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Today's football game between No. 6 Calvert Hall and No. 9 Poly has been postponed because Calvert Hall follows Baltimore County's lead and will close two hours early.
The contest will be moved to Friday at Calvert Hall with a 3:45 p.m. start time. Poly's articifial turf field is already booked Friday with games involving other Baltimore City teams, forcing the change of venue.
Because of Thursday's heavy rain and severe weather potential, Baltimore County, Carroll County schools closed early, canceling all practices and postponing all games. Anne Arundel County officials also postponed all of Thursday afternoon's sporting events.
In addition, Calvert Hall closed early, so Thursday's football game between No. 6 Calvert Hall and No. 9 Poly has been postponed until Friday. The game will be played at 3:45 p.m. at Calvert Hall.
In boys soccer, Thursday's scheduled Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference showdown between No. 2 Gilman and host and No. 1 McDonogh has been postponed with no makeup date set.
Greg LeGrand, coordinator of athletics in Anne Arundel County, announced that all games and practices -- indoor and outdoor -- have been postponed until Monday.
No makeup dates have been set for the Baltimore, Carroll and Harford county postponements unless listed below.
North Carroll athletic director Troy Warehime announced these makeup games for Monday, Oct. 18:
Boys soccer at Manchester Valley, 5
Volleyball at home vs. Liberty, 5
Girls soccer at home vs. Manchester Valley, 5
Field hockey at home vs. Manchester Valley, 4
Mount Hebron High School athletic director Jeannie Prevosto also has announced these postponements and makeup dates:
Varsity boys soccer at Atholton, Oct. 4
Varsity girls soccer at Atholton, Oct. 4
JV football at Long Reach, Oct. 4 at 4 p.m.
JV boys soccer at home, Oct. 4 at 4 p.m.
JV girls soccer at home, Oct. 4 at 5:30 p.m.
Glenelg athletic director Jack Davis has announced these postponements and makeup dates:
Baoys soccer at Oakland Mills, Oct. 4
Volleyball at Hammond, Oct. 1
Also postponed: Varsity and JV field hockey games at Mount de Sales with John Carroll. A makeup date has not yet been set, according to Mount de Sales athletic director Gene Williams.
Gilman quarterback Darius Jennings and Owings Mills lineman Donovan Smith are on the watch list for the US Under-19 national team that will play in USA Football's annual "Team USA" vs. "The World" game in February.
The 241-player watch list will be trimmed to 45 for the Feb. 2 game in Austin, Texas. Earlier this year, Team USA won 17-0 in the first international contest against a team of teenage players from four continents.
Maryland is one of 35 states with players on the watch list. Others from Maryland are Blake Countess and Vince Croce from Good Counsel; Cyrus Kouandjio, from DeMatha; and Kevin McReynolds, from St. John's.
The George E. Sonnefeld Foundation will be awarding at least one $2,500 scholarship during Spring 2011 to a Baltimore-area high school senior golfer with an established handicap. Each award will be paid directly to the college where the recipient will be attending next fall. Students who wish to receive applications should contact their school's athletic director, golf coach, guidance counselor, golf course professional or contact Susan DiLonardo at 410-841-5670 or DiLonardo2@aol.com.
In a unusual twist, Howard High's football coaching staff has been presented with the Ravens' High School Coach of the Week award.
Defensive coordinator Doug Kaplan stepped in when head coach Bruce Strunk was sidelined after emergency gallbladder surgery Wednesday and, with the rest of the coaching staff, led the Lions to a 32-28 victory over Atholton. With 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, the Lions improved their record to 3-1.
"I always preach that if a player goes down, another steps up. The same goes with the coaches, and they got the job done," Strunk said in a news release.
The Lions sent the game ball to Strunk, who is expected to be back on the sideline this week. The winning touchdown was scored on a 1-yard run by Brady Curley, a running back just up from the JV after injuries to the varsity running backs.
"I'm very proud of our kids," Strunk said. "Behind every successful coach is a great group of players and coaches."
Kaplan handled the defensive play-calling, and offensive coordinator Tony Reid took control of the calls on the other side of the ball.
"[Strunk] has a very clear philosophy, and everything was built off of that when he had to step away," Kaplan said. "The players just pick each other up. They play for the right reasons -- for the love of the game and for each other."
The Lions' staff joins Hereford coach Steve Turnbaugh and Gilman coach Biff Poggi as Ravens' Coaches of the Week this fall. Each received a $2,000 donation to his football program. On Dec. 19 at the Ravens-Saints game at M&T Bank Stadium, the Ravens will name their High School Coach of the Year.
In the fourth week of prep football, lopsided victories prevailed as only one top 12 team had a tough contest. Here are some of the numbers that drew attention over the weekend:
1 First down allowed by Wilde Lake’s defense in a 50-0 win over Mount Hebron.
3 Sacks by No. 3 River Hill linebacker Max Williams in 41-19 win over Reservoir.
5 Touchdown passes thrown by Western Tech quarterback Juleon Killikelly-Lee in a 47-20 win over Lansdowne – a school record.
6 Years since River Hill allowed as many as 19 points on its home field before the 41-19 win over Reservoir.
7 Touchdown passes thrown by quarterbacks for No. 2 Arundel in a 56-0 win over Chesapeake-AA – four by starter Nick Rosati and three by back-up Jack Gordon.
8 Undefeated teams left in The Sun’s Top 15 – Arundel, River Hill, No. 6 Calvert Hall, No. 8 Boys’ Latin, No. 9 Poly, No. 10 McDonogh, No. 11 Franklin and No. 12 North Harford.
10 Straight wins for Annapolis Area Christian School – the area’s longest active winning streak.
13 Points allowed by South Carroll’s defense through the first four games.
22 Point lead blown by Poly before recovering to beat No. 14 Patterson 30-22.
36.5 Average combined margin of victory for The Sun’s top 12 teams – all winners -- over the weekend.
391-5 Total yardage differential in Eastern Tech’s favor in avenging its only 2009 loss, 38-0 over Chesapeake-BC.
441 Yards rushing for Towson in the Generals’ 45-13 win over Patapsco.
PowerBar is looking to answer that question and is taking nominations for the PowerBar Coach of the Year Award. It's a great opportunity for student-athletes to recognize their coaches as positive mentors.
The winning coach will receive a $5,000 donation for their school's athletic department. Students can also enter for a chance to win $250.
For more information, click here.
It seems Severna Park wrestling isn't the only program looking for coaches.
On Wednesday the Falcons let it be known they're looking for a junior varsity wrestling coach. Now comes word Annapolis High School is also looking for assistant wrestling coaches — it needs two.
Anyone who is interested should contact head coach Tom Owen by phoning 443-534-6060 or by emailing towen@pgicommercial.com.
sandra.mckee@baltsun.com
Kikanae Punyua is back.
Punyua became a star in the local running scene last year when he emerged as one of the state's best distance runners while in the country for a year at Wilde Lake. But Punyua's visa expired after the school year, forcing him back to Kenya. But after a long summer of battling to return to the United States -- aided by Wilde Lake coach Whitty Bass and others -- Punyua was able to work everything out and arrived in Howard County again last Thursday.
But there's one change. Punyua will be going to school at Glenelg Country School, and he ran his first race Tuesday. Punyua won by 49 seconds in a meet with GCS, St. Paul's and Severn.
Punyua was able to obtain an F-1 visa to return to the United States -- something that Howard County and some other public schools don't accept, but some private schools do. It is a two-year visa, which will let Punyua finish his final year of high school and get set for college.
He's already drawn the attention of several colleges after winning a state title in both indoor and outdoor track last year.
-- Jeff Seidel
Maryvale Prep and Institute of Notre Dame will square off in a girls soccer game set for 4 p.m. Friday at Loyola College's new Ridley Athletic Complex.
It's the first part of a high school/college doubleheader with the Loyola's women's team hosting Mount St. Mary's at 7 p.m.
For the high school players, it's a great opportunity to play in a college atmosphere and also showcase their skills as the head coaches for both colleges will be on hand to scout the talent.
St. Frances sophomores Tyshell King and Infiniti Alston have been named preseason honorable mention girls basketball All-Americans by The Sporting News.
King returns to play for the defending IAAM A Conference champion Panthers while Alston has transferred from Western.
The Meade boys soccer team was forced to forfeit its season-opening win against Glen Burnie when it was discovered that one of its players was too old to be eligible to compete.
School officials reported the violation to the Anne Arundel County Public Schools Office of Athletics, who then notified the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association.
Under MPSSAA rules, students cannot be older than 19 years old as of August 31 in order to compete in athletic contests. The student was removed from the team when the infraction was confirmed.
Severna Park varsity wrestling coach Paul Joyce is sending out a call for applications from anyone interested in the junior varsity wrestling coach position which has become available at the Anne Arundel county school.
"Often at this time of year qualified coaches are looking for a spot, but there aren't any," said Joyce, who was originally hired for this same position by then head coach Ralph Toomey in 1995.
Anyone interested in applying should contact Joyce via e-mail, pfjoyce2002@yahoo.com, or by phone, 410-703-6308.
The Virginia High School League’s executive committee voted Wednesday to ban the use of energy drinks by student athletes during games and practices. The rule, which was adopted by a vote of 24-2, goes into effect immediately, said Mike McCall, a spokesman for the VHSL.
The rule stipulates that “athletes not consume energy drinks during participation in VHSL practices and competition, “ because of “potential serious safety and health issue.”
“The safety of the athletes was the overwhelming rationale for approval of the recommendation,” Tom Dolan, co-director of Athletics for the VHSL, said. “ We’ve been fortunate up to this point, but is it prudent for us to wait to see if we have an issue before we do something about this? For me the answer is absolutely not. They’re our student athletes. We have an obligation to protect them.”
The VHSL, which oversees all public schools in Virginia, considered the proposal after it was recommended by its Sports Medicine Advisory Committee. The Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association has no position on the use of energy drinks although many athletic directors, athletic trainers and coaches discourage their use.
Last month, Dr. Katherine Dec, chair of the VHSL sports medicine committee, told The Sun that there was enough anecdotal evidence to begin discussing the possibility of a ban in Virginia.
"The kids see [the drinks] as something to give them energy," Dec said. "But it's not the physical nutritional energy that they need to perform well, so we want to try and keep with that hydration, replenishment concept. We want them to be appropriately replenished post practice and games and appropriately hydrated so they don't run into problems with heart rate, blood pressure, jitteriness -- some of the complaints from kids through the past few years after drinking these drinks."
The National Federation of State High School Associations, in its position statement on energy drinks reported that in 2006, “over 7 million adolescents reported that they had consumed and energy drink.”
Virginia’s ban, also based on the NFHS position statement, states:
• Energy drinks should not be used for hydration.
• Energy drinks should not be consumed by athletes who are dehydrated.
• There is no regulatory control over energy drinks, thus their content and purity cannot be ensured. This may lead to adverse side-effects, potentially harmful interactions with prescription medications (particularly stimulant medications used to treat ADHD), or positive drug tests.
The penalty for violation is a warning to the offending school, but that has more punch than it sounds like, because stricter penalties could follow.
"The warning carries multiple meanings in our organization," Dolan said. "If a coach intentionally distributes energy drinks at this point, then I think we would put that particular team from that particular school on warning for a year which means if it happened again during that year, they could be put on probation, which would keep them from going to the playoffs. We have those kinds of options.
"We don’t want to hammer people for stuff they don’t know. We want to educate them first, but we also don’t want any outright intentional breaking of that recommendation.”
Three Baltimore area high school boys basketball players were among Rivals.com's Top 150 seniors to watch for the upcoming season.
City guard Nick Faust, a second-team All-Metro selection who helped the Knights capture their second straight state title last season, was the highest-rated area player coming in at No. 57.
St. Frances forward/center Greg Lewis is ranked 120th and former Lake Clifton guard/forward Durand Johnson -- who's spending a post-grad year at Brewster (N.H.) Academy -- is 125th.
The list came out in The Sporting News' college basketball preview magazine.
Gilman coach Biff Poggi is this week's Ravens High School Coach of the Week after guiding the No. 1 Greyhounds to a 33-10 win over DeMatha on Saturday night at Towson University's Johnny Unitas Stadium.
The victory marked the second for the Greyhounds in three weeks over a Washington Post No. 1 team. Gilman dropped Good Counsel, 28-7, in the I-95 Kickoff Classic Labor Day weekend.
The win over DeMatha, led by Darius Jennings' 276 yards rushing and two touchdowns and Kenny Goins' three touchdowns, puts the Greyhounds on top this week in the Maryland High School Football State Poll ahead of second-ranked Good Counsel. DeMatha falls to No. 5.
Poggi has guided the Greyhounds to nine MIAA A Conference championships -- some of them shared -- and is in his 14th season as their head coach. The Greyhounds (3-1) are the defending A Conference champs.
Poggi and last week's winner, Hereford's Steve Turnbaugh, will be invited to the Ravens-Saints game Dec. 19 when the Ravens' High School Coach of the Year will be named. Each weekly winner receives a $2,000 donation for his school's football program.
The schedule has been finalized for the 5th Annual Breezy Bishop Showcase, which features top girls basketball action from teams all over the Mid-Atlantic, Dec. 10, 11 and 12 in the Western and Poly gyms.
In addition to the host teams, last season's No. 1 St. Frances, the defending IAAM A Conference champion, and No. 2 Archbishop Spadling will be in action along with Seton Keough, City, Digital Harbor, Fallston and Mercy. All will meet teams from out of the area with the only local matchup between Seton Keough and Digital Harbor Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Poly.
Friday, Dec. 10
Western gym
Miller (Va.) vs. Hill (Pa.), 4
Western vs. National Christian, 6
Cape Henry (Va.) vs. Peddie (N.J.), 8
Poly gym
Poly vs. Largo, 5
Frederick vs. Forest Park (Va.), 7
Spalding vs. Riverdale Baptist, 9
Saturday, Dec. 11
Western gym
Hill (Pa.) vs. Mercy, 9 a.m.
Fallston vs. Forest Park (Va.), 11 a.m.
Frederick vs. Cape Henry (Va.), 1
South Shore (N.Y.) vs. Holy Cross, 3
Western vs. Bishop Loughlin (N.Y.), 5
Bishop Ford (N.Y.) vs. Archbishop Carroll (Pa.), 7
St. John’s (D.C.) vs. Nazareth (N.Y.), 9
Poly gym
Miller (Va.) vs. National Christian, 9:30 a.m.
Poly vs. Robert E. Lee (Va.), 11:30 a.m.
Bowie vs. Western Branch (Va.), 1:30
City vs. Liberty (Va.), 3:30
H.D. Woodson vs. Elizabeth Seton, 5:30
Digital Harbor vs. Seton Keough, 7:30
Peddie (N.J.) vs. Riverdale Baptist, 9:30
Sunday, Dec. 12
Western gym
Bishop Loughlin (N.Y.) vs. Cape Henry (Va.), 10
St. John’s (D.C.) vs. Peddie (N.J.), noon
Friendship (D.C.) vs. Liberty (Va.), 2
Seton Keough vs. H.D. Woodson, 4
Poly gym
South Shore (N.Y.) vs. Robert E. Lee (Va.), 11
Spalding vs. Bishop Ford (N.Y.), 1
St. Frances vs. Nazareth (N.Y.), 3
Holy Cross vs. Archbishop Carroll (Pa.), 5
For more information, go to http://www.breezybishopshowcase.webs.com/.
Several players on Liberty’s golf team were suspended for Tuesday’s District I tournament after an alleged incident of “bullying and harassment” at practice last week.
Stephen Guthrie, superintendent of the Carroll County Public Schools, handed down the suspensions for “bullying and harassment that falls outside the guidelines of the athletics handbook,” said Carey Gaddis, a school system spokeswoman.
Gaddis declined to expound on the offending behavior. She also said she would not name the students or say how many were involved due to privacy restrictions.
Two of the Lions’ top four players were reportedly among those suspended.
The Lions, who won the state Class 2A-1A championship in 2007, had been expected to contend for the district title Tuesday at Black Rock Golf Course in Hagerstown. The suspended players will not be able to play in the state tournament, because state rules mandate that golfers qualify through their district tournament. They will be allowed to play in the rest of the Lions’ regular-season matches.
The boys were not suspended from school, Gaddis said.
Friday night's football game between No. 9 Poly and No. 14 Patterson has been moved to the turf at Mervo at 6 p.m.
Originally scheduled for Patterson at 3:45 p.m., the night game should bring out more fans for a showdown of unbeaten teams. Both 3-0, Poly and Patterson are the highest ranked Baltimore City schools in The Baltimore Sun's Top 15 poll
Four Harford County girls basketball teams will square off against four Baltimore County teams in mid-December for the first Harford County-Baltimore County Challenge, which will help raise money for the Shooting Santa's Foundation.
In the event, planned to become an annual showdown, the county that wins a majority of the eight games on Dec. 17 and 18 at John Carroll will have bragging rights and will keep the traveling trophy for a year.
Some of the proceeds will go to the Shooting Santa's Foundation, which raised nearly $15,000 last year and helped more than 10 families in Harford County. The goal for this year is to raise $25,000 to help 15 families.
Here is the lineup:
Friday, Dec. 17
John Carroll vs. Catonsville, 3
C. Milton Wright vs. Franklin, 5
Perry Hall vs. Fallston, 7
Edgewood vs. Milford Mill, 9
Saturday, Dec. 18
Edgewood vs. Franklin, noon
C. Milton Wright vs. Milford Mill, 2
Fallston vs. Catonsville, 4
John Carroll vs. Perry Hall, 6
Now that the prep football season is in its third week -- fourth for some private schools -- the stats are piling up. Here's a look at some that stand out from this weekend and the season to date:
0
Points allowed by Fort Hill this season until Mount St. Joseph took a 14-10 victory in Western Maryland on Friday night.
2
Wins over teams ranked No. 1 in The Washington Post for Gilman, The Baltimore Sun's No. 1, in the last three weeks -- Good Counsel and DeMatha.
3
Touchdowns scored by Fallston's Chris Cooper on his only three receptions in a 27-20 win over Rising Sun.
4
Touchdowns scored by No. 7 Archbishop Spalding's K.K. Smith, who ran for three and returned a punt for another in a 49-21 win over No. 13 Loyola.
5
Touchdowns scored by No. 12 North Harford's Cody Turner -- four rushing, one passing -- in a 57-8 win over Edgewood.
7
Points allowed in its first three games by No. 8 Boys' Latin's defense.
8
Big defensive plays for No 6 Calvert Hall's Daquan Davis, who had an interception and four tackles and broke up three passes in a 55-0 win over Havre de Grace.
10
Touchdowns scored in three games by No. 3 River Hill's Aaron Wells, who rushed for more than 100 yards in all three.
12
Yard line where No. 5 Broadneck's upset bid against No. 2 Arundel ended when Jonathan Haskell's interception with 2:19 left in the game sealed a 10-6 win for the Wildcats.
16-4
Combined record for the six MIAA A Conference teams through the first four weeks of the season. Now, they start playing each other.
49
Consecutive points scored by Archbishop Spalding in its 49-21 win over Loyola.
163
Points scored by North Harford in the first three weeks of the season.
2005 The last time -- before Broadneck did it Friday -- that Arundel was held to 10 or fewer points. It was a season-ending 19-7 loss to Old Mill.
Loyola quarterback Mike Fafaul spent the night in the hospital Friday after suffering a bruised liver on a hard sack during the Dons' game against Archbishop Spalding, coach Brian Abbott said.
Fafaul returned home Saturday but may miss the Dons' next game at home against Valley Forge (Pa.) on Saturday afternoon.
“Basically, we have to wait until his comfort level is back,” Abbott said of when Fafaul might return to practice. “He may be out for this week, but you never know. They heal pretty quick.”
The play came with 3:03 left in the second quarter of Friday night's game and the visiting Dons in the lead, but No. 7 Spalding scored 49 straight points before No. 13 Loyola’s next touchdown.
“We were doing great when he was in there,” Abbott said. “I just kind of think the boys were more worried about him [after the injury].”
Former Bryn Mawr assistant Jonathan Scruggs has been named the varsity basketball coach at Elizabeth Seton High in Bladensburg.
Scruggs worked as an assistant coach for the Mawrtians for the past three seasons after helping Chaminade-Julienne Catholic High School in Dayton, Ohio to an Ohio District runner-up finish as an assistant in 2006.
“We are very excited to have Jonathan Scruggs join the Elizabeth Seton athletic family,” athletic director Candy Cage said in a statement. “We feel very fortunate to have someone of his caliber and experience at the helm of our basketball program. Coach Scruggs’ morals, values and coaching philosophy make him an ideal fit for Seton basketball.”
You can expect to see just about anything in the two small sets of bleachers that comprise the student section for the No. 2-ranked Loyola boys soccer team.
Thursday afternoon's steady rain didn't deter the Dons' supporters from coming out in droves to watch the home team earn a huge 2-1 win over No. 1 Mount St. Joseph in a key Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference game.
They were decked out in blue and gold with paint on their faces and drums, vuvuzelas and the school flag in hand. In addition to the team's mascot, an armored knight, another student was sporting a kilt and working the bagpipes like a champ.
In unison, the enthusiastic and persistent group chanted and sang songs that -- fan for fan -- would have rivaled any effort you hear at a professional game overseas.
As for a backup, the football team usually makes an appearance at some point following practice to provide added support.
"We have a really nice environment where they're right on the field and just going crazy. It's great," said Loyola coach Lee Tschantret.
Arundel’s Nick Rosati and Century’s Ryan Throndset discovered they have more in common than their position when they met last month at a quarterback showcase in Severn.
From Rosati’s recollection, the conversation began something like this:
Rosati: You ever hear of Billy Cosh?
Throndset: Oh, the kid who broke all the records?
Rosati: Yeah, I’m following behind him.
Throndset: No way. I’m doing the same thing behind Josh Bordner.
Following an All-Metro quarterback can be a daunting task, especially following Cosh or Bordner, two of the best Baltimore-area high school quarterbacks ever.
Cosh, now at Kansas State, set 13 state passing records, including completing 292 of 448 passes last season for 3,913 yards and 56 touchdowns. He was The Sun’s Co-Offensive Player of the Year. Bordner, who was surrounded by a young Knights team but was also a quick scrambler, threw for 2,082 yards and 18 touchdowns and ran for 329 yards and 10 touchdowns. He is now playing for Boston College.
Rosati and Throndset spent last season playing behind these guys and both said it was a great learning experience.
“You just kind of have to sit back and take it all in,” Throndset said. “There’s not much you can do to break into the starting role. You see it from a different perspective. You can watch and learn things you can’t see when you’re playing.”
Both seniors said they were OK with their roles last season, knowing they would get a shot this fall and that watching Cosh and Bordner would only make them better.
“It wasn’t frustrating at all because Billy was a great guy about it and he would always try to get me in as much as he could,” Rosati said. “If we were up by a little too much Billy would be like, ‘Coach, Coach put Rosati in.” That was really nice of him. When he left, he taught me everything he knew which was great.”
They both learned well.
Rosati started off the season two weeks ago by hitting 18 of 32 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns and running for another TD in a 30-7 win over defending state Class 4A champion Old Mill. In two games, he has completed 35 of 53 passes for 509 yards and seven touchdowns.
Friday night, Throndset hit 20 of 28 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns in the final 18 minutes of regulation to rally the Knights from down 28-6 at halftime to win in overtime 35-34 against Tuscarora. In his first two games, he has completed 35 of 70 passes for 476 yards and five touchdowns.
Although both players said they are a bit behind in their college recruiting process because they did not start last season, they are thrilled to finally have the chance to step into a starting role.
“We talked about how we were excited to get our shot, to get out there and see what we can do,” Throndset said. “You have to have a positive attitude about it. You take a back seat for a year, but when it’s your turn you have to show people what you can do.”
Both players will be in action tonight, playing on Thursday because the Yom Kippur holiday begins at sundown Friday. Rosati and the No. 2 Wildcats face a huge road game at No. 5 Broadneck, which has allowed just seven points in the first two games. Throndset, an All-Carroll County safety last season, leads the Knights in a home game against a tough Frederick County opponent, Thomas Johnson, at 7 p.m.
Gilman's time in the USA Today Super 25 football rankings lasted one week as the Greyhounds dropped out of the national poll this week after falling to Don Bosco, from New Jersey, N.J., 33-6, Friday night.
The Greyhounds jumped to No. 14 in the Super 25 after beating Good Counsel, 28-7, Sept. 4 at the I-95 Kickoff Classic, but to hold onto a national ranking, teams usually have to keep winning. Although it wasn't previously ranked, Don Bosco, the 2009 Super 25 No. 1 team, jumped into the poll at No. 17 after the win over Gilman.
In the USA Today regional poll, the Greyhounds are No. 10 with St. Peter's Prep from Jersey City, N.J., in the top spot. Don Bosco moved into second and DeMatha was fifth.
The Greyhounds, The Sun's No. 1 team, will face DeMatha Saturday night at 8 p.m. at Towson University's Johnny Unitas Stadium. DeMatha, which beat Loyola 45-31 at the Kickoff Classic, is ranked No. 1 by The Washington Post and in the MDVarsity.com statewide poll. Gilman is No. 2 in the MDVarsity.com poll, falling from No. 1 last week.
Wendy's, in conjunction with the Heisman Memorial Trust, is looking for the next class of remarkable high school student athletes who excel in academics, athletics and community service.
Applications for the 2010 Wendy's High School Heisman award, in its 17th year, are being accepted from now until Oct. 3. All student athletes in the 2011 graduating class are eligible and can submit their applications at www.WendysHeisman.com. The first 41,100 applicants will receive a Wendy's gift card randomly valued from $5 to $50.
From the completed applications, one male and one female winner will be chosen to receive the WHSH Award. In addition to the website, students can call (800) 205-6367 or contact their high school principal, guidance counselor or athletic director for more information. Students can also visit the WHSH fan page on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/wendyshighschoolheisman.
Going into last season, the McDonogh boys soccer team was clearly the team to beat, while Mount St. Joseph was just another one of the solid teams looking to do just that.
The Eagles were two-time defending Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference champions and, in early October, had a 38-game winning streak working that earned them the country's No. 1 ranking in both the NSCAA/adidas and ESPN Rise national polls.
When the Gaels pulled off the season's biggest upset -- a 2-1 win over McDonogh on Oct. 2 -- it ended their 18-game winless streak against the Eagles. After the Gaels repeated the effort in the MIAA title game -- winning on penalty kicks after 100 minutes of scoreless soccer -- a rivalry was fully formed.
Which brings us to this season. Now, it's the Gaels ranked No. 1 in the metro area and looking to defend their conference championship, while the No. 4 Eagles (4-1) try to reclaim lost territory. The first of two regular season games takes place at 4 p.m. Tuesday afternoon at Mount St. Joseph.
"I think they kind of got the gorilla off their back beating us last year," McDonogh coach Steve Nichols said. "That makes us upset and, at the same time, it gives them the belief that they can beat us."
Plenty of talent will be on display with the Eagles leaning on the one-two offensive punch of Mike Gamble and Julian Griggs, while the Gaels counter with defensive standouts Jalen Robinson and Jordan Manley.
Just how big is this game? Expected to be in attendance to scout the talent is Maryland men's soccer coach Sasho Cirovski -- the Terrapins are slated to play at Loyola later tonight -- and Wake Forest men's soccer coach Jay Vidovich.
Patterson's football team used an unusual combination to score two of its touchdowns in Saturday's 32-20 win over No. 13 Dunbar.
This scoring combination was on the defensive side and it developed between the tallest Clipper and one of his shortest teammates. Marcus Woodard, a 6-foot-5 defensive end, caused a couple of turnovers and 5-foot-9 linebacker Josh Beasley turned them both into touchdowns.
First, Woodard tipped a pass by Dunbar quarterback Bryant Vass and Beasley picked the loose ball out of the air, racing 79 yards for the first touchdown of the game. In the fourth quarter, Woodard forced a fumble which Beasley scooped off the ground and ran for 21 yards for another TD, giving the Clippers a 32-14 lead.
"Marcus is really a disruptive force," Patterson coach Corey Johnson said, "so the plan was to put him on the back side of the quarterback and this quarterback didn't make too many fakes, so with his long arms and extension, we thought Marcus could be effective and he really was. Josh was just Johnny-on-the-spot. He just was aware. He's very coachable and he made those plays because he was in the right position. It's great when somebody has a nose for the ball."
Chances are good that Beasley, a transfer this fall from Westlake, will keep a close eye out for Woodard's disruptive ways. The duo -- and the rest of the Clippers -- sure would like to keep this scoring combination going.
Hereford’s Steve Turnbaugh is the first Ravens' High School Coach of the Week for this season after guiding the Bulls to a 17-14 overtime victory over No. 12 Eastern Tech on Friday night.
Turnbaugh faced a challenge when his starting quarterback was sidelined with mononucleosis, leaving him with two sophomores with no varsity experience between them. After falling behind by 14 points in the first half, he called on Jay Patti to step in for struggling Ryan Jones.
The veteran coach tried not to put any pressure on either of his young quarterbacks.
“I said if we were struggling in the first half, I’d make a quarterback change,” he said in a news release. “We needed a spark. Jay [Patti] had shoulder surgery in the spring, but he just has this air about him, just this confidence that translated into the other kids. That was the spark.”
The Bulls gradually started turning things around in the second half, and Patti tied the game with a screen pass to Isaiah Taylor for a 42-yard touchdown with 5:48 to go. Tyler Ruark clinched the victory with a field goal in overtime.
“It was as much a team effort as I’ve ever seen,” Turnbaugh said in the news release. “It was everyone on offense, defense and special teams. Everyone had to do their job.”
The Ravens honor one high school coach each week during the NFL season. One of them will be named the Ravens’ High School Coach of the Year at the Dec. 19 game between the Ravens and the New Orleans Saints. A $2,000 donation is made to each winner’s football program.
Top-ranked Mount St. Joseph entered the season ranked 10th in the U.S. by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. The Gaels are the only team from Maryland to crack the Top 25. No. 2 McDonogh also received votes. The Eagles, however, are ranked third in the ESPNRise poll, and Mount St. Joseph is 31. The rankings could become clearer this week as the two teams play Tuesday at Mount St. Joseph.
-- Todd Karpovich
Here's a look at some of the statistics that stand out through the first two weeks of football season (three for some MIAA teams).
3 Touchdown runs each for No. 9 Poly’s Dexter Davis and Gabriel Ali-El in opening a 50-0 lead en route to a 52-12 win over Mervo
7 Touchdown passes thrown by Nick Rosati in his first two weeks as No. 2 Arundel’s starting quarterback, picking up right where Billy Cosh left off
9 Teams in The Sun’s Top 15 that remain undefeated – Arundel, River Hill, Broadneck, Calvert Hall, Boys’ Latin, Poly, McDonogh, Franklin and Wilde Lake
10-2 Record for MIAA A Conference teams in their first three weeks of action
13 Points scored by Hammond in the final 10:40 to beat Atholton, 19-13
21 Turnovers on the turf at Poly Saturday – 11 in Mount St. Joseph’s win over Edmondson and 10 in Patterson’s win over No. 12 Dunbar
24 Yard field goal kicked by Hereford’s Tyler Ruark to nip No. 12 Eastern Tech, 17-14, in overtime
69 Points scored by Westminster in beat Francis Scott Key – a Carroll County record
75 Points scored by North Harford in shutting out Rising Sun
113 Points posted by Annapolis Area Christian School in the first two weeks of the season
209 Yards rushing by River Hill’s Aaron Wells on just four touchdown runs. He also caught a pass for a touchdown in the No. 3 Hawks' 46-8 win over Centennial
248-63 First-half yardage differential in Don Bosco’s favor as the New Jersey powerhouse went on to beat No. 1 Gilman, 33-6
326 Yards of offense after the first half for Century in rallying from down 21-0 to beat Tuscarora 35-34 in overtime. The Knights allowed Tuscarora just 78 yards in the second half and overtime.
The annual participation survey by the National Federation of State High School Associations revealed Wednesday a record 7,628,377 boys and girls taking part in interscholastic athletics during the 2009-2010 school year. This is the 21st consecutive year that number has risen.
In Maryland, which ranks 22nd in participation rate across the nation, 112,744 students played high school sports during the last school year — 66,219 boys and 46,525 girls.
Nationwide, 55.1 percent of students participated in athletics with football, outdoor track and basketball ranking as the three most popular sports overall.
For boys, football ranked first followed in the Top 10 by outdoor track, basketball, baseball, soccer, wrestling, cross country, tennis, golf and swimming and diving. For girls, outdoor track was No. 1 followed by basketball, volleyball, softball, soccer, cross country, tennis, swimming and diving, competitive spirit squads and golf.
Here are the Top 10 boys and girls sports in Maryland, according to the survey:
Boys
1. Football, 15,396 participants
2. Outdoor track, 6,771
3. Lacrosse, 6,404
4. Soccer, 6,381
5. Baseball, 5,731
6. Basketball, 5,619
7. Indoor track, 5,205
8. Wrestling, 3,909
9. Cross Country, 3,734
10. Tennis, 2,543
Girls
1. Soccer, 5,598 participants
2. Outdoor track, 5,362
3. Softball, 5,172
4. Lacrosse, 5,151
5. Basketball, 4,707
6. Indoor track, 4,285
7. Field hockey, 3,891
8. Volleyball, 3,732
9. Cross country, 2,585
10. Tennis, 2,543
It doesn't happen often -- when two opponents square off have the same team nickname -- but it can provide some entertaining and interesting reactions when it does.
On Tuesday afternoon, Perry Hall was hosting Reservoir in a well-played girls soccer game.
When the home team was all together in its huddle preparing to take the field for the start of the game, the players enthusiastically chanted 'Gators!' in unison. It was funny to see a couple Reservoir players look over in astonishment before realizing the teams shared the nickname.
Seconds later the Reservoir players roared "Gators' and took to the field. As for the fans in the stands, one of the visitors supporters cheered 'Go blue Gators!' while a home team fan played along, saying 'Our Gators are better!' Turns out, the visiting Gators went home happy with a 5-2 win.
Gilman’s football coaches and players knew they had such a strong schedule this fall that a key win or two could give them a national ranking. Well, that took exactly one week.
The Greyhounds’ 28-7 win over Good Counsel Saturday night at the I-95 Kickoff Classic boosted them to No. 14 in the USA Today Super 25. Gilman, ranked No. 1 by The Sun, was not ranked in the first Super 25, but Good Counsel was No. 9.
In the Classic at Towson University, quarterback Darius Jennings led a terrific all-around team game with two touchdowns, one rushing and one passing. He ran for 142 yards on 25 carries.
While the Greyhounds celebrated their victory – under a short but impressive fireworks display that ended the Classic – they were already thinking about some tough opponents yet to come.
"It's a big stepping stone," wide receiver Cyrus Jones told The Sun’s Rich Scherr. "Our season doesn't get any easier. We've just got to be humble, take this win and move on."
The Greyhounds (2-0) get another national power this weekend when they play host to Don Bosco Prep of Ramsey, N.J. Friday at 7 p.m. at Morgan State. Last season, Don Bosco was ranked No. 1 in the national by USA Today and MaxPreps after a 12-0 season, but the Ironmen are not currently ranked in the Super 25. The game is scheduled to be broadcast live by WBAL Plus.
On Sept. 18, the Greyhounds play DeMatha, a 45-31 winner over Loyola Saturday, at Towson University’s Johnny Unitas Stadium at 8 p.m. Gilman defeated DeMatha two years ago, 21-14, but lost last season, 56-35.
There's nothing like a couple of good rivalry games to get the 2010 girls soccer season kicking. Last week, two early upsets got things going in unpredictable fashion. Defending Class 1A state champ Loch Raven traveled to No. 8 Hereford and came away with an impressive 3-1 win over the Bulls. Both teams came into the opener with question marks in key areas -- the winning Raiders minus graduated four-year standout goalie Danielle DeLisle -- and the Bulls, who reached the 3A state semifinals last season, minus six starters from that team. Despite all the new faces in the teams' respective lineups, the game was played at a midseason-like level with the Raiders scoring three second half goals to wear down the younger Bulls.
Eslewhere, Winters Mills, ranked No. 7 in The Baltimore Sun's preseason poll, appears to be the team to beat in Carroll County, but rival Liberty clearly wants to have a sat with a 1-0 upset win over the weekend. A couple games are on the slate this afternoon to provide more early indicators when No. 3 Mercy travels to Loch Raven at 3:45 p.m. and No. 6 Reservoir visits No. 12 Perry Hall at 5
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