown) made three tackles (one solo, two assists) and recovered a fumble. The senior teamed with linebacker Alex Wujciak to stop Blue Devils running back Jay Hollingswoth for no gain on first-and-10 in the first quarter, and then came up with the ball when Wujciak forced it loose from Duke tight end Brandon King on the Terps’ 29-yard line later that drive. A.J. Francis, a Severn native, did not start at nose tackle for the first time this season, but the redshirt freshman contributed three tackles (two solo, one assist) and a quarterback hurry that resulted in Lewis’ throwing an incomplete pass in the fourth quarter. Duke was forced to punt with just more than five minutes left in the game, giving the Terps hope (at the time) for a comeback. Maryland junior wide receiver LaQuan Williams (Poly) was held without a reception, but he drew a pass interference penalty on Blue Devils linebacker Damian Thornton on a third-and-3 play, resulting in a first down for the Terps. Duke junior receiver Sheldon Bell (City) played but did not recording any statistics.

Starting free safety Mike Newton (Calvert Hall) added to his season total for tackles in visiting Buffalo’s 34-31 overtime loss to Western Michigan. The senior recorded nine stops (five solo, four assists), including being in on three consecutive tackles at one point in the third quarter. Starting senior defensive tackle Dane Robinson (Calvert Hall) assisted on one tackle for the Bulls.

Freshman Alec Lemon (Arundel) started at wide receiver for Syracuse in the Orange’s 28-14 home victory over Akron. He caught two passes for 22 yards, his longest a gain of 17 on a second-and-5 play on the opening drive of the game. His other reception resulted in a 5-yard gain on the last play of the first quarter, and the drive ended with a touchdown that allowed Syracuse to tie the score at 7.

Sophomore Zach Brown (Wilde Lake) made five solo tackles in North Carolina’s 30-27 home loss to Florida State on Thursday night, despite his not starting at weak-side linebacker for the first time this season. His biggest play was stopping the Seminoles’ Greg Reid for a loss of 3 yards on a punt return in the third quarter.

Virginia was routed by visiting Georgia Tech, 34-9, but Raynard Horne (Overlea) did what he could to keep the score close early. The junior stopped the Yellow Jackets’ Anthony Barnes after a gain of just 3 yards on a fourth-and-7 fake punt play in the first quarter. The Cavaliers took over on offense and ended up kicking a field goal, tying the score at 3.

Redshirt freshman linebacker Joey Ehrmann (Gilman) made two tackles (one solo, one assist) in Wake Forest’s 13-10 road loss to Navy. Senior Greg Zingler (Severna Park) served as the holder on kicks for the Midshipmen, and junior linebacker Jerry Hauburger (Eastern Tech) also played, recording no statistics.

Freshman linebacker Horace Miller (Dunbar) saw action in Louisville’s 41-10 defeat at the hands of host Cincinnati but recorded no stats.

Posted by Steve Gould at 2:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

The Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association field hockey playoffs get under way Tuesday with 11 games being played before the regional quarterfinals Thursday.

The nice thing about the MPSSAA is that every team gets to play – everyone from undefeated Westminster to Havre de Grace, which has yet to win a game or even score a goal this season. Each team gets to enter the playoffs and enjoy for a little while, at least, the anticipation that something wonderful could happen.

Here is the Oct. 29 quarterfinal matchups in The Baltimore Sun’s local circulation area:

1A North: Patterson Mill, Harford Tech and Sparrows Point byes; Loch Raven at Joppatowne, 3:30.

1A West: Owings Mills and Carver A&T byes; Manchester Valley at Pikesville, 3:30 p.m.

1A South: Havre de Grace at St. Michael’s, 4 p.m.

2A North: Bel Air or North East-Cecil at Fallston, 3:30; Edgewood at Rising Sun, 3:30; Elkton at Lansdowne, 6 p.m.; Dundalk at Eastern Tech, 3:30.

2A West: Wheaton or Francis Scott Key at Century; North Carroll at Winters Mill, 3:30; Rockville or Walkersville at South Carroll.

2A South: McDonough or Southern-AA at Glenelg, 3:30; Long Reach at Marriotts Ridge; Oakland Mills at Calvert, 3:30; Hammond at Patuxent, 6 p.m.

3A East: Wilde Lake at Howard, 3:30 p.m.; Centennial at Atholton, 3:30; Northeast-AA at Reservoir, 3:30; Mt. Hebron at River Hill, 3:30.

3A North: Aberdeen or North Harford at Hereford, 4 p.m.; Patapsco at Towson, 3:45; Catonsville at C.M.Wright, 3:30; Franklin at Parkville, 3:30.

4A East: Annapolis at Leonardtown, 6 p.m.; Great Mills at Severna Park, 5 p.m.; North Point at Broadneck, 6 p.m.; Arundel at South River, 6 p.m.

4A North: Glen Burnie at Dulaney, 3:30; North County at Perry Hall, 3:30; Chesapeake-AA at Old Mill, 3:30.

4A West: Thomas Johnson at Westminster, 6 p.m.

Posted by Sandra McKee at 2:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Field hockey
        

It is often said that defense wins championships, whatever the sport. The No. 5 Reservoir girls soccer team can thank two defenses for helping it win its first Howard County championship last week.

The Gators have been in a season-long battle with Glenelg and River Hill for county bragging rights that continued to the regular-season's final game.

As it turned out, fellow county foes Centennial and Marriotts Ridge also had a big say. On Thursday, Centennial tied Glenelg, 0-0, through 100 minutes of play. On Friday, Marriotts Ridge proved stingy in a 0-0 double overtime tie against River Hill.

With those two 0-0 results, Reservoir (11-2-1) finished first with a 9-2 county mark, while Glenelg and River Hill were a tad behind with 8-2-1 records. The Gators earned the right to take on Anne Arundel County champ Severna Park in the District V championship at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Long Reach.

Posted by Glenn Graham at 12:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Girls soccer
        

My first regular season covering field hockey is now behind me, but before moving into postseason play, here are a few of the things I’ve noticed.

Determining a Top 15 poll is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.

Games played on turf between two good teams look a lot like a Foosball game on a felt table.

Corner plays that are supposed to be a major advantage to the team that gets them often are not. Bryn Mawr, however, is adept at making opportunities count and has what might be the best corner play among private schools and possibly of any school in the state.

Roland Park’s Sally E. Nyborg Invitational Tournament is a wonderful way to see some of the best teams in public and private schools play -- even on a rainy day. Not to mention it also raises money for Lupus research.

Broadneck’s Courtney Tomchik is an outstanding ballhandler on a team that plays a beautiful long-ball game.

Fans at field hockey games get just as excited as football fans.

Once positioned in the Top 15, it is difficult to move up the poll when the teams above you keep winning.

Fallston senior forward Caitlin Dempsey, South River senior midfielder Brooke Griffin, Dulaney senior forward Hannah Whiteley, Westminster senior forward Lauren Keffer and Bryn Mawr senior forward Paige Hanson are Energizer bunnies.

Once positioned in the Top 15, it is difficult to move up even if you win and another team loses if they’re ranked higher and then start to win again before your team can reach their ranking.

No. 2 Westminster (13-0) knows that feeling, sitting behind No. 1 Garrison Forest (14-1-2).

Hidden inside Severna Park’s goalie -- well, maybe not so hidden -- must be the heart of an artist with a large color palette. Senior Ashley Dalisera comes to play in an array of colors. Her inside leg pads are maroon. Her pants dark blue. Her vest lime green. And topping it all off -- a baby-doll-pink helmet.

High schools generally need to improve their press box facilities that serve not only field hockey but also football team announcers and statisticians besides the media.

Field hockey is a touchy sport. A lot of whistles. Several Fallston football players showed up at the Cougars’ first game of the season. After watching for about 10 minutes, one of them shook his head. “This game has too many rules!” he said.

Garrison Forest, whose team is not often populated with freshmen, has several dynamic ones. Among them, Brooke Adler and Cody Magness.

The Westminster defense could rival the famous Steel Curtain of the NFL’s 1972-1974 Pittsburgh Steelers. The Owls have eight shutouts and have given up only five goals while going 14-0. Take a bow, Emily Cauliflower, Michelle Hodiak, Kara Evans, Carlyn Thompson and Ashley Franklin.

Hereford’s defense, which has seven shutouts, and Fallston’s, which also has seven and an 11-game winning streak since opening the season with three straight losses, are also impressive.
A team can have a wonderful season like B Conference competitor McDonogh (13-2) and still have difficulty getting the attention it deserves.

Field hockey players are tough. They play through torrential downpours, biting cold and wind.

They do it in short skirts and knee socks, while their fans sit bundled in multiple layers of warm clothing, under blankets with umbrellas.

All of it is pretty impressive.

Posted by Sandra McKee at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Field hockey
        

With eight undefeated football teams remaining in the metro area, there's sure to be one that gets overlooked. And that one is Forest Park.

The Foresters are quietly rolling along in Baltimore City's Division II, turning last season's 2-8 record into this season's 7-0 start. The Foresters don't have any big stars and they are not winning by the huge margins that some of the other undefeated teams are posting. They are winning in true team fashion and that's just the strategy first-year head coach Damon Bomar is looking for.

Friday's game against Southwestern was their closest win yet, an 18-12 victory in triple overtime. Senior running back Angelo Lewis scored the game-winning touchdown and senior defensive end Andrew Allen had two sacks on Southwestern's ensuing series to clinch the win.

Commitment, determination and discipline have been keys to the turnaround said Bomar, who is also the school's athletic director. He's tried to instill those virtues in his players since weight training began last June.

"I saw them buy into it early when we had weight training in January and more kids came out," Bomar said. "We're mostly senior oriented and we had some juniors and the same kids are excelling on the field now because of weight training. I tip my hat to them. I tell them I'm proud of them and that this team is going to leave a legacy at Forest Park."

Along with Lewis and Allen, other two-way seniors are leading the way: Chidi Flowers (wide receiver-free safety), Pat Makall (running back-linebacker), Evan Rose (wide receiver-cornerback) and James Queen (lineman).

Bomar practices what he preaches when he talks about a team strategy. He has the same approach with his coaching staff, all of whom played golf together Sunday. Sean Markley is the offensive coordinator; Shawn Waller, the defensive coordinator; and Dwayne Barnes, the special teams coach.

"It's funny because we're all so tight," Bomar said. "They're always praising me and I say, 'No, it's all of us collectively.' That's how I want to leave -- whenever I leave Forest Park -- I want to make sure these kids understand we did this collectively -- the players, the coaching staff, the administration and the students as well."

The Foresters have a little more collective work to do this fall. They finish out their season at home with Douglass on Friday and Lake Clifton on Nov. 6. The regular-season finale with the Lakers could be the Division II championship game, because both teams are unbeaten in the division. After that, the Foresters will advance on to the regional playoffs.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 9:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Football
        

Here is a by-the-numbers look at some of this weekend’s prep football highlights as the season winds toward its final two weeks of regular-season games:

1 Touchdown keeping No. 13 Dunbar in contention with undefeated and No. 8 Poly for the Baltimore City Division I title. The Poets slipped by Edmondson, 6-0, Friday to improve to 7-1 overall and 5-1 in the division.

2 Wins this season for Owings Mills, which ended a 53-game skid earlier this month. Friday’s 14-10 win over Western Tech raised the Eagles’ record to 2-5.

3 Touchdown passes thrown by McDonogh quarterback Rudy Johnson in the final five minutes of Friday’s game at Georgetown Prep for a come-from-way-behind 27-26 MIAA A Conference victory. The No. 2 Eagles are the only team unbeaten in A Conference competition.

7 Wins for Forest Park, which defeated Southwestern, 18-12, Friday to move to 7-0 overall and 6-0 in the city’s Division II where the Foresters are tied with Lake Clifton for first place. The two will meet in the regular-season finale.

8 Local teams still undefeated after eight weeks of play – No. 1 Arundel, No. 3 River Hill, No. 6 Joppatowne, No. 8 Poly, No. 14 Atholton, No. 15 Chesapeake-Baltimore County, Boys’ Latin and Forest Park. Statewide, 20 teams still have perfect records.

36 Straight wins for No. 3 River Hill with Friday’s 48-3 victory over Oakland Mills. The Hawks also have won 41 straight over Howard County opponents as they prepare to host also-unbeaten Atholton on Friday night.

37 Passing touchdowns this season for Arundel quarterback Billy Cosh, who had four in Friday’s 60-0 win over Northeast. The senior’s state record for career passing touchdowns is now 94.

39 Offensive yards gained by No 9 Archbishop Spalding during the second half against Boys' Latin’s stifling defense in a 20-0 Lakers win. Winning the battle of unbeatens, the Lakers now have the top spot in the MIAA B Conference standings all to themselves.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 6:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Football
        

The seedings for the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A, B and C conference field hockey tournaments have been released.

A Conference

The quarterfinal games will all be played at 3:45 p.m. Tuesday. No. 1 seed Garrison Forest hosts No. 8 seed St. Paul’s. No. 2 seed Bryn Mawr plays host to No. 7 seed Archbishop Spalding. Third seed Notre Dame Prep hosts sixth seed Severn. Fourth seed Roland Park plays at home against fifth seed St. Mary’s.

The semifinals will both be played at 3:45 p.m. Thursday. The higher seed in each pairing will host the contest, with the winner of Garrison Forest-St. Paul’s meeting the winner of Roland Park-St. Mary’s, and the winner of Bryn Mawr-Spalding taking on the winner of NDP-Severn.

The championship game will take place Sunday, Nov. 1, at Goucher College. Game time is TBA.

To view the A Conference seedings in bracket form, click here.

B Conference

The quarterfinals are all at 3:45 p.m. Tuesday. No. 1 seed McDonogh hosts No. 8 seed Friends. Second seed Maryvale plays host to seventh seed John Carroll. Third seed Glenelg Country School hosts sixth seed Park School. No. 4 seed Seton Keough plays host to No. 5 seed Mount de Sales.

Both semifinals are at 3:45 p.m. Thursday and will be played at the field of the higher seed. The winner of McDonogh-Friends takes on the winner of Seton Keough-Mount de Sales, and the winner of Maryvale-John Carroll meets the winner of Glenelg-Park.

The title game is Sunday, Nov. 1, at Goucher College. Game time is TBA.

To view the B Conference seedings in bracket form, click here.

C Conference

The quarterfinals will be played at 3:45 p.m. Tuesday. No. 1 seed Annapolis Area Christian School hosts the winner of the matchup between No. 8 seed Key School and No. 9 seed Oldfields, which was to be played today at Key. No. 2 seed Mercy hosts No. 7 seed Catholic. No. 3 seed Institute of Notre Dame plays host to No. 6 seed St. Timothy’s. Fourth seed Lutheran hosts fifth seed St. Vincent Pallotti.

The semifinals, which will be played at the field of the higher seed, are at 3:45 p.m. Thursday. The winner of AACS-Key/Oldfields meets the winner of Lutheran-Pallotti, and the winner of Mercy-Catholic plays the winner of IND-St. Timothy’s.

The final is Sunday, Nov. 1, at Goucher College. Game time is TBA.

To view the C Conference seedings in bracket form, click here.

-- Sandra McKee

Posted by baltimoresun.com at 7:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Weather has forced a second re-scheduling of the Baltimore County cross country championship meet. The meet has been moved from Saturday to Monday, with the varsity races going off at 4 and 4:30 p.m, at Dulaney.

Ron Belinko, coordinator of the office of athletics in the county, said Friday afternoon that the forecast for thunder was the reason for the move, not the nearly 100 percent chance of rain. Thunder worried Belinko and other coaches, especially with athletes spread out over a three-mile course.

The event originally was scheduled for last Saturday at Dulaney, but the combination of temperatures in the low 40s plus rain made county officials re-set the races for Saturday. Now, Mother Nature has intervened again.

-- Jeff Seidel

Posted by baltimoresun.com at 5:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Cross country
        

The Baltimore County soccer championships will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 27 at Franklin High. The girls championship between Hereford and Catonsville is set for 5 p.m. followed by the boys game -- Loch Raven vs. Perry Hall -- at 7.

Posted by Glenn Graham at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Boys soccer
        

Marriotts Ridge leads after the first day of competition of the Class 1A-2A state golf tournament Tuesday at the Potomac Ridge Golf Course in Waldorf.

The Howard County school's score of 341 gives it a six-shot lead over Middletown heading into the final day of competition for all four classes Wednesday.

Chris Yoo (81) and John Kim (82) led the way for Marriotts Ridge. They were right behind Michael Moon of Liberty and Pikesville's Sam Oshrine, the highest local finishers for the boys.

Both shot 80, six shots out of the lead, and were tied for fourth place overall.

Jenna Albright of Marriotts Ridge is in second place for the girls, one shot out of first place. She shot an 86.

-- Jeff Seidel

Posted by baltimoresun.com at 8:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Golf
        

In a rare week of Monday night football, the three unbeaten teams that played stayed that way as No. 1 Arundel, No. 6 Joppatowne and No. 8 Poly won their belated contests.

Poly's game had been rescheduled earlier, but the other two were among a handful of games postponed because of last week's heavy rains.

Arundel moved to 7-0 with a 35-6 win over South River thanks to five touchdown passes from Billy Cosh, including three to Ronnie Harris.

Joppatowne also improved to 7-0 with a strong defensive performance to slip past top Harford County rival North Harford, 12-7. Both touchdowns came on kickoff returns -- from Epe Henriques and Joel Scott.

Poly is 7-0 too, beating Digital Harbor, 38-12, as Gabriel Ali-Eli ran for four touchdowns and caught a fifth on a pass from Antoine Goodson.

Those three are among nine undefeated teams remaining in the Baltimore area, including No. 3 River Hill, No. 9 Archbishop Spalding, No. 14 Atholton, No. 15 Chesapeake-BC and Forest Park. Only Lake Clifton dropped from the ranks of the unbeaten, falling to No. 13 Dunbar, 30-6.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 4:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Football
        

Arundel quarterback Billy Cosh threw for all five of the No. 1 Wildcats’ touchdowns in Monday night’s 35-6 win over South River, boosting his state-record career total to 90 passing touchdowns. Last weekend, he broke the previous state record of 80 when he passed for seven, which also tied the record for most passing touchdowns in a game.

Here’s a look at how close Cosh is getting to some other state public school career records, all set by North County's Mike Pfisterer between 1997 and 2000:

Most passing yards: Pfisterer 6,522, Cosh 5,963.
Most passes attempted: Pfisterer 902, Cosh 708.
Most passes completed: Pfisterer 548, Cosh 468.

I’m guessing with the All-Metro senior's talents, The Cosh Watch could become a weekly feature.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 1:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Football
        

Chesapeake's Mark Junker, who has led his Baltimore County football team to a 7-0 season already matching last season's win total, was named Ravens' High School Coach of the Week today.

Junker's No. 15 Bayhawks defeated Catonsville 28-7 on Friday and remains the only team unbeaten in the county's Class 2A-1A Division. The Bayhawks fell behind 7-0 and trailed by that margin at the half, before rallying to take the lead on Corey Polston's 37-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

The Bayhawks also came from behind in the win that put them on the map, a 15-13 victory over then-No. 6 Eastern Tech on Sept. 26. They trailed 6-0 at the half in that game.

Junker, in his third year as head coach, led the Bayhawks to a 7-4 finish a year ago.

He is the fifth Baltimore-area coach to be named Coach of the Week this season along with Patterson's Corey Johnson, Atholton's Kyle Schmitt, Dunbar's Lawrence Smith and Calvert Hall's Donald Davis. North Caroline's James McCormick also has been honored.

One of weekly winners will be named the Ravens' High School Coach of the Year on Dec. 13 at the Ravens game with the Detroit Lions at M&T Bank Stadium.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 8:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Football
        

Bart George of Broadneck shot a 74 to hold a two-shot lead after the first day of competition at the state golf tournament Monday at the Potomac Ridge Golf Course in Waldorf.

George leads Linganore's Ryan Cole (76) in the Class 3A-4A division. The first day of Class 1A-2A golf will be Tuesday with the qualifiers from all four classes set to play Wednesday as everyone plays two rounds.

Broadneck is the top local school after the first day, sitting in fourth place, 13 shots behind first-place Urbana.

On the girls side, Fallston's Liz Silbernagel sits in third place. She shot a 79, just one shot out of first.

-- Jeff Seidel

Posted by baltimoresun.com at 6:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Golf
        

Let’s jump right into things:

A week after breaking up three passes in Buffalo’s 40-3 home victory over Gardner-Webb, starting free safety Mike Newton (Calvert Hall) was back making big plays in the Bulls’ 21-17 win over visiting Akron. The senior came up with two takeaways, recovering a fumble in the first quarter after Buffalo defensive lineman Anel Montanez forced Zips running back DeVoe Torrence to cough up the ball, and intercepting Akron quarterback Patrick Nicely in the second quarter. Newton also made eight tackles (two solo, six assists). Bulls senior Dane Robinson (Calvert Hall) started at defensive tackle, recording no statistics.

Connecticut’s 38-25 Homecoming win over Louisville was overshadowed this weekend by the death of Huskies junior cornerback Jasper Howard. Howard, 20, of Miami was stabbed early Sunday on the university’s Storrs, Conn., campus and died from his wounds. Though the game is an afterthought in the wake of that tragedy, it should be noted that redshirt freshman Jerome Junior (Archbishop Curley) returned to his starting spot at safety and recorded four tackles (two solo, two assists). Cardinals freshman linebacker Horace Miller (Dunbar) played in the game but recorded no statistics.

Maryland’s trying season continued with a 20-9 defeat at the hands of Virginia on the Terps’ Homecoming day. Starting senior strong safety Jamari McCullough (Randallstown) made five tackles (two solo, three assists) for Maryland, including teaming with linebacker Alex Wujciak to stop Cavaliers quarterback Jameel Sewell for no gain on third-and-1 in the second quarter and again pairing with Wujciak to stuff Sewell for a loss of 1 yard on third-and-1 in the third quarter. Terps wide receiver LaQuan Williams (Poly) made three catches for 19 yards, his longest going for a gain of 10 yards on first-and-10 on a third-quarter drive that led to a field goal that put Maryland ahead 9-3. The junior also carried once for 1 yard. Starting nose tackle A.J. Francis, a redshirt freshman who hails from Severn, assisted on one tackle, and senior linebacker Hakeem Sule (McDonogh) played but recorded no statistics. Virginia junior running back Raynard Horne (Overlea) recorded a solo tackle on kickoff coverage in the third quarter.

West Virginia freshman Tavon Austin (Dunbar) showed his kick-return skills in the host Mountaineers’ 24-7 victory over Marshall. The three-time Baltimore Sun All-Metro Player of the Year ran back two kicks for a total of 67 yards, his longest a return of 43 yards in the first quarter. Austin also had one reception, losing 5 yards on the play. Freshman defensive back Terence Garvin (Loyola) made a solo tackle on kickoff coverage in the second quarter.

Baltimore native Matt Brown carried once for a gain of 8 yards in the second quarter of Temple’s 27-13 road win over Army. The freshman wide receiver played his high school ball at New Jersey’s Peddie School and attended prep school at Milford Academy in New York. Owls sophomore offensive lineman Sean Boyle (Calvert Hall) played in the game, and junior defensive back Kwame Johnson (Parkville) got onto the field but recorded no statistics. The Black Knights’ Jacob Bohn (Mount St. Joseph), a junior linebacker, and Lonnie Liggins (Hereford), a freshman slotback, also played but didn’t record any stats.

Senior wide receiver Andrew DePaola (Hereford) made one solo tackle in Rutgers’ 24-17 loss to host Pittsburgh on Friday.

Senior backup quarterback Greg Zingler (Severna Park) played in visiting Navy’s 38-35 overtime victory over Southern Methodist, recording no stats.

Wake Forest redshirt freshman linebacker Joey Ehrmann (Gilman) saw action in a 38-3 defeat at the hands of host Clemson but recorded no stats.

Posted by Steve Gould at 3:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Football, The Next Level
        

McDonogh senior defender Joe Meyer has made a commitment to play soccer at Bucknell next year.

The first-team All-Metro selection chose Bucknell over Princeton, Brown, Virginia and UMBC.

Meyer, who maintains a weighted 4.2 grade point average, has played a big role in helping the Eagles capture the past two Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference championships.

He also is a member of the Baltimore Bays club team, which captured U.S. Youth Soccer Association national championships in 2007 and 2008.

Posted by Glenn Graham at 1:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Boys soccer
        

South Carroll midfielder Briannah Smith will be working hard Monday, trying to help her team get to double-digits in the win column. The Cavaliers are 9-3, and Briannah leads the team in assists.

Her efforts earned her the Ravens' Athlete of the Week honors for her consistency, dedication and leadership abilities.

"I thought she was deserving of the award," said South Carroll coach Ashley Bacon, who has nominated players in past years but saw Smith become the team's first winner. "She's a very well-rounded player and an exceptional athlete. She's always pushing herself and her teammates to get better."

Smith is usually the first player at practice and the last to leave and leads by example.

"I've played for nine years," said Smith, who was chosen from hundreds of nominations. "I work well with my teammates and I felt very honored to receive the award. I really appreciate my coach nominating me."

Smith will receive a Ravens jersey, tickets to a home game, a hat and the Ravens will donate $500 to her field hockey team.

The Cavaliers host Winters Mill at 4 p.m. Monday.

- Sandra McKee

Posted by Sandra McKee at 7:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Field hockey
        

Broadneck senior forward Courtney Tomchik has surpassed Brigitte Strother as the leader in total points in Bruins field hockey history. She currently has 49 goals and 33 assists for her career (82 points). Tomchik has also taken the lead as the school's all-time assist leader.

When Strother left two years ago, she had 54 goals and 15 assists (69 points). The former Bruin is now a sophomore at the University of Maryland, where she is playing for the No. 1-ranked and undefeated Terrapins, getting good playing time coming off the bench.

Posted by Sandra McKee at 1:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Field hockey
        

The Baltimore County cross country championships, scheduled for Saturday, have been moved back a week due to the poor weather conditions this weekend.

The meet was supposed to take place at Dulaney, starting at 10 a.m. Saturday. But with temperatures probably in the 40s and lots of rain coming, county officials pushed the meet back to next Saturday. The meet will still be at Dulaney, but the starting time now is scheduled for 2 p.m., county officials confirmed Friday.

-- Jeff Seidel

Posted by baltimoresun.com at 1:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Cross country
        

The girls soccer game between No. 7 Mercy at No. 2 McDonogh has been postponed. The Magic will meet the Eagles on Tuesday.

Posted by baltimoresun.com at 12:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Girls soccer
        

With an ideal blend of experienced players and impact newcomers, the City girls soccer team is on the verge of capturing the Baltimore City championship.

The Knights, under second-year coach Sedrick Smith, are 7-1-1 this season after winning just three games last year. A win against WEB Dubois on Monday would wrap up the league championship with perennial powers Western and Poly each having two losses.

Smith said a number of things have factored in the team's successful turnaround. First and foremost was newfound interest. He had 40 players try out for the team this year.

"I also teach at the school and I just passed along feelers. Any girl I would see, I would ask if they were interested in playing soccer," he said.

The Knights returned six seniors, led by center midfielder Rachel Weaver; brought in five freshman with stopper Alesia Robinson and midifelder Ella Gensheimer stepping right in; and have a dynamic one-two scoring punch in Mercy transfer Carissa Shropshire and Rabiah Elisa. The two have combined to score 31 goals.

"The seniors really set the tone," Smith said. "They were tired of losing, so they've put in the time and effort thinking if Poly and Western can do it, so can we."

- Glen Graham

Posted by baltimoresun.com at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Girls soccer
        

This past summer, The Baltimore Sun featured a story about Baltimore native Gino Culotta, a senior football player at the International School of Brussels. Culotta, 16, plays in Brussels because his dad works there. He spends his summers in Joppatowne.

This past summer, Culotta went to a number of Division I and Division II schools asking about an opportunity to earn an athletic scholarship. While his talent was judged as worthy of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Division, the fact that he plays in Brussels makes his prospects slim.

But Culotta said he planned to play hard to make an impression on coaches in the United States. He has not let up in his efforts.

This week, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound running back was named Athlete of the Week by the European military high school system that includes more than 2,000 athletes. Giving the award to a player from the International School of Brussels, which plays in the military system but is not a military-base school, is very rare.

But Culotta made it virtually impossible to ignore him.

Last week, he carried 29 times for 239 yards and four touchdowns while helping his team to a 34-6 victory over 2008 European Division III Champion AFNORTH. The win also propelled the Brussels team to the Division II North championship in the European League.

This season, Culotta has scored 13 touchdowns and rushed 97 times for 799 yards. A two-way player, Culotta also has 19 tackles and two fumble recoveries.

To read The Sun's profile of Culotta, click here.

Posted by Sandra McKee at 5:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Football
        

The Baltimore County girls field hockey championships scheduled for Thursday have been postponed to Monday, Oct. 19. The JV game will be played at 4 p.m.and the varsity game at 7 p.m. Both games are scheduled to be played at Lansdowne High.

Posted by Sandra McKee at 1:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Field hockey
        

The football game between No. 7 Joppatowne and visiting North Harford scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m. has been moved back to next Monday because of weather and field conditions. The game will remain at Joppatowne and still be played at 7 p.m.

Joppatowne athletic director Mike Bauer made the call around 11:30 a.m. The rain that's been around for several hours is supposed to continue all day, with temperatures in the low 40s.

This might be Harford County's best game of the season as Joppatowne (6-0) and North Harford (5-1) have gotten off to fast starts.

The weather is supposed to be much better Monday -- partly sunny with highs in the upper 50s. But that gives both teams two games in five days. Joppatowne takes on Fallston next Friday, the same day that North Harford plays Havre de Grace.

-- Jeff Seidel

Posted by baltimoresun.com at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Football
        

Glenelg activities director John Davis reports the following updates on team activities for Thursday and Friday:

The boys soccer games at Long Reach scheduled for today have been postponed until Monday. Same times and location.

Home Field Hockey vs Howard is postponed until Monday .

Home JV Football vs Wilde Lake is on as scheduled 4:00pm

Friday's home girl's soccer vs Long Reach is postponed until Monday. JV 4:00/ Varsity 5:30pm.

Posted by Sandra McKee at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Several local teams remain in first place in this week's MPSSAA football points standings, but as the season lengthens, the more important races will be for the fourth-and-final playoff berths.

No. 1 Arundel (Class 4A East), No. 3 River Hill (3A East), No. 10 Poly (3A North), No. 15 Chesapeake-BC (2A North), No. 7 Joppatowne (Class 1A East) and Forest Park (1A South) remain atop their regional standings. Poly is just ahead of No. 9 Hereford in its region and Forest Park has a small lead over No. 13 Dunbar.

Several local teams are battling for that critical fourth-place spot.

In Class 4A East, Annapolis trails fourth-place Broadneck by less than three tenths of a point. Catonsville is half a point behind fourth-place North Harford in 3A North. City lags behind Edmondson by less than two-tenths of a point in 2A North. The same distance stands between Long Reach and Glenelg in 2A South.

In 2A West, Century is a full point behind fourth-place South Carroll, but the Knights are coming on strong, winning their last three games after starting out 0-3. In Class 1A South, two-tenths of a point separate fourth-place Carver from Maritime Industries.

After this weekend's games -- week seven in a 10-game regular season -- some of these races will only get tighter. For a look at the complete MPSSAA football point stadings, click here.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Football
        

If you read about this week's Boy Athlete of the Week Steven St. Clair today, you know he had a busy last week in leading the John Carroll football team to two wins. There wasn't enough space to elaborate on his accomplishments, which may be the most work done by a high school football player in one week's time this fall.

How about this for a single week's work by the senior quarterback-strong safety:

First, he scored three touchdowns and the game-winning conversion for a 29-28 overtime victory at Cardinal Gibbons on Oct. 12. He ran for 42 yards and two touchdowns and threw for 110 yards and another touchdown. He also had 11 tackles and intercepted a critical third-down pass late in the game.

That game was played on a Monday because John Carroll had an outbreak of the flu and school was closed on Friday, Oct. 9, forcing the postponement.

Then, the Patriots played St. Frances on Friday, winning 28-0. In that game, St. Clair ran for 53 yards and one touchdown, passed for 79 yards and one touchdown and returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown. He also had six tackles, grabbed two other interceptions and punted once for 57 yards.

For the season, St. Clair has 1,026 all-purpose yards. He has 561 yards on 88 carries with 11 rushing touchdowns as well as 356 yards on 26-50 passing with four touchdowns. On defense, he has 50 tackles and four interceptions. He has punted five times and returned four kickoffs for 109 yards.

A second team All-Metro selection and honorable mention All-State pick last season, St. Clair has drawn interest from several NCAA Football Championship Subdivision programs. In addition to his football talents, they certainly like his 3.8 grade-point average and his versatility -- he also plays rugby and wrestles.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Football
        

Digital Harbor's All-Metro point-forward Asia Logan has committed to play basketball for the University of Pittsburgh.

Logan, who led the Rams to their first state title last winter, averaged 19 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks in leading the team to its best record ever (24-3). In the state Class 1A championship game, she had 21 points, 13 rebounds and went 15-for-16 from the free-throw line in a 50-41 win over Surrattsville.

Her final four also included Virginia Tech, Maryland and Villanova, but she said she knew it would be Pitt as soon as she visited the campus.

"Just the energy was great and the atmosphere, I just fit in as soon as I walked in," Logan said. "The team was so cool. They're a little goofy and I really liked that."

Logan, who has an 85 average, plans to major in psychology and wants to work with teenagers.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Girls basketball
        

Archbishop Spalding field hockey coach Leslee Brady e-mailed on Tuesday to say two of her former players are being inducted into the school's athletic Hall of Fame on Friday.

"It's not often that field hockey players are inducted," Brady said. "It's a rather obscure sport."

The two former players being inducted during the school's homecoming game are defender Maureen Brady Doran from the 2003 team and forward Erin Kelly, who graduated in 2004.

Brady said both players were captains of their teams, all-county, all-metro, all-conference and all-state players.

What she didn't say until much later, when asked just how rare it is for a field hockey player to be inducted, was that Doran is her married daughter, who is joining her older sister and brother in the Spalding Hall of Fame.

Before Doran and Kelly, the last field hockey player named to the hall was Kat Brady Nepp, who graduated in 1998 and was inducted in 2002. Maureen's and Kat's brother Matt, a 1996 graduate, is also in the Spalding Hall of Fame for his performances on the baseball and basketball teams.

Posted by Sandra McKee at 7:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Field hockey
        

Calvert Hall's Donald Davis is the fourth local coach to be named Ravens High School Coach of the Week.

His Cardinals upset then-No. 2 Gilman, 21-12, on Saturday for their fifth straight win and their first win over the Greyhounds since November 2003. At 5-2 overall, they moved into first place in the MIAA A Conference at 2-0. McDonogh, the only other team unbeaten in the conference, is 1-0.

The Cardinals, who moved into The Baltimore Sun's Top 15 for the first time this season at No. 8, used a strong running game and a tough defense as they held a Greyhounds offense averaging 40.2 points a game to its lowest output of the season. They ran for more than 250 yards. Defensively, the Cardinals came up with a fumble and an interception and stopped two conversion attempts.

Davis, a Calvert Hall graduate, has been the head coach for three years and has been coaching for nine. In 2003, he was the Ravens High School Coach of the Year while at Cardinal Gibbons.

This season's Coach of the Year will be named on Dec. 13 during the Ravens-Lions game.
Others in the running this season: Patterson's Corey Johnson, Atholton's Kyle Schmitt, Dunbar's Lawrence Smith and North Caroline's James McCornick.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Football
        

Loyola senior goalie Tim Peitsch has made a verbal commitment to play soccer at San Diego State University.

The four-year starter has played in all but one game for the Dons since his freshman season. Last year, he missed one game with a broken thumb.

In addition to his fine career at Loyola, Peitsch also was the starting goalie for two Casa Mia Bays club teams that captured national championships in 2007 and 2008. In both championship runs, he received the Golden Glove Award for being the top goalkeeper. Peitsch plans to major in computer science at San Diego State.

Posted by Glenn Graham at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Boys soccer
        

We’re nearing the halfway point of the college football season, and, as expected, some local players showed their stuff in Week 6.

West Virginia-Syracuse featured a reunion of sorts, as three of the game’s players were teammates in last year’s Crab Bowl, a high school all-star game that pits a team of Baltimore-area standouts against a squad of those from the Washington area. West Virginia’s Tavon Austin (Dunbar) and Terence Garvin (Loyola) and Syracuse’s Alec Lemon (Arundel) played for the Baltimore team in that game, which featured an 81-yard fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Lemon to Austin, who are good friends off the field.

This game between the Mountaineers and Orange probably wasn’t as memorable, as West Virginia rolled to a 34-13 road victory. Austin showed his versatility, playing on both offense and defense. He caught three passes for 27 yards, his longest reception going for a gain of 15 yards on first-and-10 in the second quarter. In that same period, with the Mountaineers holding a 27-0 lead, he got onto the field on defense and made a solo stop after a 14-yard Syracuse completion on first-and-10. Garvin, a defensive back, assisted on one tackle. Lemon started at wide receiver and was held without a catch, though he was thrown to on three occasions. Sophomore Nick Speller (Edmondson) started at left tackle for the Orange, and senior tight end Andrew Robinson (Calvert Hall) played but did not record any statistics.

Starting weak-side linebacker Zach Brown (Wilde Lake) enjoyed a strong game in North Carolina’s 42-12 win over visiting Georgia Southern. The sophomore intercepted Eagles quarterback Lee Chapple at the Georgia Southern 22-yard line in the second quarter, and the Tar Heels ended up scoring a touchdown on the ensuing drive that put them ahead 28-7. Brown also made six tackles (five solo, one assist), including a stop of Eagles running back Adam Urbano for no gain on first-and-goal in the third quarter. Georgia Southern eventually had to settle for a field goal on the drive.

The game got away from Maryland quickly in the Terps’ 42-32 loss to host Wake Forest, but wide receiver LaQuan Williams (Poly) did what he could to try to pull them back into it. The junior caught one pass for 5 yards on third-and-3 in the fourth quarter, moving the chains during a drive on which Maryland eventually scored a touchdown that made the score 42-32. Williams was targeted on four other passes, but they all resulted in incompletions. Terps starting senior strong safety Jamari McCollough (Randallstown) made four tackles (three solo, one assist) in the game, including a stop of Demon Deacons running back Brandon Pendergrass on fourth-and-2 from the Maryland 26-yard line in the final quarter. Starting nose tackle A.J. Francis, a redshirt freshman and Severn native, made two tackles (one solo, one assist). For Wake, redshirt freshman linebacker Joey Ehrmann (Gilman) made one solo tackle, bringing down Maryland quarterback Chris Turner after a 3-yard gain on second-and-10 in the fourth quarter.

Junior defensive back Kwame Johnson (Parkville) came up with a big turnover early in Temple’s 24-19 home victory over Ball State. With the Cardinals moving down the field, Owls defensive tackle Andre Neblett forced Ball State’s MiQuale Lewis to cough up the ball on a third-and-2 carry during the game’s opening drive. Johnson scooped it up and returned it 5 yards to the Temple 39. The Owls went on to kick a field goal that pushed them ahead 3-0. Johnson also made two tackles (one solo, one assist). Sophomore offensive linemen Pat and Sean Boyle, both Calvert Hall grads, saw action for the Owls.

Wide receiver Shaky Smithson (Douglass) made an early impact in Utah’s 24-17 road win over Colorado State. The junior, a transfer from East Los Angeles Community College, returned the opening kickoff 28 yards and had a 22-yard rush on the ensuing drive, which led to a field goal that gave the Utes a 3-0 lead. Smithson did, however, fumble on a rush for a loss of 2 yards on the possession, but Utah recovered. Overall, Smithson carried the ball four times for 24 yards.

Starting free safety Mike Newton (Calvert Hall) showed his value isn’t just in run support during Buffalo’s 40-3 rout of Gardner-Webb in the Bulls’ Homecoming game. Buffalo hasn’t exactly been stout against the run this season, allowing opponents to average 151.8 rushing yards through its first five games. As such, Newton has spent a lot of time making tackles on running plays. Against the Runnin’ Bulldogs, however, the senior was a factor in pass defense, breaking up three throws. Newton also made two solo tackles. Senior Dane Robinson (Calvert Hall) started at defensive tackle and assisted on one stop.

Freshman slotback Lonnie Liggins (Hereford) had two carries for 7 yards in host Army’s 16-13 victory over Vanderbilt. His longest rush was a gain of 4 on second-and-9 that helped the Black Knights to a second-quarter field goal and a 3-0 lead. Junior linebacker Jacob Bohn (Mount St. Joseph) played for Army but recorded no statistics.

Virginia running back Raynard Horne (Overlea) made his presence felt on special teams as the Cavaliers dismantled Indiana, 47-7, at home. The junior made four tackles (two solo, two assists) on kickoff coverage.

Freshman linebacker Horace Miller (Dunbar) made one solo tackle as Louisville edged visiting Southern Miss, 25-23, on the strength of a field goal that came with 30 seconds left in the game.

Junior cornerback Shelton McCullough (Randallstown) assisted on a tackle on the second-to-last play of Penn State’s 52-3 rout of visiting Eastern Illinois.

Connecticut’s Jerome Junior (Archbishop Curley) did not start for the first time this season in the Huskies’ 24-21 defeat at the hands of host Pittsburgh. The redshirt freshman did get onto the field but recorded no statistics.

Junior wide-out Sheldon Bell (City) played in Duke’s surprising 49-28 road victory over North Carolina State but did not record any statistics.

With Navy crushing host Rice, 63-14, backup quarterback Greg Zingler (Severna Park) got some time under center. The senior rushed once for a loss of 2 yards on third-and-5 in the fourth quarter.

Senior wide receiver Andrew DePaola (Hereford) saw action in Rutgers’ 42-0 home win over Texas Southern, recording no statistics.

Posted by Steve Gould at 3:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Alexis Prior-Brown has been clutch for the Mercy girls soccer team all season with 10 goals, but her effort last week was even more timely. In three games, Prior-Brown provided two game-winning goals and a key insurance goal in three Mercy wins.

She started the week with a game-winning goal with five minutes left in a 2-1 win over St. Mary's; then scored an overtime goal in a 1-0 win over Dulaney before closing out the week with an insurance goal in the closing minute of a 2-0 victory against Fallston.

The three wins boosted the Magic's record to 6-3-3 this season. Earlier in the year, Prior-Brown enjoyed a thee-goal, one-assist effort against Loch Raven in a 4-3 win.

Posted by Glenn Graham at 12:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Girls soccer
        

With four weeks left in the prep football regular season, 26 teams in Maryland remain undefeated, according to MdVarsity.com. Ten are in the Baltimore metro area.

Arundel, River Hill, Atholton, Joppatowne, Poly, Archbishop Spalding, Boys’ Latin, Chesapeake-Baltimore County and Lake Clifton are 6-0. Forest Park is 5-0.

A few of these likely will complete perfect regular seasons, but not all of them can. Looming are three potential showdowns between unbeatens:

Archbishop Spalding and Boys' Latin could be playing for the MIAA B Conference championship when they meet on Oct. 23.

Two-time state Class 2A champion River Hill, now riding a 34-game winning streak, meets upstart Atholton in an Oct. 30 game that could decide the Howard County title.

Lake Clifton and Forest Park may duel it out for the Baltimore City Division II crown in the regular-season finale, Nov. 6.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Football
        

Arundel quarterback Billy Cosh isn’t just playing football this the fall, he's working on his book – the state record book.

Friday night, Cosh set his eighth state record for passing and tied another. His seven touchdown passes in the 75-19 romp over Glen Burnie gave him 85 for his career, breaking the three-year-old record of 80. In addition, those seven touchdown passes tied the state single-game record set in 2006 by Kennedy’s Melvin Harris.

And Cosh played only a quarter and a half Friday night, leaving with 267 yards on 16 of 19 passes and a 68-13 Wildcats lead.

Cosh’s name appears in the state football record book more than any other player and he still has a chance – if his 2009 stats end up comparable to last season's when the Wildcats reached the state Class 4A semifinal – to claim a few more milestones. He now holds eight of 14 state public school passing records, including the one he shares.

Here are Cosh’s other seven state records, which are overall records – for public and private schools. All were set last season.
Most total offensive yards in a season: 4,074.
Most passing yards in a season: 3,913.
Most passes attempted in a season: 448.
Most passes attempted in a game: 64.
Most passes completed in a season: 292.
Most passes completed in a game: 39.
Most touchdown passes in a season: 56.

How close is he to the other career records? On the public schools list, Mike Pfisterer, who led North County from 1997 to 2000, holds three that Cosh has a shot to reach.
Most passing yards: Pfisterer 6,522, Cosh 5,712.
Most passes attempted: Pfisterer 902, Cosh 674.
Most passes completed: Pfisterer 548, Cosh 446.

(The source for all of this data is the MPSSAA Football Record Book, which you can find at mpssaa.org. Many thanks to MdVarsity.com’s Sheldon Shealer for keeping the records up to date and for helping me sort them out.)

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 4:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Football
        

The No. 4 River Hill Hawks football team, which moved from 2A to 3A competition this season, continues to win -- just like it has the last two years.

The Hawks were 28-0 over the last two seasons with two 2A state championships to show for it. This season, some might have expected their prospects to dim, but River Hill head coach Brian Van Deusen wasn't among them. And the team has added another five straight victories to its total.

The 5-0 start has it leading the 3A East division by one point over another county rival, Atholton, which is also 5-0.

On Friday, River Hill will try to maintain its lead and improve to 6-0 while playing at county rival Glenelg at 7 p.m.

"We're keeping the string going," Van Deusen said. "This year, besides losing last year's seniors, we've had some injuries and been moving people around. But we keep winning. It's a matter of perspective. Our junior varsity (county champions last season) is good every year. The new kids coming up can step in and play well. Our returning players have gotten bigger and stronger, allowing us to do more things.

"You know, we were real good before those guys [Malek Redd, Leron Eaddy, Michael Campanaro and quarterback Luke Hostetler, among them] graduated."

For two seasons, perfection has been the name of River Hill's game. But even before that first unbeaten season, the Hawks were the envy of many. They were 13-1, losing only the championship game three years ago. And they were 13-2 the year before that.

This season, River Hill has continued to excel, bringing its four-plus year record to 59-3 and counting.

Posted by Sandra McKee at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Football
        

One of this weekend’s biggest football showdowns will be Friday night’s Carroll County battle between Century and Winters Mill.

The winner will take over sole possession of first place in the county as well as the top spot in the Monocacy Valley Athletic League Blue Ridge Conference (which includes the same teams). Both teams are 2-0 and the only teams remaining unbeaten in the county and conference.

Century, a state Class 2A semifinalist last season, started out slow against a tough Frederick County schedule. After dropping games to Middletown, Thomas Johnson and Tuscarora, the Knights (2-3) won their first two Carroll County games, including last week’s 26-6 victory over previously-unbeaten South Carroll.

Winters Mill has not played quite the same strength of schedule but drew the toughest Frederick County team -- Linganore, the No. 2 team in the state according to MdVarsity.com and last year’s state Class 4A runner up. That 72-6 loss is the only game the Falcons have dropped in the first half of the season, going 4-1.

Looking for keys to the game, you can find the big ones in the quarterbacks. Century’s Josh Bordner and Winters Mill’s David Blackwell had impressive two-way performances last week and were both nominated for the Army Iron Man award given to the state’s best dual performance of the week.

Bordner, who has committed to Boston College, had a hand in three touchdowns in the 26-6 win over South Carroll. He threw for 207 yards and a touchdown and also ran for two touchdowns. On defense, he had two sacks and an interception.

Blackwell threw for 129 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 60 yards. He also had an interception in leading the Falcons over North Carroll, 26-14.

Kickoff is Friday night at 7 at Century.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 2:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Football
        

If this was the "Late Show with David Letterman", the question for the night's Top 10 list would be: What is the most unexpected thing you've heard said by a high school senior football player in 2009?

The No. 1 answer would come from River Hill offensive lineman Max Coale, a 4.0 student and a captain of the 5-0 Hawks, who is featured Thursday in The Baltimore Sun's Q&A profile.

During a casual conversation about what a good time of life it is to be 17, Frank Sinatra's name came up and Coale had this to say:

"Frank Sinatra?" Coale said. "I love Frank Sinatra! I love the way he sings. If I could be anybody, be anybody, I'd be Frank Sinatra, a 1920s lounge singer."

Coale, his brown eyes sparkling, wasn't kidding.

Posted by Sandra McKee at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Football
        

Turns out the McDonogh boys soccer team had a short run as the nation's No. 1 team.

After taking over the top spot in the ESPN Rise and NSCAA polls last week -- the first time the program has ever reached No. 1 in either -- the Eagles were upset, 2-1, by Mount St. Joseph on Friday.

McDonogh dropped to 13th in the ESPN poll and 17th in the NSCAA. Today's game against visiting Archbishop Curley, set for 4 p.m. at McDonogh, was postponed until tomorrow with the game time set for 4:15.

The Archbishop Spalding girls also were ranked No. 1 in the NSCAA, but dropped to fourth after a scoreless tie against Good Counsel last week. The Cavaliers are No. 10 in the ESPN rankings.

Posted by Glenn Graham at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Boys soccer, Girls soccer
        

When it comes to tough luck, Severn’s field hockey team knows how to give and receive.

The Admirals are 6-7 this season. Four of those wins — including victories over then-No. 2 Severna Park and No. 15 St. Mary's — and five of the losses were by one goal.

In fact, those five one-goal losses were all to Top 15 teams.

The score book reads like a trip through field hockey’s version of Murderers’ Row: a 1-0 loss to No. 1 Broadneck, a 1-0 loss to No. 2 Garrison Forest, 2-1 to No. 7 Notre Dame Prep, 2-1 to No. 11 Archbishop Spalding and, Monday, a 1-0 loss to NDP, again.

Now comes Wednesday’s 4 p.m. home game against No. 6 Bryn Mawr followed by Friday’s trip to No. 2 Garrison Forest for another rematch.

Sooner or later, you would think the Admirals would have to break free of the one-goal string and go on a scoring binge.

Posted by Sandra McKee at 10:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Field hockey
        

With goals hard to come by in the first few games for the Notre Dame Prep girls soccer team, senior midfielder Laura Dalesio approached coach Chris Lopez one day before practice with a simple suggestion: Move me to forward.

Soon after, a steady flow of goals were coming and so were the wins. And with a senior-laden team beaming with confidence, the Blazers are in the midst of a 7-2-1 season that includes a 4-2-1 mark in the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference going into Tuesday's game against Seton Keough.

Dalesio has brought tireless energy up front, scoring five goals to lead a balanced attack. The switch moved Jade Petrucci to midfield, where she is providing sound technical play to connect with the front line.

"The transition between the midfield and our forwards has really been the difference and our senior leadership has come to the front," Lopez said.

Midfielder Gabby Herman and forward Kirkland Locey -- two of 10 seniors -- also have played a big role in the team's strong play.

Posted by Glenn Graham at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Girls soccer
        

Week 5 of the college football season has come and gone. By now you guys know the drill, so let's get down to it.

Maryland got a couple of strong defensive performances from players with local ties in its 24-21 upset victory over visiting Clemson on Saturday. Jamari McCollough (Randallstown) returned to his starting spot at strong safety and came up big, intercepting Tigers quarterback Kyle Parker in the end zone with 31 seconds left in the first half. Clemson had driven into the red zone, and McCollough's pick allowed the Terps to preserve a 17-13 halftime lead. The senior also assisted on a tackle.

Starting nose tackle A.J. Francis continues to look stout against the run. The redshirt freshman, a Severn native, made two solo tackles and assisted on two others. His standout plays included stopping Clemson running back Andre Ellington after a gain of just 1 yard on a first-and-10 rush in the second quarter and teaming up with linebacker Alex Wujciak to hold speedy running back C.J. Spiller to a gain of 2 on first-and-10 on the Tigers' first offensive play of the second half. Francis also broke up a pass in the first quarter.

Maryland wide receiver LaQuan Williams (Poly) was involved in two notable plays, though only one was a positive for the Terps. The junior took a backward pass from quarterback Chris Turner in the third quarter and looked to pass it himself, but he was sacked for a loss of 12 yards before he could find anyone open. Williams did make a 10-yard reception that resulted in a first down in the third quarter.

If you tuned in Thursday night for West Virginia's nationally televised meeting with visiting Colorado, you might have seen a couple of familiar faces. Three-time Baltimore Sun All-Metro Player of the Year Tavon Austin (Dunbar) got just three touches in the Mountaineers' 34-20 victory over the Buffaloes, but he showed his versatility. The freshman had one rush, one reception and one kickoff return. His 9-yard catch on West Virginia's second offensive play of the second half came on a drive that resulted in a touchdown that put the Mountaineers ahead 21-10. He carried the ball for a gain of 4 yards on first-and-10 on West Virginia's next possession and also returned a kickoff for 19 yards. Additionally, he was the target of a pass on a first-and-10 play in the third quarter, but the throw was incomplete.

Freshman defensive back Terence Garvin (Loyola) assisted on two tackles on kickoff coverage for the Mountaineers, including on the game's opening kickoff.

Buffalo is struggling this season, and the Bulls fell to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the Mid-American Conference with a 20-13 home loss to Central Michigan on Saturday. They would probably be in even worse shape, however, without senior Mike Newton (Calvert Hall) coming up to help make tackles. The starting free safety made four stops (three solo, one assist) against the Chippewas. Fellow senior and Calvert Hall grad Dane Robinson made his first start of the season for Buffalo. The defensive tackle assisted on two tackles and made one solo stop, taking down quarterback Dan LeFevour for no gain on third-and-1 in the second quarter, forcing Central Michigan to punt.

Former River Hill standouts Leron Eaddy, a freshman defensive back, and Malek Redd, a freshman running back, did not play for the Chippewas in the victory.

Linebacker Joey Ehrmann (Gilman) made an impact in host Wake Forest's 30-24 win over North Carolina State. The redshirt freshman made three tackles (two solo, one assist), including a sack of Wolfpack quarterback Russell Wilson for a loss of 5 yards in the fourth quarter.

Wide receiver Alec Lemon (Arundel) started for Syracuse in the Orange's 34-20 defeat at the hands of visiting South Florida. The freshman made three catches for a total of 15 yards, his longest a 10-yard gain on second-and-7 during a second-quarter drive that ended with a field goal that pulled Syracuse within 7-6. Lemon also made a 5-yard grab on third-and-3 during a touchdown drive in the third quarter. He also got the chance to turn into a defensive player, making a solo tackle after Orange quarterback Greg Paulus was intercepted by Bulls safety Nate Allen in the first quarter. Senior tight end Andrew Robinson (Calvert Hall) did not record any statistics in the loss.

Starting weak-side linebacker Zach Brown (Wilde Lake) recorded three solo tackles in North Carolina's 16-3 home loss to Virginia. The sophomore stopped Cavaliers running back Mikell Simpson after a 2-yard gain on a first-and-10 play in the fourth quarter and also tackled Simpson on the next play, a 5-yard rush. Virginia junior running back Raynard Horne (Overlea) played on punt coverage, assisting on a tackle in the fourth quarter.

Freshman slotback Lonnie Liggins (Hereford) saw a little red-zone action in Army's 17-16 loss to visiting Tulane, rushing for 1 yard on first-and-10 from the Green Wave 19-yard line in the second quarter. Black Knights junior linebacker Jacob Bohn (Mount St. Joseph) played but didn't record any statistics.

Three former Baltimore-area players contributed in Temple's 24-12 road victory over Eastern Michigan. Junior defensive back Kwame Johnson (Parkville) assisted on a tackle in the second quarter, and sophomore offensive linemen Pat and Sean Boyle, both Calvert Hall grads, got onto the field as well.

Duke's Sheldon Bell (City) showed up only once in the stat book in the host Blue Devils' 34-26 loss to Virginia Tech, and he probably wishes he hadn't. The junior wide-out was called for a holding penalty on a kickoff return in the fourth quarter.

Senior quarterback Greg Zingler (Severna Park) played in Navy's 16-13 overtime win over Air Force in Annapolis but recorded no statistics.

Ditto for freshman linebacker Horace Miller (Dunbar) in Louisville's 35-10 home loss to Pittsburgh on Friday.

An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated LaQuan Williams' high school affiliation. The Baltimore Sun regrets the error.

Posted by Steve Gould at 1:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

If you're not out watching football or other high school sports on Friday nights, be sure to tune in to ESPN 1300 AM for 'The LifeBridge Health Sports Medicine High School Sports Show' from 7-9 p.m.

Brett Hollander is the host and it's a comprehensive look at the fall sports season in the area.

Tonight, among the featured segments is the McDonogh boys soccer team's climb to the top of the NSCAA/adidas and ESPN RISE national polls.

Posted by Glenn Graham at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

At the start of this field hockey season, Fallston was believed to have a very good team. But as three straight losses piled up, no one seemed sure anymore. Cougars coach Megan Grant just kept saying her team had to learn to finish their chances.

In Fallston's fourth game, a comeback victory over No. 7 Hereford, Grant's team finished what it started, beating the bulls, 4-3. Since, they’ve outscored opposing teams 17-2 with four of their past five games being shutouts.

"We played a really tough schedule out of the block," Grant said. "We were working really hard, but we just weren't getting results and we were having a hard time scoring goals. The girls continued to work hard despite our 0-3 record. And then we had a huge come-from-behind first win against a strong Hereford team, and this was the turnaround point for us.

"The girls gained a lot of confidence in themselves and as a team."

Fallston is led by Caitlin Dempsey (nine goals, four assists) and Jenn Ward (six goals, two assists), and has strong leadership in the backfield with Leah Perrotta and Sammi Mosketti and Anne Morgan Milchling in goal.

"The girls are working very hard and will continue to work hard because we have a lot of tough games ahead of us," Grant said. "Our main focus is to keep improving."

Fallston will try to keep its winning streak going Friday against North Harford.

-- Sandra McKee

Posted by Steve Gould at 10:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Field hockey
        

Defending Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference champ Spalding and last year's runner-up McDonogh -- ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively throughout the season - have slightly seperated themselves from the deep and talented league.

John Carroll would like to join the party. The No. 4 Patriots (7-1-2) have that chance in the next week. They first visit McDonogh on Friday and then play host to Spalding on Wednesday.

What's it going to take? "Divine intervention," John Carroll coach Gary Lynch joked. On a more serious note, Lynch added: "We'll need to bring our A game back-to-back. It's an exciting opportunity."

The Patriots have a mix of experienced players with talented newcomers who immediately blended playing a different style from year's past. They like to rattle opponents with pressure on the ball and -- when they have it -- stay poised in getting up the field with short passes. Veterans Colleen O'Connell (eight goals, five assists) and Mel Lookingland (five goals, seven assists) have been providing most of the scoring.

Lynch said he has a handle as to where his team is and knows what they are capable of. The key will be how well the young players respond to the pressures of the big games.

Posted by Glenn Graham at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Girls soccer
        

The newly-revised MPSSAA Respect the Game Handbook covers all the topics you would expect to find in a guide for student athletes – sportsmanship, leadership, teamwork, diversity, integrity – but it also contains pearls of wisdom for everyone at the game.

A Code of Conduct for student athletes is just the beginning in this booklet, written in large part by the six teenagers who attended this summer’s National Federation of State High School Associations National Student Leadership Conference – South River’s Lyndse Hokanson, Poly’s Martha Jacobs, Kenwood’s Paige Puller, Linganore’s Alex Eckard, Westlake’s Courtney Jarvis and North East’s Josh Yates.

The handbook is filled with tips on how to be a better student athlete, role model and leader. Still what struck me the most were two pages that weren’t about the players at all -- “What I Wish My Parents Knew About Me Participating in High School Athletics” and “What I Wish My Coaches Knew…”

They contained the following gems and many more:

“I wish my parents would leave their egos at the gate when they pay to come watch me play. I don’t play to relive their memories but to make my own and in return all I ask for is their support.”

“I wish my parents knew that when they yell at the coach or the official they are not helping me but rather hurting me. It is embarrassing, a distraction and encourages everyone else to act with the same poor sportsmanship behavior they are projecting.”

“I wish my coaches realized the messages they are sending when their actions are marred by the notion of only winning. Do they really want us to see them yelling at the referee? Do they want us to hear them degrading the other coach? Do they want us to learn that fouling is the way to get ahead? They want us to listen to them but are they even sending the right message? We look up to them and respect them, but when they look back at us and see their poorer qualities do they realize that is a reflection on them. Remember coach, we are always watching you.”

Great advice.

To give some parents a dose of reality, the booklet also includes a page on the odds of becoming a professional athlete. According the chart, taken from 2007 NCAA statistics, only .08 percent of all high school football players move on to the pros – and those are the best odds among sports including men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, men’s ice hockey and men’s soccer.

Certainly not every parent or coach is a poor role model. Given all the games that are played, they are quite rare, but we’ve all watched someone act up and ruin the game for everyone else – especially their children and their players. I’ve seen athletes ask parents to please be quiet and I’ve seen players apologize for their coach’s behavior.

These six teenagers provide great insight for their elders and this booklet – which you can find on mpssaa.org – should be required reading for all parents and coach as well as players.

After all, as the Knute Rockne quote included in the booklet says, “One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than 50 others preaching it.”

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)