After a wild season-ending weekend that unexpectedly ended some seasons and extended others, the playoffs are set to begin next week. Here's a look at a few numbers that stand out from this weekend's action and the playoff fields:

1
Outright Howard County championship for Atholton, which won this fall after sharing the title in 1976 and 1988

1
Team in the regional playoffs with a losing record – Havre de Grace at 4-6 in Class 1A East

1
Yard sneak by Archbishop Spalding quarterback Brian Louck to beat Loyola, 20-16 in overtime, and propel the Cavaliers into the playoffs in their first year in the MIAA A Conference

2
MIAA B Conference playoff berths decided on the last night of the regular season – Boys’ Latin with a win over St. Paul’s and John Carroll with a win over Archbishop Curley

2
Touchdowns for Poly in the final 2:23 of the 22-16 win over City

2
Undefeated teams in the Class 4A North region -- Poly and Catonsville

3
Defending state champions to miss out on this year’s playoffs – Urbana, McDonough and Wilde Lake – with only Dunbar left with a chance to repeat

3
Way tie for the UCBAC Chesapeake Division championship – Aberdeen, Fallston and North Harford

3
Fourth-quarter touchdowns for St. Mary’s in a 26-20 comeback win over Severn

3
Straight wins for Gilman over McDonogh

4
Straight wins for Poly over City

4
Baltimore area teams finishing the regular season undefeated – Old Mill, Poly, Catonsville and Overlea

4
Teams with one loss each in the Class 2A East regional playoffs – Fallston, Patterson Mill, Kent Island and Wicomico

4
Hammond turnovers – three leading to touchdowns – in Howard’s 39-6 win to clinch a playoff berth

7
Straight shutouts for Northwestern, which allowed its first points of the season this week and fell one shutout shy of the state record

8
Years since Chesapeake-AA posted a non-losing season until finishing 5-5 with a 25-0 win over North County

8
Teams remaining undefeated heading into the state playoffs – Old Mill, Poly, Catonsville, Overlea, Quince Orchard, Eleanor Roosevelt, Fort Hill and Perryville

Continue reading "Football: By The Numbers for Week 10" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 3:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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The high school football regular season is over and it's on to the playoffs next weekend. Following is a look at how The Baltimore Sun's ranked teams fared this week and whom they play in the first round of the playoffs.

Look for the new rankings in Tuesday's paper.

Ranking/Team/Record/Latest result/Next opponent/
1. Gilman/8-1/Def. McDonogh 31-21/Vs. Archbishop Spalding, Fri
2. Calvert Hall/8-1/Def. Mount St. Joseph 26-7/Vs. McDonogh, Fri.
3. Old Mill/10-0/Def. South River 54-20/Vs. South River, Fri.
4. Atholton/9-1/Def. Centennial 48-0/Vs. Stephen Decatur, Fri.
5. Poly/10-0/Def. City 22-16/Vs. Perry Hall, Fri.
6. Arundel/9-1/Def. Southern 58-13/Vs. North Point, Fri.
7. Dunbar/8-2/Def. Patterson 32-0/Vs. Southside at Poly, Fri.
8. McDonogh/6-4/Lost to Gilman 31-21/At Calvert Hall, Fri.
9. Archbishop Spalding/7-3/Def. Loyola 20-14 OT/At Gilman Fri.
10. Catonsville/10-0/Def. Parkville 28-16/Vs. Paint Branch, Fri.
11. Perry Hall/8-2/Lost to Hereford 34-31 OT/At Poly, Fri.
12. Westminster/8-2/Def. South Carroll 39-6/Season over.
13. Fallston/9-1/Lost to Aberdeen 21-14/At Wicomico, Fri.
14. River Hill/8-2/Def. Mount Hebron 42-0/Vs. Howard Fri.
15. Archbishop Curley/7-3/Lost to John Carroll 23-12/Vs. Boys’ Latin

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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The regional football playoffs kick off next weekend, and MPSSAA officials announced the schedule this morning. Here are the matchups involving Baltimore-area teams:

Class 4A North
4 Perry Hall at 1 Poly, Friday, 7
3 Paint Branch at 2 Catonsville, Friday, 7

Class 4A East
4 South River at 1 Old Mill, Friday, 7
3 North Point at 2 Arundel, Friday, 7

Class 3A North
4 Digital Harbor at 1 North Harford, Friday, 7
3 Franklin at 2 Aberdeen, Friday, 7

Class 3A East
4 Stephen Decatur at 1 Atholton, Friday, 7
3 Howard at 2 River Hill, Friday, 7

Class 2A North
4 Dundalk vs. 1 Edmondson at Poly, Saturday, 6
3 Lake Clifton at 2 Chesapeake-B at CCBC-Essex, Friday, 7

Class 2A South
3 Gwynn Park at 2 Glenelg, Friday, 7

Class 2A East
4 Patterson Mill at 1 Kent Island, Friday, 7
3 Fallston vs. 2 Wicomico at Wicomico County Stadium, Friday, 7

Class 2A West
3 South Carroll at 2 Walkersville, Friday, 7

Class 1A North
4 Lewis at 1 Overlea, Friday, 7
3 Northwestern vs. 2 New Town at site TBA, Friday, 7

Class 1A South
4 Southside vs. 1 Dunbar at Poly, Saturday, noon
3 Surrattsville vs. 2 Du Bois at Poly, Saturday, 3

Class 1A East
4 Havre de Grace at 1 Perryville, Friday, 7

To see the regional matchups for the rest of the state as well as the final points standings, go to the MPSSAA website.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Westminster's Dan Johnson runs for one of the four touchdowns he scored in a 39-6 win at South Carroll Friday night. (Patrick Smith/Special to The Baltimore Sun)

Aberdeen 21, Fallston 14

Annapolis Area Christian 40, Pallotti 0

Arundel 58, Southern-AA 13

Atholton 48, Centennial 0

Bel Air 21, C. Milton Wright 14

Bethesda 28, Walter Johnson 14

Bishop Ireton, Va. 48, St. Mary's Ryken 0

Bishop Walsh 57, Randolph-Macon, Va. 47

Boonsboro 34, Smithsburg 13

Boys' Latin 6, St. Paul's 0

Broadneck 31, Meade 24

Brunswick 50, Catoctin 22

Bullis 42, Episcopal, Va. 7

Calvert Hall 26, Mount St. Joseph 7

Cambridge/SD 52, Easton 0

Carver 14, Southwestern 8

Century 26, Liberty 20

Chesapeake-AA 25, North County 0

Continue reading "Statewide high school football scores from Friday" »

Posted by David Selig at 9:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Northwestern’s football team has been quietly rolling over its competition in Baltimore City’s Division II this fall. Not only have the Wildcats won seven straight games – they haven’t given up a single point all season.

With one more shutout, they would tie the state record of eight consecutive shutouts set by Henry A. Wise, from Prince George's County, in 2009.

“I’ve been coaching going on 17 years at various schools,” said Wildcats coach Eric Woodson, “and this is a first at any level. I’ve won some titles, I’ve played on the college level and I have never seen this before. This is uncharted waters, but I take my hat off to my coaching staff and our preparation – and foremost to my players because without them, we wouldn’t be where we are now.”

Continue reading "Northwestern football aiming to tie state shutout record" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 7:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Fallston football coach Dave Cesky was named Ravens High School Coach of the Week Wednesday after leading the Cougars to a 35-20 win over Harford County rival North Harford last week that gave them sole possession of first place in the UCBAC Chesapeake Division.

Cesky, in his 35th season coaching the Cougars, has guided them to a 9-0 record this fall and the No. 13 ranking in The Baltimore Sun.

"Our major goal is to try and go undefeated," Cesky said in a news release. "We want to have the best record Fallston as ever seen and have a home playoff game. We played twice on the road last year in the playoffs and it was tough. A home playoff game is one of the most exciting things that the school community can have."

The Cougars currently rank second in the Class 2A East regional behind Kent Island, which is also undefeated.

Continue reading "Fallston's Cesky named Ravens Coach of the Week" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 6:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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After 40 years of coaching high school football in Baltimore City, Poly coach Roger Wrenn will hang up his whistle at the end of this season.

First, he'll guide the Engineers into the 123rd Poly-City game Saturday at noon at M&T Bank Stadium. After that, his career will extend as long as the 9-0 Engineers can continue in the Class 4A playoffs. They aim to make it to Dec. 2, so they can present Wrenn with the ultimate retirement gift – his first state title.

Wrenn’s career started here as an assistant coach at City in 1972. He took over at Patterson in 1974 and moved to Poly in 2006. The Engineers have already clinched the Baltimore City Division I title – the 14th city championship of Wrenn’s career. His career record is 183-113-2.

Although Wrenn’s many proteges coaching in the area insisted the he would never retire, Wrenn decided that it was time to do new things. He and his wife Donna Bowers, a former Patterson athletic director, plan to travel and visit family.

As this week’s football Coachspeak guest, Wrenn discussed the Poly-City game, his undefeated Poly team and his retirement.

What does the Poly-City game mean to you?

I was at Poly a couple years before I kind of reflected a little bit. It’s been the neatest thing about coaching there. The last year I played in college was 1969 and that was the 100th anniversary of the Princeton-Rutgers game, the first college football game. I know that because we all wore 100s on our helmets, everybody who played college football when I was playing at lowly Division III Frostburg. It wasn’t until I had been at Poly for a while and I thought, the 100th anniversary of the first college football game was in 1869 and by 1889, these two high schools were playing each other. That was just 20 years later. That had to be really at the advent of football in America, much less high school football in America. When you think of these long college rivalries, Poly’s played City longer than Arrny’s played Navy, longer than Michigan’s played Ohio State. It’s really an amazing rivalry. I was invited to a luncheon with the players who had played on 1944 team and they were obviously elderly gentlemen, but they were just as interested in what we do now. They would say, “Some of the spin stuff you do looked just like what we used to do with the single wing.” I thought the more things change, the more they’re the same. One guy said, “My brother played and they hadn’t beaten City in a while. Poly had lost three times in a row. Then we beat them and I wrote him a letter. I knew he got it and read it and had a smile on his face, because they found the letter on his body when he was killed in the Battle of the Bulge.” I was so moved when he talked about that. Isn’t that a great story? It was interesting that those elderly gentlemen were still just as interested in high school football and telling me all about their experiences and what it was like and how much they loved it. I always tell our players, “You’re just one in a very long line of guys who have worn those beautiful orange and Navy blue uniforms and represented Poly.”

Continue reading "Coachspeak: Poly football's Roger Wrenn" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 3:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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McDonogh's Taysean Scott out-ran Calvert Hall's Will Johnson for a touchdown in the first half of Sunday's game, but the Eagles dropped a spot in the state poll after the Cardinals prevailed 48-42 in triple overtime. (Steve Ruark/Patuxent Publishing)

Only one the 10 Baltimore area football teams in this week's ESPN High School Maryland football media poll dropped, while several others crept up a spot or three.

McDonogh dropped from 18th to No. 19 after its 48-42 triple-overtime loss to Calvert Hall. The Cardinals stayed put at No. 4 behind No. 1 Good Counsel, No. 2 Gilman and No. 3 Quince Orchard.

No. 7 Old Mill, No. 15 Dunbar, and No. 16 Arundel stayed put while No. 8 Atholton, No. 10 Poly and No. 13 Catonsville each jumped one spot. Archbishop Spalding moved from 25th to No. 22.

To see where everyone else falls this week and which three local teams also received votes for the Top 25, check out the full state football poll.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 3:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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After nine weeks of high school football action, competition is fierce for those last few contested playoff berths and for high seedings. Here are some of the numbers that stand out this week:

1
Week left in the regular season

1
Extra point kicked in overtime by River Hill’s Davis Grove to make the difference in a 21-20 win over Glenelg

1
9-1 team that could miss the playoffs in Class 4A North, a region that could have two 10-0 teams and three 9-1 teams for only four playoff berths

2
Teams left undefeated in the Carroll County league – Westminster and South Carroll who meet on Friday night

3
Overtimes for Calvert Hall to beat McDonogh 48-42

3
Touchdowns by Fallston’s Ryan Umpleby – two receptions, one interception return – to open their 35-20 win over North Harford

3
Rushing touchdowns by Perry Hall’s Eric Latham in a 24-14 win over Franklin

3
Third-quarter touchdowns for Meade in less than seven minutes in a 46-19 win over Severna Park

Continue reading "Football: By The Numbers for Week 9" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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A few upsets at the bottom of the poll and a nailbiter of a triple overtime game highlighted this week's football action in The Baltimore Sun's Top 15. Following is a look at how the ranked teams fared this week and who they play on the final weekend of the regular season.

Look for the new rankings in Tuesday's paper.

Ranking/Team/Record/Latest result/Next opponent/
1. Gilman/7-1/Def. Mount St. Joseph 58-28/at McDonogh, Sat.
2. Calvert Hall/7-1/Def. McDonogh 48-42 3OT/Vs. Mount St. Joseph, Fri.
3. Old Mill/9-0 /Def Glen Burnie, 21-0/Vs. South River, Fri.
4. Atholton/8-1/Def. Mount Hebron 38-0/At Centennial, Fri.
5. Poly/9-0/Def. Mervo 34-20./Vs. City at M&T Bank Stadium, Sat.
6. Arundel/8-1/Def. Chesapeake-AA, 40-7/Vs. Southern, Fri
7. Dunbar/7-2/Def. Carver 22-12/Vs. Patterson at Poly, Sat.
8. McDonogh/6-3/Lost to Calvert Hall 48-42 3OT/Vs. Gilman, Sat.
9. Archbishop Spalding/6-3/Def. Leonardtown 62-33/Vs. Loyola, Fri.
10. Catonsville/9-0/Def.Kenwood, 48-0/At Parkville, Sat.
11. Loyola/4-4/Lost to Georgetown Prep 20-16/At Spalding, Fri.
12. Westminster/8-1/Def. Manchester Valley 57-7/At South Carroll, Fri
13. Perry Hall/8-1/Def. Franklin 24-14/At Hereford, Fri.
14. Glenelg/7-2/Lost to River Hill 21-20 OT/Marriotts Ridge, Fri.
15. North Harford/7-2/Lost to Fallston 35-20/At Joppatowne, Fri.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 7:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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The Calvert Hall-McDonogh and Loyola-Georgetown Prep football games scheduled for
this afternoon have been postponed until Sunday, because of the snowy weather.

No. 2 Calvert Hall will play at No. 8 McDonogh at 1 p.m. while Georgetown Prep will play at No. 11 Loyola at 3 p.m.

In some areas of Baltimore County, a light coating of snow covered the grassy areas by early in the morning today with more snow expected.

"I'm up in Carroll County and it wasn't good when I left my house," Loyola coach Brian Abbott said. "If we have snow covering the lines, we can't play. It's not like he NFL where you can bring the sweepers out there."

The Dons and McDonogh have grass fields, but with precipitation scheduled to end later Saturday, both coaches expect no problems Sunday.

Continue reading "Calvert Hall-McDonogh, Loyola-Prep football games postponed" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 9:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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With the postseason just two weeks away, Fallston football coach Dave Cesky has his Cougars 8-0 and contending for UCBAC and regional championships.

In his 35th season coaching the Cougars, Cesky carries on perhaps the most storied high school football legacy in Harford County. A Bel Air graduate, he followed his father Al Cesky into the coaching profession. Al Cesky coached Bel Air's football team from 1950-1965, finishing his career 90-33 with four unbeaten teams.

Dave Cesky, 58, has coached football in Harford County for 37 years and has been Fallston's athletic director for 26 years. He played football at Bel Air and at Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College) in Westminster.

The Cougars, who made it to the regional final last season, are aiming for their third playoff appearance in four years. Despite their perfect record, they stand in second place in the Class 2A East region behind Kent Island, which is also unbeaten but has an edge in bonus points.

Friday's 7 p.m. game at North Harford could determine the winner of the UCBAC Chesapeake Division, because the defending champion Hawks also are unbeaten in the division. A win over North Harford or Aberdeen, which is 3-1 and the Cougars' opponent for the regular-season finale, could assure Fallston a regional playoff berth

As this week's football Coachspeak guest, Cesky answers five questions about this season, the playoffs and following in his father's footsteps.

Continue reading "Coachspeak: Fallston football's Dave Cesky" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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David Brookhart and Glenelg beat Howard this week and remain atop the standings in Class 2A South. (Noah Scialom/Patuxent Publishing)

All eight Baltimore-area football teams held onto their top spots this week in the MPSSAA regional playoff standings with just two more weeks to play in the regular season.

Poly's win over Dunbar kept the Engineers in first in one of the area's tightest races. The Engineers hold the lead over Catonsville by one tenth of a point in Class 4A North. Both teams are 8-0 in a region in which a team with just one loss could miss out on the playoffs. Paint Branch, currently third; Perry Hall, fourth; and Westminster, fifth are all 7-1. Westminster is in the toughest spot, because it likely doesn't play enough Class 4A schools to match the others in win points.

In Class 2A East, undefeated Fallston trails Kent Island by one point. The Cougars could make up some ground if they win their last two games against North Harford and Aberdeen -- both Class 3A schools with good records that would improve the Cougars' bonus points.

Here are the local teams currently leading their regions:
Poly in Class 4A North
Old Mill in Class 4A East
North Harford in Class 3A North
Atholton in Class 3A East
Edmondson in Class 2A North
Glenelg in Class 2A South
Overlea in Class 1A North
Dunbar in Class 1A South

Continue reading "Eight locals stay on top in regional football standings" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 3:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Severn first-year football coach Chris Kirchenheiter was named the Ravens High School Coach of the Week Tuesday after leading the Admirals to a 42-7 victory over Friends that ensured the program its first winning season in five years.

Kirchenheiter, a former Severna Park assistant coach, has the Admirals off to a 6-1 start -- a considerable improvement over last year's 0-10 finish.

"We came in and had 11 seniors and they said, 'We want to change. We want to do something different,'" Kirchenheiter said in a news release. "So we put it on the 11 seniors to take charge. As a coaching staff, we put things in place to help them, but it was up to the 11 seniors to make it happen and that's exactly what they've done."

Continue reading "Severn's Kirchenheiter named Ravens Coach of the Week" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 2:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Dunbar's Kevin Estep grabs a hold of Poly's quarterback Darrell Milburn during Friday night's game. Estep might have taken him down on that play, but Milburn and the Engineers got an 18-14 win that helped them jump in this week's state poll. (Gene Sweeney Jr./Baltimore Sun)

Not much changed in this week's ESPN High School Maryland football media poll, but one Baltimore-area game forced a shuffle involving three local teams.

Poly's 18-14 win over Dunbar boosted the Engineers a spot to No. 11 while the Poets dropped to No. 15. Dunbar's fall helped lift Catonsville to No. 14.

Atholton also improved a spot, jumping over DeMatha to No. 9 while No. 2 Gilman, No. 4 Calvert Hall, No. 7 Old Mill, No. 16 Arundel, No. 18 McDonogh and No. 25 Archbishop Spalding held their positions.

To see where everyone else falls this week, check out the full state football poll.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 1:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Archbishop Curley's football team will play its first game under the lights Friday night when it hosts St. Paul's in a critical MIAA B Conference game at 7 p.m.

After watching Calvert Hall, St. Paul's and John Carroll have success under temporary lights, Curley coach Sean Murphy met with his administration two weeks ago and they decided to give it a try. With their only remaining regular season home game Friday coinciding with a chance to clinch the top-seeded spot in the B Conference, the timing was perfect for a night game.

"This makes it a big deal for the kids, just the atmosphere of Friday night football," Murphy said. "It's usually a bigger crowd and, for the kids, playing under the lights is something special. It brings out more of the student body, more school spirit. Also, it allows the parents more time. They're not rushing home from work to get to a 3 o'clock, 4 o'clock football game on Friday."

Continue reading "Curley unveils lights for Friday night football" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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There weren't many surprises in the eighth week of the regular season of high school football, but here are some of the numbers that stood out from the weekend's action:

0
Punts by Loyola in its 34-14 win over Mount St. Joseph

1
Blocked extra point by Long Reach's Allen Cross to make the difference in a 33-32 win over Hammond

2
Teams still undefeated in the county in Carroll (Westminster, South Carroll) and Harford (Fallston, North Harford)

3
Losses this week for Top 15 teams -- two (Archbishop Spalding, Mount St. Joseph) to teams ranked higher and one (Dunbar) to a team ranked just one spot below

4
Big plays by John Carroll's Walter Roche -- three interceptions and a blocked punt -- in a 24-7 win over Northwood

5
Teams in the Baltimore area remaining undefeated -- Old Mill, Poly, Catonsville, Fallston and Overlea

7
Straight wins for Dunbar over Poly before Friday night's 18-14 Engineers' victory

8
Yard overtime touchdown run by Winters Mill's Chase Cullison to beat North Carroll, 21-15

Continue reading "Football: By The Numbers for Week 8" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 1:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Only three football teams in The Baltimore Sun's Top 15 lost over the weekend -- and two of them were to opponents ranked ahead of them. No. 6 Dunbar fell to a lower ranked team -- No. 7 Poly. Following is a look at how all the ranked teams fared this weekend and who's up next with just two weeks left in the regular season.

Look for the new rankings in Tuesday's paper.

Ranking/Team/Record/Latest result/Next opponent/
1. Gilman/6-1/Did not play/Vs. Mount St. Joseph, Fri.
2. Calvert Hall/6-1/Def. Archbishop Spalding 29-23/At McDonogh, Sat.
3. Old Mill/8-0 /Def. Southern 42-12/Vs. Glen Burnie, Fri.
4. Atholton/7-1/Def. Wilde Lake 35-0/Mount Hebron, Sat.
5. Arundel/7-1/Def. Severna Park 21-13/At Chesapeake-AA, Fri.
6. Dunbar/6-2/Lost to Poly 18-14/At Carver, Fri.
7. Poly/8-0/Def. Dunbar 18-14/At Mervo, Fri.
8. McDonogh/6-2/Def. Georgetown Prep 28-27/Vs. Calvert Hall, Sat.
9. Archbishop Spalding/5-3/Lost to Calvert Hall 29-23/At Leonardtown, Fri.
10. Catonsville/8-0/Def. Milford Mill 48-7/At Kenwood, Fri.
11. Loyola/4-3/Def. Mount St. Joseph 34-14/Vs. Georgetown Prep, Sat.
12. Westminster/7-1/Def. Century 46-0/Manchester Valley, Fri.
13. Mount St. Joseph/3-4/Lost to Loyola 34-14/At Gilman, Fri.
14. Perry Hall/7-1/Def. Woodlawn 31-26/ Vs. Franklin, Fri.
15. Glenelg/7-1/Def. Howard 35-13/At River Hill, Fri.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 7:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Reginald F. Lewis football coach Donte' Foster was named Ravens' High School Coach of the Week Wednesday after leading his team to a 24-18 win last week over Maritime Academy.

The victory boosted the Falcons' record to 5-1, a big improvement over last season's 3-7 finish.

“The turnaround is unbelievable,” Foster said in a news release. “My staff deserves kudos because of the time and effort that they put in these young men. Even though this is called the ‘Coach of the Week’ award, it really represents the efforts made by our entire staff. I feel that I have the best staff in Baltimore City.”

Continue reading "Lewis' Foster named Ravens Coach of the Week" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 6:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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When Blake Henry took over the Mount St. Joseph football program, he said he expected the Gaels to be in the hunt for the MIAA A Conference championship every year. Nineteen months later, they are.

Friday night's 21-14 victory over then-No. 4 McDonogh boosted the Gaels into a tight race for second place behind No. 1 Gilman, which is 4-0 in the seven-team conference. The Gaels are 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the conference heading into Saturday's home game against No. 11 Loyola. This week, the Gaels broke into The Baltimore Sun's Top 15 poll at No. 13.

A 1998 Loyola graduate, Henry played football at Northwestern for a year and then transferred to Wake Forest, where he was a first-team All-ACC offensive guard as a senior. Henry, 32, had a brief stint with the Atlanta Falcons after signing a free agent contract and then returned to Loyola to join its coaching staff in 2003.

Henry, a phys ed and health teach at St. Joe, took over a Gaels program that had gone 2-8 through a disappointing, injury-riddled 2009 season. Last fall, they finished 3-6. As this week's football Coachspeak guest, he talks about the Gaels' turnaround and the challenge of competing in the A Conference.

What are the challenges you face as a new head coach when you have to rebuild a team in the A Conference?

It was an inexperienced team in that the seniors I inherited had not played a lot. Changing the offense and defense and getting them used to me as a coach and our coaching staff and our style took a little bit of time. We have a lot of good kids here and the kids are willing to work hard. Most of them accepted what we brought in and the ones that didn’t aren’t playing football here anymore. The challenge for us was to put in an off-season program. They really hadn’t done a lot with that. Getting the kids to come in four days a week in the summer at 8 a.m. was a struggle at first, but once the kids started seeing the benefit of getting stronger and being better football players, they really bought into it. We’ve had a much better response to that this year than last year. Teenagers want instant gratification, and in football you don’t get that. You prepare for five or six days for one game a week.

Continue reading "Coachspeak: Mount St. Joseph football's Blake Henry" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 6:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Jabari Weems and McDonogh fell nine spots in the state media poll after losing to Mount St. Joseph on Saturday. (Brian Krista/Patuxent Publishing)

McDonogh's 21-14 loss to Mount St. Joseph cost the Eagles nine spots in this week's ESPN High School Maryland football media poll, but most of the other local teams moved up a notch or so.

The Eagles dropped from No. 9 to No. 18. While the Gaels did not get into the poll, they received votes for the first time this season.

The area's top three teams, No. 2 Gilman, No. 4 Calvert Hall and No. 7 Old Mill, stayed put, but Atholton, Dunbar, Poly and Catonsville moved up. Arundel lost a spot and Archbishop Spalding jumped in at No. 25.

To see where your team falls this week, check out the full state football poll.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 2:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Tyjuan Eaton and Edmondson hold down the top spot in Class 2A North. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)

Only one team lost its first-place status in the latest state football regional playoff standings -- undefeated Fallston. The Cougars dropped to third place in Class 3A East behind Wicomico and Kent Island, who are also undefeated and now tied for first place -- thanks to picking up more bonus points than Fallston for last week's wins.

After seven weeks, eight teams hold on to their top spots in the battle for one of four playoff berths in each region.

Here are the other teams that held on to their top spots:
Poly in Class 4A North
Old Mill in Class 4A East
North Harford in Class 3A North
Atholton in Class 3A East
Edmondson in Class 2A North
Glenelg in Class 2A South
Overlea in Class 1A North
Dunbar in Class 1A South

Of the state's 185 public schools teams, 15 remain undefeated, including Old Mill, Poly, Catonsville, Fallston and Overlea.

To see all of the regional standings and for an explanation of how the bonus points work, check out the MPSSAA web site.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 10:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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It's hard to believe that only three weeks remain in the regular season of high school football and the playoffs are nearly upon us. After seventh-week action, here are a few of the numbers that stood out:

1
Yard sneak by Reservoir’s E.J. Montgomery to beat previously undefeated Glenelg in overtime, 19-13

1
Pass completed by Atholton in its 40-21 win over Hammond

2
Seconds left when Patterson Mill quarterback Luke DePasquale hit Mike Reed with the game-winning touchdown pass in a 23-16 win over Edgewood

2
Kickoffs returned for touchdowns by Meade in its 35-21 win over Northeast

3
Of seven teams in the MIAA A Conference with just one conference loss – Calvert Hall, McDonogh and Mount St. Joseph – in a crowded second-place race behind Gilman (4-0 in the conference)

3
Fourth-quarter touchdowns thrown by Broadneck quarterback Brady George in a comeback attempt that fell short 34-31 against Arundel

4
Shutouts by Old Mill this season

5
Undefeated teams remaining in the Baltimore area – No. 3 Old Mill, No. 8 Poly, No. 12 Catonsville, Fallston and Overlea

5
Loyola fumbles in a 27-14 loss to Gilman

5
Touchdowns on its first five possessions for Aberdeen in beating Bel Air, 42-8

6
Average points allowed by Dunbar in its six games

Continue reading "Football: By The Numbers for Week 7" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 7:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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And then there were five.

One more team fell from the ranks of the unbeaten this week as Reservoir nipped Glenelg, 19-13 in overtime. That leaves five Baltimore-area high school football teams boasting perfect records with just three weeks of the regular season left.

Here’s a look at how the 7-0 teams won this week and who stands in their way next:

No. 3 Old Mill 55, Annapolis 0
Rob Chesson scored four touchdowns to bring his season total to 24 as the Patriots continue to dominate Anne Arundel County. They posted their fourth shutout and have allowed only 40 points while winning by an average of 37.4 points. On Homecoming against the Panthers, Chesson, a senior running back, rushed for 211 yards on 11 carries. Deonte Shields also threw two touchdown passes to Torie Wagner.
Next up: Southern at home Friday at 6:30 p.m. The Bulldogs are 4-3, coming off a 33-13 win over North County. Earlier this season, they beat No. 14 South River, 25-24, but Old Mill’s defense will be the toughest challenge they have faced all season.

No. 8 Poly 34, Southwestern 7
After giving up nearly three times as many points as they had all season in a 44-34 win over Patterson last week, the Engineers’ defense clamped down again this week. Rashid Tynes had nine tackles and Priestly Shuler had eight tackles and a sack. Shuler also scored two rushing touchdowns, carrying the ball six times for 104 yards. Nigel Benjamin scored on a 14-yard touchdown pass and returned a fumble 87 yards for a touchdown.
Next up: No. 7 Dunbar at home Friday at 7 p.m. This is the game every high school football fan in Baltimore City has been waiting for. The Poets are coming off a 45-8 win over Douglass that boosted their record to 6-1. The Poets are unbeaten on the field too, but had to forfeit the second game of the season against Southwestern as punishment for a bench-clearing brawl in the win over Dunbar (D.C.) at the I-95 Kickoff Classic. The Poets have been even stingier on defense than the Engineers. While Poly has allowed a touchdown or less in six of its seven games, Dunbar has not allowed more than eight points in a game this fall. The Poets have allowed just 36 points in six games.

Continue reading "Unbeaten football teams dwindle to five" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 2:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Here's a look at how the Baltimore-area football teams fared this weekend in case you missed any scores:

Aberdeen 42, Bel Air 8
Annapolis Area Christian 29, St. Paul’s 16
Arundel 34, Broadneck 31
Atholton 40, Hammond 21
Boys’ Latin 7, John Carroll 0
Calvert Hall 22, Georgetown Prep 13
Caravel Academy, Del. 17, Curley 14
Carver 14, Edmondson 12
Catonsville 40, Towson 6
City 13, Digital Harbor 6
Du Bois 39, Bluford Drew Jemison 6
Dunbar 46, Douglass 8
Fallston 41, Lansdowne 0
Franklin 60, Kenwood 20
Gilman 27, Loyola 14

Continue reading "Week 7: Local football results" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 1:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Quarterback Brian McMahon and No. 6 Atholton scored a big 40-21 victory over Howard County rival Hammond on Friday night. (Jen Rynda/Patuxent Publishing)

Results were mixed this week for The Baltimore Sun's Top 15 football teams. Most won, but there were some notable upsets, including one in the Top 5. Following is a look at how the ranked teams held up this weekend, and who they play next.

Look for some changes in the new rankings that appear in Tuesday's paper.

Ranking/Team/Record/Latest result/Next opponent/
1. Gilman/6-1/Def. Loyola 27-14/Mount St. Joseph, Oct. 28
2. Calvert Hall/5-1/Def. Georgetown Prep 22-13/Archbishop Spalding, Fri.
3. Old Mill/7-0/Def. Annapolis 55-0/Vs. Southern, Fri.
4. McDonogh/5-2/Lost to Mount St. Joseph 21-14/At Georgetown Prep, Sat.
5. Arundel/6-1/ Def. Broadneck 34-31/Vs. Severna Park, Fri.
6. Atholton/6-1/Def. Hammond 40-21/At Wilde Lake, Sat.
7. Dunbar/6-1/ Def. Douglass 45-8/At Poly, Fri.
8. Poly/7-0/ Def. Southwestern 34-7/Vs. Dunbar, Fri.
9. Loyola/3-3/Lost to Gilman 24-17/At Mount St. Joseph, Sat.
10. Archbishop Spalding/5-2/Def. Valley Forge, Pa. 24-13/At Calvert Hall, Fri.
11. Glenelg/6-1/Lost to Reservoir 19-13 OT/Vs. Howard, Sat.
12. Catonsville/7-0/ Def. Towson 40-6/Vs. Milford Mill, Fri.
13. Westminster/6-1/Def. Winters Mill 14-0/At Century, Thurs.
14. South River/4-3/ Lost to Glen Burnie 50-32/Vs. Northeast, Fri
15. Hammond/5-2/Lost to Atholton 40-21/At Long Reach, Sat.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 7:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Junior quarterback Luke Casey threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as Mount St. Joseph celebrated its Homecoming Saturday with a 21-14 upset of No. 4 McDonogh in a Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference game.

In a game that was tied at 14 late in the fourth quarter, Casey hit Marcus Alston with a three-yard game-winning touchdown pass on a drive in which Drexel Mosby had a couple of nice runs. Sophomore defensive back Jacob Forrest-Jones all but sealed the victory with an interception in the Gael’s end zone on the Eagles' next drive.

“It was a huge win for us,” second-year Gaels coach Blake Henry said. “We want to make the playoffs and while we didn’t feel this was a must-win game for us because we have other games, it was pretty close to it.”

With the win, the Gaels (3-3) improve to 2-1 in the A Conference while the McDonogh (4-2) is also 2-1. Both trail No. 1 Gilman (6-1), which is 4-0 in the seven-team conference.

Continue reading "Mount St. Joe football upsets McDonogh" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 7:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Friday night's football game between North Carroll and Francis Scott Key has been postponed until Saturday. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m. at North Carroll.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 2:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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The year before Craig Rollins took over the football program at Overlea, the Falcons posted a 3-7 record. Last fall, in his first season, it didn't look much better until the seventh week of the season when the Falcons beat Patapsco, 20-13.

They haven't lost since.

After going 5-5 last fall, the Falcons are 6-0 and in first place in Baltimore County's Class 2A-1A Division and the Class 1A North region. They're aiming to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2006. Although they made it nine times between 1983 an 1993 with a trip to the state final in 1988, they've qualified only twice since.

Saturday's game against Western Tech (1 p.m. at CCBC-Catonsville) could determine who wins the division and regional titles. Western Tech (5-1) is the defending champion in both.

Rollins, 34, had been an assistant coach at Aberdeen and Milford Mill before taking over the Falcons. He played football at Morgan State and finished his playing career at West Chester (Pa.). After three years coaching at his alma mater, Abington Senior High in the northern Philadelphia suburbs, he and his wife, an Edgewood graduate he met at Morgan, moved to Maryland to be closer to her family.

As this week's football Coachspeak guest, Rollins talks about the Falcons' success, his coaching style and his goals for the program.

How did you end up at Overlea?

The position opened up last year and I applied for the position. They wanted to go in a different direction. Overlea’s had a tradition of winning and it’s definitely a good place to be, good rec programs around the area. And it was my first opportunity to become a head coach.

Continue reading "Coachspeak: Overlea football's Craig Rollins" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 1:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
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Former Calvert Hall football coach and longtime math teacher Augie Miceli will be honored before the Cardinals' home game Friday night. (Brendan Cavanaugh/Patuxent Publishing)

Calvert Hall will honor former football coach Augie Miceli at a ceremony before Friday night’s game to dedicate a coaches’ wing in his name in Paul Angelo Russo Stadium.

Miceli coached the Cardinals from 1974 to 1987 and won 104 games – more than any other Cardinals’ coach. In 1979, he was named The Baltimore Sun’s All-Metro Coach of the Year after leading the Cardinals to an undefeated season and the MSA A Conference championship.

Miceli’s teams won a handful of MSA titles, but he is perhaps most revered for winning seven straight Turkey Bowls, the most consecutive wins for the Cardinals in the Thanksgiving Day rivalry with Loyola that is in its 92nd year.

Last year, Miceli celebrated his 50th year of teaching at Calvert Hall, where he helped out with the football team at times after leaving the head coaching position.

Continue reading "Calvert Hall to honor former football coach Miceli" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 1:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Joe Holland, who has New Town's football team off to a 5-1 start after last week's 56-8 win over Lansdowne, was named the Ravens' High School Coach of the Week Wednesday.

Against Lansdowne, the Titans gave up their only points on an early kickoff return and the defense took charge the rest of the way. The defense has allowed just 38 points this season while the Titans have scored 243.

“First, we take our hats off to the offensive line,” Holland said in a news release. “We have a motley crew of guys and two of them are under 200 pounds. Our team is watching film, and we’ve changed our blocking scheme. We finished with 359 rushing yards last week, spread amongst five running backs.

“Our defense has been phenomenal, and we have great leadership on both sides of the ball. Quarterback Shawheem Dowdy has committed himself to the game, and we have guys willing to follow. We haven’t had to rely on one person. We have a lot of talent across the board, and every week we have different players stepping up. We’ll continue to focus on getting all three aspects of the game right, so we don’t give up points. I hope our guys continue to stay hungry.”

Continue reading "New Town's Holland named Ravens' Coach of the Week" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 12:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Jostling for first place in the regional playoff standings is getting serious with six of 10 weeks in the books, but plenty of Baltimore-area teams held on to their top spots after last weekend's action.

Only one regional leader changed this week -- in Class 4A North, where Poly edged Catonsville for the top spot after the two were tied last week. Both remain unbeaten, but because of the strength and classifications of their opponents, they could keep bouncing back and forth.

Two other teams also broke out of ties -- Glenelg in Class 2A South and Fallston in Class 2A East. Both teams are also 6-0.

Here are the other teams that held on to their top spots:
Old Mill in Class 4A East
North Harford in Class 3A North
Atholton in Class 3A East
Edmondson in Class 2A North
Overlea in Class 1A North
Dunbar in Class 1A South.

Seventeen public school teams remain undefeated, including Old Mill and Overlea.

To see how your team is faring in the regional standings, check out the MPSSAA web site.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 10:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Players on both teams sported pink gloves and tape during Dunbar's game against Edmondson on Saturday. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)

A number of high school football teams are showing their pink sides in October to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but none more than Dunbar's.

At Saturday night’s game between the Poets and Edmondson, players on both sides sported pink gloves, pink cleat covers, pink wrist bands, pink shoelaces, pink towels and other pink apparel. Not everyone wore everything, but each player displayed some pink. On the Dunbar side, even the coaches were decked out in pink polo shirts with pink ribbons.

Poets coach Lawrence Smith said he believes it’s important for teenage boys to know about a disease that could affect their mothers, grandmothers and other women close to them.

“It’s a disease that can kill you,” Smith said, “and they need to know that it’s real. We do an awareness with our kids. We don’t just wear it. We do an awareness with them so they know what’s going on. It’s a big deal. They’re not just wearing the pink, they know why they’re wearing the pink.”

Poets running back Charles Brown has seen the effects of the disease up close.

Continue reading "Poets football players comfortable in pink" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 2:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Calvert Hall quarterback Thomas Stuart tries to escape Gilman's defense during the Greyhounds' 28-21 win on Friday. The loss dropped the Cardinals one spot in the state media poll. (Jen Rynda/Patuxent Publishing)

Calvert Hall and Arundel suffered their first losses last week, and it cost them in the ESPN High School Maryland football media poll. The Cardinals dropped from No. 3 to No. 4 after falling to No. 2 Gilman, 28-21, and Arundel plummeted from No. 7 to No. 17 after falling to then-No. 10 Old Mill, 47-10.

Old Mill moved up to No. 7, while Atholton, Dunbar and Poly each moved up a notch. McDonogh is up two spots, Catonsville jumped three and Loyola dropped seven. Glenelg held on at No. 25.

To see where your team falls this week, check out the full state football poll.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 1:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Franklin's football team finished what it started Thursday by holding onto its lead and defeating Milford Mill, 34-24, Monday afternoon in a Baltimore County Class 4A-3A contest.

The game had to be called due to darkness Thursday when the EMT arrived late, delaying the 4 p.m. start by an hour at Milford Mill, which does not have lights.

With a 28-22 lead and 10:24 to go, the Indians resumed the game on Milford Mill's half-yard line and quarterback Jackson Thornton sneaked in for a touchdown. The Millers held him off three times, but on fourth down, he finally got over the end line.

"We would like to have scored the first time," Franklin coach Anthony Burgos said, "but it kind of worked out in our favor, because we burned about three minutes."

Continue reading "Franklin football finishes off Milford Mill" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 7:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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After a weekend with some of the biggest games of the season, here's a look at a few statistics that stand out after Week 6:

-2
Yards of offense for Edmondson in the first half of a 20-6 loss to No. 7 Dunbar

1/2
Yard line of Milford Mill – where Franklin will have the ball when play resumes Monday with the Indians leading 28-22 in a game suspended Friday because of darkness

2
Catonsville returns for touchdowns in the first three minutes of the 38-17 win over Eastern Tech – Josh Hylton’s 90-yard kickoff return and Deniko Carter’s 65-yard punt return

2
Aberdeen touchdowns negated by penalties in the Eagles’ 14-12 loss to McDonough of Charles County

3
Touchdowns scored this season by City with no time remaining on the clock, including Brandon Jones’ 33-yard pass reception from Steffen Wilkens in the second quarter of Friday’s 26-6 win over Mervo

5
Straight Ben Eaton Memorial Trophy wins by Dunbar in the rivalry with Edmondson marked by the award dedicated to the beloved Dunbar coach – a mentor to both head coaches, Dunbar’s Lawrence Smith and Edmondson’s Dante Jones – who died in August 2007

6
Average margin of victory in the last five Gilman-Calvert Hall contests – three won by Gilman, which leads the series 32-21-2

6
Local teams remaining unbeaten at 6-0: No. 3 Old Mill, No. 8 Poly, No. 11 Glenelg, No. 12 Catonsville, Fallston and Overlea

Continue reading "Football: By The Numbers for Week 6" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 6:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Six is the number of the week in high school football. After six weeks, six teams remain unbeaten at 6-0. Which ones will be left standing after seven weeks? Here are the candidates with a look at their most recent wins and next week's matchups.

WAY TOO EASY
No. 12 Catonsville 39, Eastern Tech 17
The Comets have rolled through the heart of their Baltimore County Class 4A-3A Division, scoring an average of 38.2 points. In the past three weeks, they have beaten Franklin, Hereford and Eastern Tech by an average of 28.7 points. Special teams got them off to a quick start against the Mavericks. Josh Hylton returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. After forcing a punt on the Mavericks’ first possession, Deniko Carter returned it 65 yards for a 13-0 lead in less than three minutes. DeAndre’ Lane had 10 carries for 108 yards and two touchdowns. Hylton’s 70-yard touchdown run gave the Comets a 39-0 lead with almost nine minutes left in the third quarter.
Next up: At Towson on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Generals are 1-5 and considering they lost to Hereford 42-0 while the Comets beat the Bulls 50-14, Catonsville’s unbeaten streak likely will live on.

Fallston 35, C. Milton Wright 11
Quarterback John Hetterman threw two touchdown passes in the first half to get the Cougars off to a quick start in a game in which they never trailed. The Cougars are 3-0 in the UCBAC Chesapeake Division with North Harford right behind at 2-0 as the division title could come down to their Oct. 28 meeting. Friday, the Cougars led 21-3 at the half. Hetterman hit Chris Rose with an 80-yard touchdown strike to open the game and then tossed a 27-yard scoring pass to Connor Davis. Marc Badger also scored two touchdowns
Next up: Lansdowne at home Friday at 7 p.m. The Vikings, who play in Baltimore County’s Class 2A-1A division, are 2-4, coming off a 56-8 loss to New Town. The Cougars, with their offensive weapons, should be in good shape to keep their win streak alive.

Continue reading "Six football teams still chasing perfect seasons" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 3:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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In case you missed anything over the three-day football weekend just passed, here's a complete list of scores for Baltimore-area teams in Week 6. The game between Franklin and Milford Mill was suspended due to darkness with Franklin leading the Millers, 28-22, and will resume Monday at 3:30 p.m. at Milford Mill.

Atholton 56, Oakland Mills 7
Boys' Latin 37, St. Anne's Belfield, Va. 14
Catonsville 39, Eastern Tech 17
Chesapeake-AA 44, Glen Burnie 14
Chesapeake-B 40, Loch Raven 10
Curley, 26, Annapolis Area Christian 23
City 26, Mervo 6
Du Bois 28, Maritime Industries 6
Dulaney 44, Patapsco 6
Dunbar 20, Edmondson 6
Dundalk 41, Randallstown 0
Edgewood 30, Rising Sun 22
Digital Harbor 18, Carver 0
Dundalk 41, Randallstown 0
Fallston 35, C. Milton Wright 11
Forest Park 28, Bluford Drew Jemison 12
Friends 41, Mount Carmel 12
Gilman 28, Calvert Hall 21
Glenelg 23, Long Reach 20
Hammond 35, Marriotts Ridge 0
Havre de Grace 28, Joppatowne 26
Hereford 42, Towson 6

Continue reading "Week 6: Local football results" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 10:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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After six weeks of a 10-week season, it's getting to crunch time for some football teams. But The Baltimore Sun's Top 15 fared well this week. Only two teams lost -- to teams ranked above them in the poll.

Following is a look at how the Top 15 held up this weekend, and who they play next.

As usual, new rankings will be in Tuesday's paper.

Ranking/Team/Record/Latest result/Next opponent/
1. Gilman/5-1/Def. Calvert Hall 28-21/At Loyola, Sat.
2. Calvert Hall/4-1/Lost to Gilman 28-21/Vs. Georgetown Prep, Sat.
3. Old Mill/6-0/ Def. Arundel 47-10/Vs. Annapolis, Sat.
4. McDonogh/5-1/Def. Loyola 42-17/Vs. Mount St. Joseph, Sat.
5. Arundel/5-1/Lost to Old Mill 47-10/At Broadneck, Fri.
6. Atholton/5-1/Def. Oakland Mills 56-7/At Hammond, Fri.
7. Dunbar/5-1/ Def. Edmondson 20-6/Vs. Douglass, Fri.
8. Poly/6-0Def. Patterson 44-34/At Southwestern, Fri.
9. Loyola/3-2/Lost to McDonogh 42-17/Vs. Gilman, Sat.
10. Archbishop Spalding/4-2/ Def. Georgetown Prep 23-16/Vs. Valley Forge, Pa., Fri.
11. Glenelg/6-0/Def. Long Reach 23-20 /Vs. Reservoir, Fri.
12. Catonsville/6-0/Def. Eastern Tech 39-17/At Towson, Sat.
13. Westminster/5-1/Def. Francis Scott Key 49-6/Vs. Winters Mill, Fri.
14. South River/4-2/Def. Severna Park 33-28/At Glen Burnie, Fri.
15. Hammond/4-1/Def. At Marriotts Ridge 35-0/Vs. Atholton, Fri.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 11:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Gilman's Micah Kiser wraps up Calvert Hall's Trevor Williams in the second quarter of the Greyhounds' 28-21 win over the visiting Cardinals Friday afternoon. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)

Alleghany 57, Frankfort, W.Va. 36

Bowie 30, Parkdale 6

Curley 26, Annapolis Area Christian 23

City 26, Mervo 6

Douglass-PG 32, Crossland 24

Du Bois 28, Maritime 6

Eleanor Roosevelt 48, Laurel 6

Edgewood 30, Rising Sun 22

Fallston 35, C.M. Wright 11

Forest Park 28, Bluford Drew Jemison 12

Friendly 40, Forestville 0

Continue reading "Friday's statewide high school football scores" »

Posted by David Selig at 11:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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Old Mill's Nadim Raddar sacks Arundel quarterback Cooper Hibbs in the second quarter of the Patriots' 47-10 win Thursday night. Hibbs finished 21-for-35 for 236 yards and a TD, but he was sacked six times. (Gene Sweeney Jr./Baltimore Sun)

Football scores from throughout the state on a busy Thursday night:

Atholton 56, Oakland Mills 7

Blake 33, Wootton 23

Boonsboro 39, Catoctin 33

Brunswick 50, Clear Spring 25

Bullis 42, Paul VI, Va. 20

Catonsville 39, Eastern Tech 17

Chesapeake-AA 44, Glen Burnie 14

Chesapeake-B 40, Loch Raven 10

Dundalk 41, Randallstown 0

Franklin at Milford Mill suspended (will be completed Monday)

Frederick 62, Oakdale 35

Glenelg 23, Long Reach 20

Continue reading "Thursday's statewide high school football scores" »

Posted by David Selig at 10:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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When the EMT required to be on the sideline during any high school football game arrived at Milford Mill an hour late for Thursday's game against Franklin, both coaches knew they would have to hurry to get the game in.

But starting at 5 p.m. even in early October is just too late to beat sunset.

Milford Mill has no lights, so the game had to be called for darkness with the Indians holding a 28-22 lead with 10:24 remaining. The Indians will return to Milford on Monday at 3:30 p.m. to pick up where they left off -- driving from inside the Millers' 1-yard line.

"I don't want to lay blame on anybody. Those things happen," Milford Mill coach Reggie White said. "The EMT guy was late and both teams pass [which lengthens the game]. We skipped halftime pretty much. It was very quick and we went right back into the game, but it got too dark."

The game had been back-and-forth to that point that neither team scored consecutive touchdowns.The Indians got two touchdowns from Reggie Ellis and scored the go-ahead touchdown on a pass from quarterback Jackson Thornton to All-Metro wide receiver Ian Thomas. If they can tack on a quick score Monday, the Indians could take control.

Continue reading "Franklin-Milford Mill football to pick up 4th quarter Monday" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 9:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Glenelg's Butch Shaffer was named this fall's second Raven's High School Coach of the Week after leading the Gladiators to a 17-14 victory over Hammond to remain undefeated.

With the win, sealed by Luke Brister's 42-yard field goal with 15 seconds left, the No. 11 Gladiators have already matched their win total from a year ago, when they finished 5-5. They remain the only unbeaten team in Howard County after dealing Hammond its first loss.

Running back Nick Crabill led the Gladiators with 116 yards on 25 carries and also made several key plays at defensive back. Quarterback Mark Darden scored on a 1-yard run and on an 18-yard touchdown pass to Glenn Lucas. Brister kicked both extra points.

Shaffer joins last week's winner Rich Hambor, from Catonsville, in receiving a $2,000 donation to the school's football program. The two will be invited to join future winners at the Ravens' Dec. 24 game against the Browns at M&T Bank Stadium, where the Ravens will named their High School Coach of the Year.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 5:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Dante Jones has Edmondson off to a 4-1 start this fall, with the Red Storm's only loss coming in a 12-0 defensive struggle with No. 8 Poly. At midseason, the team stands just behind the unbeaten Engineers in Baltimore City’s Division I and in first place in its Class 2A North region.

A 1995 Dunbar graduate, Jones played on the Poets' first state championship team in 1994. After going on to play at Delaware State, Jones took over at Edmondson in 2004 and has taken them to the playoffs four times, including their only state title in 2006. Jones, 35, is also the Edmondson athletic director.

Saturday night, the Red Storm faces Dunbar at 6 p.m. at Poly's stadium. The game against the Poets (4-1) marks the fifth annual showdown for the Ben Eaton Memorial Trophy, named for the Poets' beloved late coach, whom Jones also played for.

The Red Storm is looking for its first victory in the series since the trophy was awarded for the first time in 2007 just a few months after Eaton's sudden death.

This week's Coachspeak guest, Jones answers five questions about Eaton's influence, the Red Storm's success and the state of Baltimore City football.

What does it mean to you to have this rivalry marked by a trophy dedicated to Coach Eaton?

That’s an amazing thing. Coach Eaton was a great person, a great mentor, a great friend, so to have this in his honor is just a blessing to be a part of.

Continue reading "Coachspeak: Edmondson football's Dante Jones" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Austin Ensor and North Harford defeated Aberdeen Friday night to take over the top spot in the Class 3A North regional standings. (Patuxent Publishing)

The number of local teams in first place in their regions jumped from seven last week to 10 this week. Several spots turned on head-to-head contests as North Harford supplanted Aberdeen and Glenelg dropped Hammond. Here are the regional leaders:

Catonsville and Poly in a tie in Class 4A North
Old Mill in Class 4A East
North Harford in Class 3A North
Atholton in Class 3A East
Edmondson in Class 2A North
Glenelg (in a tie with Patuxent) in Class 2A South
Fallston (in a tie with Kent Island) in Class 2A East
Overlea in Class 1A North
Dunbar in Class 1A South

The state has 20 undefeated teams remaining, including Catonsville, Poly, Old Mill, Glenelg, Fallston and Overlea. Arundel also is unbeaten but was edged out for first place this week by Old Mill although their head-to-head meeting Thursday night could settle the top spot for good.

To see how your team is faring in the regional standings, check out the MPSSAA web site.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 12:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Glenelg fans celebrate the fourth quarter field goal that gave them a 17-14 win over Hammond on Friday night. The Gladiators remained unbeaten with that win and debuted in the state media poll this week. (Noah Scialom/Patuxent Publishing)

This week's local newcomer to the ESPN High School Maryland football media poll is Glenelg, which earned a spot after a 17-14 win over then-No. 16 Hammond. The No. 25 Gladiators are 5-0, with one of those wins coming by forfeit from Atholton.

However, beating Hammond, which knocked off River Hill earlier in the season, boosted the Gladiators' stock this week as they remain the only undefeated team in a tight Howard County race.

Glenelg is one of 15 undefeated teams in this week's Top 25.

Last week, Catonsville jumped into the state poll for the first time in school history. Sheldon Shealer, who compiles the poll from media votes, noted that the Comets' 50-14 win over Hereford on Friday was the 50th career win for coach Rich Hambor. Will the Comets score 51 this week?

Continue reading "Glenelg debuts in state football poll" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 3:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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With half of the high school football regular season in the books, here is a look at some of the numbers that stood out in Week 5:

2
Devontes to score off turnovers in the fourth quarter in Maritime Industries' 25-14 win over Forest Park – Devonte Tabb on a fumble recovery and Devonte Lewis on an interception.

3
Touchdowns on his first seven carries for Chesapeake-AA running back Deon McDaniel, who finished with four touchdowns in a 45-8 win over Northeast

4
Local teams to suffer their first losses of the season this week – Milford Mill, Patterson Mill, Aberdeen and Hammond

5
Interceptions for Old Mill’s Torie Wagner in the last two weeks

8
Local teams remaining undefeated – Calvert Hall, Old Mill, Arundel, Poly, Catonsville, Fallston, Glenelg and Overlea

9
Straight wins for Overlea – the area’s longest active winning streak. Calvert Hall, which had a bye this week, has eight.

12
Points surrendered by Poly through the first five weeks

15
Seconds left when Glenelg’s Luke Brister booted the longest field goal of his career – 42 yards – to beat Hammond, 17-14

16
Years since Catonsville beat Hereford before Friday night’s 50-14 Comets win

17
Points allowed by McDonogh in the last four weeks

Continue reading "Football: By The Numbers for Week 5" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 6:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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At the midpoint of the regular season, eight local football teams remain undefeated. Four fell this week as it keeps getting tougher to keep that 0 in the loss column. At least one will fall next weekend as Old Mill and Arundel battle it out Thursday night in a battle of undefeated Anne Arundel County teams.

Here's a look at which teams remain unbeaten and who they face next:

WAY TOO EASY
No. 2 Calvert Hall did not play
After beating Coolidge last weekend, the Cardinals (4-0) had a bye week.
Next up: At No. 1 Gilman on Friday at 2:30 p.m. The Cardinals have won two straight over the Greyhounds, but it’s never easy as last year’s come-from-behind victory showed. Trailing 21-7 going into the fourth quarter, the Cardinals scored three touchdowns – two in the final two minutes – in a victory that ultimately gave them their first championship since 1882 and The Baltimore Sun’s final No. 1 ranking. Look for another battle as the MIAA A Conference teams jockey for position in the standings that will determine the matchups for the first-ever post-season playoffs. Last year: Calvert Hall 26, Gilman 21.

NO QUESTION
No. 3 Old Mill 40, Meade 14
Rob Chesson ran for 222 yards and three touchdowns and Torie Wagner had three interceptions as the Patriots improved to 5-0. The Patriots rolled up a 33-0 lead on Chesson’s three touchdown runs and touchdown passes by Deonte Shields to Wagner and Ryan Kauffman. While the Patriots' offense averages 40 points a game, the defense is allowing just six.
Next up: At No. 5 Arundel on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. This rivalry has become one of the area’s hottest, because not only do these two usually battle for the county title, but they also battle for the regional title. In the past five years, Arundel has won four times and the Patriots, three, but the two years before that, Old Mill won both regular-season games and both regional playoff meetings. The Patriots have a variety of offensive weapons and their defense will be the best the Wildcats have seen all season. Last year: Arundel 30, Old Mill 7.

No. 5 Arundel 49, North County 13
The Wildcats rebounded from the 31-30 scare South River delivered the previous week. Cooper Hibbs continues to lead a dominating Wildcats offense, throwing for three touchdowns and rushing for another. The first-year starter completed 24 of 30 passes for 236 yards. The Wildcats are 5-0 overall and in the Anne Arundel County league.
Next up: No. 3 Old Mill at home Thursday at 6:30 p.m. THE GAME of the season in Anne Arundel County features a Wildcats’ offense that has scored 218 points vs. a Patriots’ defense that has given up just 30. Last year, the Wildcats won big with their strong aerial game and a tough defensive effort, forcing three turnovers and holding the Patriots to three trips into the red zone. Last year: Arundel 30, Old Mill 7.

Continue reading "Football: Look who's still undefeated" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 4:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Not many surprises this week as high school football reached the midpoint of the regular season. Here is a complete slate of scores for the Baltimore-area teams from this weekend:

Arundel 49, North County 13
Atholton 54, Marriotts Ridge 6
Bel Air 36, Joppatowne 16
Catonsville 50, Hereford 14
Chesapeake- AA 45, Northeast 8
Chesapeake-B 16, Sparrows Point 13
Curley 27, Pallotti 20
Du Bois 18, National Academy 12
Dunbar 53, Digital Harbor 13
Edgewood 42, Harford Tech 6
Edmondson 14, Southwestern 7
Fallston 38, Havre de Grace 12
Franklin 41, Towson 6
Gilman 42, Spalding 8
Glenelg 17, Hammond 14
Howard 27, Oakland Mills 15
Lansdowne 32, Loch Raven 27
Lewis 12, Lake Clifton 0
Long Reach 42, Centennial 21
Loyola 50, Fork Union Prep, Va. 40
Manchester Valley 14, Francis Scott Key 7
Maritime Ind. 25, Forest Park 14
MATHS 20, Mount Carmel 0
McDonogh 35, Landon 3
Milford Mill 47, Woodlawn 7
Mount St. Joseph 20, Georgetown Prep 15
New Town 61, Randallstown 0
North Harford 38, Aberdeen 12

Continue reading "Week 5: Local football results" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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After five weeks, we have reached the middle of the regular season. Following is a look at how The Baltimore Sun's Top 15 football teams held up this weekend and who they play next.

As usual, new rankings will be in Tuesday's paper.

Ranking/Team/Record/Latest result/Next opponent/
1. Gilman/4-1/Def. Archbishop Spalding 42-8/Vs. Calvert Hall, Fri.
2. Calvert Hall/4-0/Did not play/At Gilman, Fri.
3. Old Mill/5-0/ Def. Meade 40-14/At Arundel, Thurs.
4. McDonogh/4-1/ Def. Landon 35-3/Vs. Loyola, Fri.
5. Arundel/5-0/Def. North County 49-13/Vs. Old Mill, Thurs.
6. Atholton/4-1/Def. Marriotts Ridge 54-6/Vs. Oakland Mills, Thurs.
7. Dunbar/4-1/Def. Digital Harbor 53-13/Vs. Edmondson, Sat. at Poly
8. Poly/5-0/Def. Douglass 42-6/Vs. Patterson, Fri.
9. Hammond/4-1/Lost to Glenelg 17-14/At Marriotts Ridge, Thurs.
10. Archbishop Spalding/3-2/Lost to Gilman 42-8/Vs. Georgetown Prep, Fri.
11. Westminster/4-1/Def. Liberty 42-0/At Francis Scott Key, Thurs.
12. Loyola/3-1/Def. Fork Union, Va. 50-40/At McDonogh, Fri.
13. Catonsville/5-0/Def. Hereford 50-14/Vs. Eastern Tech, Thurs.
14. South River/3-2/Def. Annapolis 48-26/At Severna Park, Thurs.
15. River Hill/3-2/Def. Wilde Lake 38-0/Vs. Howard, Thurs.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 8:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Poly's Augie Waibel won the first Ravens High School Coach of the Year Award 1997. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

Catonsville football coach Rich Hambor's selection Wednesday as the first Ravens' High School Coach of the Week for this season made us wonder about past winners of the Ravens' Coach of the Year award.

This is the 15th season the Ravens have awarded Baltimore-area high school football coaches, and while we could remember some of the winners, we had to check the archives to list them all.

Here they are:

1997 Augie Waibel, Poly
1998 Nick Arminio, Eastern Tech
1999 Pete Pompey, Edmondson
2000 Dom Damico, McDonogh
2001 Steve Turnbaugh, Hereford
2002 Dave Eubank, Dundalk
2003 Gene Brown, South Carroll
2004 Ben Eaton, Dunbar
2005 Brad Wilson, Westminster
2006 Dante Jones, Edmondson
2007 Lawrence Smith, Dunbar
2008 Tony Shermeyer, Century
2009 Rick Conner, Linganore
2010 Damon Bomar, Forest Park

Continue reading "Has your team's coach been a Ravens Coach of the Year" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 5:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Annapolis Area Christian School's football team was schedule to play its Homecoming game Friday night against St. John's-Catholic Prep, but the Frederick team has suffered so many injuries in recent weeks that it cannot safely field a team this week and has forfeited the game to AACS.

Both schools are small and don't have huge football rosters, so Annapolis Area athletic director Jim Domoracki said he understands the situation.

"You have to keep safety first," Domoracki said. "We've played them in all sports in many seasons and it's just one of those crazy situations. They feel terrible about it, but we understand. You have to make the best of a tough situation. It could very easily happen to us."

Homecoming, however, will go on.

The game and its surrounding festivities were scheduled to be held at Arundel High School's turf field. Now, the field hockey game between the Eagles and Pallotti will serve as the Homecoming centerpiece. It will be played in place of the football game, Friday night at 7 p.m. at Arundel.

With the forfeit, the Eagles football team improves to 4-1 overall and remains 2-0 in the MIAA B Conference. St. John's is in the C Conference.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 2:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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As we near midseason, every race for a football regional playoff berth remains up in the air, of course, but some teams are asserting themselves and others are falling a bit too far behind.

Seven Baltimore-area teams hold top spots after four weeks of competition:

Poly in Class 4A North
Arundel in Class 4A East
Aberdeen in Class 3A North
Hammond in Class 3A East
Edmondson in Class 2A North
Overlea in Class 1A North
Dunbar in Class 1A South

Poly, Arundel, Aberdeen, Hammond and Overlea are undefeated. Poly and Arundel are both three-quarters of a point ahead of two other unbeaten teams -- Catonsville and Old Mill, respectively.

Glenelg (2A South) and Fallston (2A East) also have been edged out at the top for the time being, despite their unbeaten starts.

To see where your team falls, check out the MPSSAA web site.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 10:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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After 13 years at Havre de Grace, including last year’s state Class 1A title game appearance, football coach Johnny Brooks headed down Route 40 to take over the floundering program at Aberdeen. It didn’t take him long to turn things around.

The Eagles, who finished 1-9 last season, are 4-0 and average 40 points per game behind veteran Kenny Faulcon, a first-year quarterback who has thrown for 750 yards and 12 touchdowns. Brooks took his coaching staff with him to Aberdeen, where the Eagles have not made the playoffs since 2004, a year after they won their only state title.

Brooks, who now teaches social studies at Aberdeen, graduated from Havre de Grace. As the Warriors’ coach, he took them to the playoffs seven of the last nine seasons.

Friday night, the Eagles face their toughest test -- perhaps of the season -- when they host North Harford, which went undefeated through the UCBAC Chesapeake Division last season. Not only are the two teams battling for the top spot in the Chespeake Division, but they're in the same region -- Class 3A North -- where the Eagles are in first place and the Hawks are in a tie for fourth.

As this week’s football Coachspeak guest, Brooks answered five questions about the transition to Aberdeen and the Eagles’ quick start.

Why did you make the move to Aberdeen after having so much success at Havre de Grace?

I’d been at Havre de Grace for a long time and I was looking for a little refresher. I was looking for a different challenge, so Aberdeen gave me the opportunity and I took it. It wasn’t anything in particular. I was just looking to move on somewhere else and Aberdeen did have an opening, so I just went there and I thought I’d make the best of it.

Continue reading "Coachspeak: Aberdeen football's Johnny Brooks" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 10:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Catonsville coach Rich Hambor is the season’s first Ravens High School Coach of the Week after guiding the Comets to a 35-7 win over Franklin Friday night, a victory that helped them crack the state's Top 25 for the first time in program history.

The Comets are 4-0 and hold sole possession of first place in Baltimore County’s Class 4A-3A Division. Ranked No. 13 by The Baltimore Sun, the Comets are No. 23 in the ESPN High School Maryland football media poll.

“It’s nice to have our school and community recognized for the work we have put in,” Hambor said in a news release. “But whether we get ranked or not, we want to keep climbing. We know that it’s only going to be there for a while, so we need to savor it, but we also know there’s going to be a need for improvement.”

Continue reading "Catonsville's Hambor named Ravens Coach of the Week" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 6:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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After improving to 4-0, Catonsville earned its first ever ranking in the ESPN High School Maryland football media poll Tuesday. The Comets are coming off a 35-7 win over Franklin and debut in the poll at No. 23.

Good Counsel remains atop the poll for Week 4 followed by Gilman at No. 2 and Calvert Hall at No. 3. Arundel is No. 7 while Old Mill, McDonogh, Dunbar, Poly, Atholton, Hammond and Loyola have consecutive spots further down in the Top 20. Archbishop Spalding dropped to 25.

To see where all of the local teams are ranked this week and which others are getting a few votes, check out the entire ESPN Maryland football poll.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 4:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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It's hard to believe, but fall is officially here and we're nearing midseason as we head toward Week 5 of the 10-week high school football regular season. The top teams have begun to separate themselves from the pack and here's a look at some of the key statistics gathered from this weekend's contests:

2
One-point losses by 2-2 South River

3
First-half points allowed by McDonogh through four games

3
Interceptions by Poly’s Donovan Riley, including one returned for a touchdown, in a 12-0 win over Edmondson

3
Kickoffs by Georgetown Prep to start the game against Gilman – the first two went out of bounds and Cyrus Jones returned the third for a touchdown

4
Times more wins this season than last for Aberdeen, which is 4-0 after going 1-9 in 2010

6
Points allowed by Poly in four games

6
Turnovers by River Hill in its 12-9 loss to Hammond

6
Sacks by Catonsville in its 35-7 win over Franklin

8
Straight wins by Calvert Hall, the area’s longest active winning streak

12
Local teams remaining undefeated – Calvert Hall, Old Mill, Arundel, Poly, Hammond, Catonsville, Aberdeen, Fallston, Glenelg, Overlea, Milford Mill and Patterson Mill

Continue reading "Football By The Numbers: Week 4" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 6:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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After four weeks of competition, a dozen local football teams remain undefeated. Four teams – Archbishop Spalding, Edmondson, Joppatowne and St. Mary’s – suffered their first losses this weekend. Those who continue to boast a zero in the L column kept their records perfect in a variety of ways. Here’s a look.

NO QUESTION
No. 2 Calvert Hall 41, Coolidge, D.C. 7
The Cardinals used their bench liberally all game long and scored their first touchdown less than two minutes into the game when John Mooney hit Erik Evans with a five-yard touchdown pass. Back-up quarterback Mooney threw for two touchdowns and Jamal Goodman ran for two. Calvert Hall has the area’s longest active winning streak at seven games.
Next up: At Gilman on Oct. 7 at 2:30 p.m. The Cardinals have next weekend off before they head to Gilman for their MIAA A Conference opener. Calvert Hall, the defending A Conference champ, has won two straight over the Greyhounds. Last year: Calvert Hall 26, Gilman 21.

No. 3 Old Mill 49, Northeast 0
Rob Chesson scored three first-quarter touchdowns and the blitz was on. Chesson finished with four touchdowns, three rushing and one on a punt return. After a hard-fought 10-0 season-opening win over Broadneck, the Patriots outscored their next three opponents 150-16 with three shutouts.
Next up: At Meade on Friday at 6:30 p.m. The Mustangs (2-2) played Arundel tight before falling 28-12 two weeks ago and dropped their season opener to Southern by a point. Last year: Old Mill 34, Meade 8.

No. 15 Catonsville 35, Franklin 7
The Comets avenged three straight losses to the Indians in a big way. Sean Lipscomb forced a fumble on the Indians’ first play from scrimmage, resulting in an Aaron Jones to Deniko Carter 24-yard touchdown pass two plays later. D’Andre Lane ran for 135 of the Comets rushing yards.
Next up: Hereford at home Friday at 7 p.m. The Comets continue through the heart of their Baltimore County Class 4A-3A schedule with the always-competitive Bulls (2-2), who are coming off a big 26-6 win over Eastern Tech. Last meeting: Hereford 23, Catonsville 0 in 2008.

Continue reading "Football: A dozen teams remain unbeaten" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 3:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Rain intruded again on the fourth week of high school football, but most games were played anyway. Here are the local results for the weekend along with postponed games listed at the end:

Aberdeen 36, Joppatowne 0

Annapolis Area Christian 35, St. Mary's 13

Archbishop Curley 22, Boys' Latin 7

Arundel 31, South River 30

Atholton 24, Reservoir 14

Calvert Hall 41, Coolidge, D.C. 7

Catonsville 35, Franklin 7

Century 7, FSK 0

Chesapeake-BC 44, Lansdowne 0

City 20, Carver 6

Digital Harbor 22, Southwestern 0

Dunbar 28, Mervo 8

Elkton 29, Edgewood 0

Fallston 21, Bel Air 14

Frederick Christian 42, Friends 0

Forest Park 6, National Academy 0

Gilman 38, Georgetown Prep 8

Glen Burnie 22, Broadneck 0

Glenelg 41, Oakland Mills 14

Continue reading "Week 4: Local football results" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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With four weeks in the books, here is a look at how The Baltimore Sun's Top 15 football teams fared this weekend, and who they play next.

As usual, new rankings will be in Tuesday's paper.

Ranking/Team/Record/Latest result/Next opponent
1. Gilman/3-1/Def. Georgetown Prep 38-8/Vs. Archbishop Spalding, Fri.
2. Calvert Hall/4-0/Def. Coolidge (D.C.) 41-7/At Gilman, Oct. 7
3. Old Mill/4-0/ Def. Northeast 49-0/At Meade, Fri.
4. McDonogh/3-1/Def. Archbishop Spalding 20-7/Vs. Landon, Sat.
5. Arundel/4-0/Def. South River 31-30/At North County, Fri.
6. Atholton/3-1/Def Reservoir 24-14/Vs. Marriots Ridge, Fri.
7. Dunbar/3-1/Def. Mervo 28-8/Vs. Digital Harbor, Fri.
8. River Hill/2-2/Lost to Hammond 12-9/At Wilde Lake, Fri.
9. Archbishop Spalding/3-1/Lost to McDonogh 20-7/At Gilman, Fri.
10. Poly/4-0/Def. Edmondson 12-0/Vs. Douglass, Fri.
11. Westminster/3-1/Def. North Carroll 42-14/Vs. Liberty, Fri.
12. Loyola/2-1/Def. Maryland Christian 35-0/At Fork Union, Va., Fri.
13. Hammond/4-0/Def. River Hill 12-9/Vs. Glenelg, Fri.
14. Franklin/2-2/Lost to Catonsville 35-7/Vs. Towson, Fri.
15. Catonsville/4-0/Def. Franklin 35-7/Vs. Hereford, Fri.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 10:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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High school football scores from throughout the state:

Atlantic Shores Christian, Va. 26, St. James 13

Boonsboro 28, Clear Spring 7

C.H. Flowers 14, Northwestern-PG 13

Calvert 21, La Plata 12

Calvert Hall 41, Coolidge, D.C. 7

Central 20, Fairmont Heights 6

Chesapeake-BC 44, Lansdowne 0

DuVal 21, Bladensburg 12

Eleanor Roosevelt 33, Oxon Hill 0

Fort Hill 27, Allderdice, Pa. 9

Frederick Christian Academy 42, Friends 0

Good Counsel 49, Gonzaga, D.C. 7

Continue reading "Saturday's statewide high school football scores" »

Posted by David Selig at 8:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Four local Friday football games had to be postponed until Monday because of -- what else? -- rain. Two involve involve undefeated teams.

Masonville Cove will play at Maritime Industries at 3:45 p.m.
Milford Mill (3-0) will play at Perry Hall at 6 p.m.
Patterson Mill (3-0) will play at Perryville (3-0) at 6 p.m.
South Carroll will play at Winters Mill at 6 p.m.

This is the second Monday game in four weeks for Milford Mill, Patterson Mill and Perryville thanks to all the rain. Perry Hall got its Week 2 game in because the Gators played at Catonsville on the artificial turf.

"I've been coaching 12 years, I played in college and I played in high school, " Patterson Mill coach Josh Mason said, "and I can't ever remember us having this much rain. We haven't had a normal week yet."

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 11:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Tonight's football game between Loch Raven and Owings Mills scheduled for 7 p.m. at Loch Raven has been postponed until tomorrow. The game will be played at Franklin, which has a turf field, at 11:30 a.m.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Archbishop Spalding's football team will hold a fund raiser for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network as part of Friday's night's MIAA A Conference home game with McDonogh.

Spalding coach Mike Whittles (left) is battling stage four pancreatic cancer and the players, coaches, parents and fans of the team have rallied around their coach for the last 13 years.

"I think everyone gets a purple ribbon that comes in, just to make people aware of it," Whittles, 57, said. "Frankly, my life got turned upside down when I got diagnosed. Everything changed.

"People shouldn't have to go through this. You shouldn't find out you have pancreatic cancer at stage three or stage four. Nobody finds out they have stage one pancreatic cancer and there's something wrong with that. It's always in the latter stages and that's why there's such a high mortality rate."

Continue reading "Spalding football to raise money for pancreatic cancer research" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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In eight years as Westminster football coach, Brad Wilson has enjoyed plenty of success. His 2005 team reached the state Class 4A title game before falling to Gwynn Park, 20-14, in double overtime. The Owls finished that year with the No. 2 ranking, and Wilson was the All-Metro Coach of the Year.

Friday night, the Owls pulled off a win that Wilson said ranks "up there" with the highlights of his career as they upset Linganore, which was ranked No. 9 in the state, 32-31. That win came after a disappointing 48-14 loss to Urbana the previous week.

Wilson, 51, coached at Glen Burnie, North County and Meade before arriving at Westminster, which also made the playoffs in 2008. His Owls (2-1) head into Carroll County competition Friday night at North Carroll at 7 p.m.

As this week's Coachspeak guest, Wilson answered five questions about the Lingnaore win and the rest of the season.

How does this win over Linganore rank in your tenure at Westminster?

We’ve had some big wins. The first couple years, we did beat Urbana, did beat Linganore in a playoff game. We did get to the state championship game in 2005 and lost in double overtime and we’ve had some big wins since then, but Friday night was a big win as far as Frederick County schools have had a lot of success against Carroll County. It was good for Carroll County. It was good for Westminster High School, good for our players. I would say it’s up there. When you do this for 30 years and you try to get high school kids to believe in not only themselves individually but as a group, you teach one common goal. To see a group come together and have one common goal and work toward it, it’s refreshing to see.

Continue reading "Coachspeak: Westminster football's Brad Wilson" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 7:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Patterson Mill's Deonte Alston runs during a recent game against C. Milton Wright. Patterson Mill currently holds the top spot in Class 2A East, according to the latest MPSSAA point standings. (Photo by Patuxent Publishing)

There's no question it's too early for the MPSSAA football points standings to mean a whole lot, but some teams scored valuable non-league wins that should pay off at the end of the season as more bonus points accumulate.

After three weeks, 13 Baltimore area public school teams remain undefeated, but only eight are in first place in their regions. Most of the state's 16 regions have only two or three unbeaten teams left, but the Class 2A East teams did particularly well in their early games, with six teams still sporting a 0 in the L column (Patterson Mill, Fallston and Joppatowne, along with Queen Anne's, Kent County and Wicomico).

Here are the local teams holding top spots:

Poly in Class 4A North
Old Mill in Class 4A East
Milford Mill in Class 3A North
Hammond in Class 3A East
Edmondson in Class 2A North
Glenelg in Class 2A South
Patterson Mill in Class 2A East
Overlea in Class 1A North

Continue reading "8 locals atop Week 3 regional football standings" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 2:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Nothing near the top changed this week in the ESPN High School Maryland football state media poll, but a few new teams -- including Atholton and Archbishop Spalding -- broke into the Top 25.

Atholton jumped all the way to No. 17 after its 14-0 win over then-No. 10 River Hill. The Hawks dropped to No. 24 with the loss. Spalding came in at No. 21 after beating unranked Mount St. Joseph, 34-31.

Good Counsel still reigns, followed by Gilman at No. 2 and Calvert Hall at No. 3. Arundel is No. 6 with Dunbar at No. 12; McDonogh, 14; Old Mill, 15; Poly, 16; Loyola, 19; and Hammond, 20.

Surprisingly, Westminster did not crack the Top 25 despite its 32-31 victory over then-No. 9 Linganore, which dropped out of the poll.

To see the full rankings, visit ESPN HS Maryland.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 1:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Calvert Hall's 28-27 win over Red Lion, Del. Friday night on Da'Quan Davis' blocked extra point gave the Cardinals a boost in this week's ESPN HS East regional rankings. They jumped from No. 18 to No. 13 as the Lions, No. 13 the previous week, dropped to No. 20.

The Cardinals still trail Gilman, the top Baltimore area team in the regional poll. The Greyhounds went from No. 10 to No. 8 this week despite having the weekend off.

Don Bosco, N.J., remains No. 1 with Good Counsel, No. 2.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 8:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Football
        

The weather finally settled down, but not much else did during a third week of high school football punctuated by upsets, including Westminster over Linganore and Atholton over River Hill. Here are some of the numbers that stood out from this week's action:

0
Points allowed by Atholton in its last two games against River Hill

1
Blocked extra point by Calvert Hall’s Da’Quan Davis to preserve a 28-27 win over Red Lion, Del.

2
Wins this season for Digital Harbor – double last season’s total

2
First downs for River Hill in its 14-0 loss to Atholton

4
Touchdowns scored by Lavon Chaney in South River’s 42-28 upset of Broadneck

4
Big plays by Dunbar’s Aaron Haynes – two interceptions and two touchdowns – in an 18-6 win over City

5
Touchdown passes thrown by Westminster quarterback Rommie Cheese in the 32-31 stunner over Linganore

6
Top 15 teams remaining unbeaten – Calvert Hall, Old Mill, Arundel, Archbishop Spalding, Poly and Hammond

Continue reading "Football By the Numbers -- Week 3" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 6:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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After only the third week of competition, the number of undefeated football teams has dwindled quickly. If you look at the standings in four of the public school leagues that have begun play in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Howard counties and Baltimore City, you’ll find some new faces atop the leader boards and a few familiar powers missing.

In Howard County, only Hammond and Glenelg are 3-0. While Hammond’s spot at the top isn’t surprising given that the Bears shared the county title with River Hill last season, Glenelg is there thanks to a forfeit win over Atholton in the season opener. The Raiders won that game 39-0 on the field, but forfeited because of a summer practice violation. The forfeit win may have been a gift to the Gladiators, but they proved they’re staying in the race with an impressive 28-8 win Friday over defending state Class 3A champ Wilde Lake (1-2). The forfeit leaves Atholton 2-1, but it’s becoming a distant memory thanks to Friday’s 14-0 win over River Hill.

Dunbar knows a little about Atholton’s pain, although the Poets brought their forfeit loss on themselves when they cleared the bench to mix it up with Dunbar (D.C.) two weeks ago at the I-95 Kickoff Classic at Morgan State. The Poets forfeited last week’s game to Southwestern (it wasn’t played), ending the defending state Class 1A champs' 13-game winning streak. They bounced back Saturday with a defense-driven 18-6 win over City. In Baltimore City’s Division I, Poly and Edmondson are the only teams left unbeaten. That will whittle down to one after the two square off Saturday at 6 p.m. at Mervo.

Continue reading "Unbeaten football ranks already thinning" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 1:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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The third weekend of high school football ran without weather disruption for a change. Here are the local results for the weekend:

Aberdeen 24, Elkton 17
Annapolis Area Christian 56, John Carroll 18
Arundel 28, Meade 12
Atholton 14, River Hill 0
Brunswick 67, North Carroll 14
Calvert Hall 28, Red Lion, Del. 27
Catonsville 35, Woodlawn 15
Catoctin 36, FSK 0
Chesapeake-AA 35, Southern-AA 26
Curley 32, Owings Mills 6
C. Milton Wright 13, North East 6
Delmar, Del. 35, St. Frances 0
Dunbar 18, City 6
Du Bois 14, Lake Clifton 6
Eastern Tech 47, Kenwood 14
Edmondson 18, Douglass 8
Fallston 34, Rising Sun 26
Forest Park 14, Lewis 12
Franklin 24, Hereford 19
Glenelg 28, Wilde Lake 8
Hammond 34, Centennial 7

Continue reading "Week 3: Local football results" »

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Here is a look at how The Baltimore Sun's Top 15 football teams fared this weekend, and who's up next:

Ranking/Team/Record/Latest result/Next opponent/
1. Gilman/2-1/Did not play/At Georgetown Prep, Fri./
2. Calvert Hall/3-0/Def. Red Lion Christian (Del.) 28-27/Vs. Coolidge (D.C.), Sat./
3. River Hill/2-1/Lost to Atholton 14-0/At Hammond, Fri./
4. Old Mill/3-0/Def. North County 67-0/ Vs. Northeast, Fri./
5. McDonogh2-1/Def. Boys’ Latin 31-0/At Spalding, Fri./
6. Arundel/3-0/Def. Meade 28-12/Vs. South River, Fri./
7. Dunbar/2-1/Def. City 18-6/At Mervo, Fri./
8. Archbishop Spalding/3-0/Def. Mount St. Joseph 34-31/Vs. McDonogh, Fri./
9. Poly/3-0/Def. Digital Harbor 20-6/Vs. Edmondson, Sat./
10. Loyola/1-1/Did not play/Vs. Maryland Christian, Fri./
11. Atholton/2-1/Def. River Hill 14-0./Vs. Reservoir, Fri./
12. Hammond/3-0/Def. Centennial 34-7/Vs. River Hill, Fri./
13. Broadneck/1-2/Lost to South River 42-28/Vs. Glen Burnie, Fri./
14. Wilde Lake/1-2/Lost to Glenelg 28-8/At Marriotts Ridge, Fri./
15. Franklin/2-1/Def. Hereford 24-19/At Catonsville, Fri./

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Calvert Hall linebacker Delando Johnson and his teammates celebrate a 28-27 win over Delaware power Red Lion Friday night. It was the Cardinals' first night game since adding permanent lights in the offseason.

High school football scores from throughout the state on Friday night:

Albert Einstein 49, Rockville 6

Annapolis Area Christian 56, John Carroll 18

Arundel 28, Meade 12

Atholton 14, River Hill 0

Avalon 64, St. John's Catholic Prep 32

Boonsboro 36, South Hagerstown 28

Brunswick 67, North Carroll 14

Bullis 35, The Potomac School, Va. 7

Calvert Hall 28, Red Lion, Del. 27

Catonsville 35, Woodlawn 15

Chesapeake-AA 35, Southern-AA 26

Clear Spring 34, Hancock 6

Curley 32, Owings Mills 6

Damascus 49, Wootton 12

Delmar, Del. 35, St. Frances 0

Eastern Tech 47, Kenwood 14

Continue reading "Friday's statewide high school football scores" »

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Brian Van Deusen has been one of the area’s most successful football coaches since he took over the River Hill program from his father, Don Van Deusen, in 2000. Under the younger Van Deusen, the Hawks have won two state championships, five regional championships and eight straight Howard County championships (sharing it last season with Hammond). They had a run of 48 straight county wins before Atholton ended the streak last fall.

Van Deusen, the 2007 All-Metro Coach of the Year, graduated from Atholton in 1992 and was the Howard County Player of the Year in football and baseball. A quarterback, he went on to play football at Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College) in Westminster.

With a rematch looming Friday night at home against Atholton -- their first meeting since the Raiders’ 10-0 victory in October -- Van Deusen, 37, has guided his team to a 2-0 start. As this week’s football Coachspeak guest, we asked Van Deusen to answer five questions about being a coach’s son, the success of his program and the quick turn-around after beating Long Reach, 35-14, on Monday.

Did you always want to be a football coach, growing up watching your dad coach?

Yeah, I think I always wanted to be a coach. Actually, baseball was probably my favorite sport growing up. I wasn’t very big. In high school my freshman year, I was about 5-foot-2 and 92 pounds. I actually didn’t play football until my 9th grade year and went on and did pretty well my senior year in high school and went on to play at Western Maryland. Early on, I was thinking I was more interested in baseball, but getting to college and having that experience, at that point was the time I realized I wanted to be a teacher and a coach. Growing up with my dad coaching at Atholton – he was coaching football, basketball and baseball in the 80s – if I wanted to see my dad, I had to go up to school. In the spring, I was the bat boy and in the fall, I was the ball boy, so that was my chance to hang out with my dad and the guys at school. It was a great experience. There were several great coaches I had at Atholton and a lot of stuff I do today is because of the coaches I had over there.

Continue reading "Coachspeak: River Hill football's Brian Van Deusen" »

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Gilman's football team held onto a spot in the ESPN High School EAST Region Top 20 poll this week with the No. 9 berth while Calvert Hall moved in at No. 18.

The Greyhounds slipped from No. 5 in the East to No. 9 after losing to Good Counsel, 26-21. Good Counsel held onto the No. 2 spot behind Don Bosco Prep, of Ramsey N.J., which is also the No. 1 team in the nationwide ESPN HS Powerade Fab 50.

Calvert Hall was unranked last week, but its 18-0 win over DeMatha banished the Stags from the regional poll and put the Cardinals at No. 18. The Cardinals' opponent at home Friday night, Red Lion Christian, Del., is ranked No. 13, holding that spot after a 41-6 win over Annapolis Area Christian Saturday.

No other Maryland teams made the East poll this week. To see which other teams made the cut, check out all the regional rankings at ESPN HS.

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We Brown and Good Counsel remain on top of Malcolm Powers and Gilman in the ESPN HS state rankings after Saturday's 26-21 victory in Annapolis. (Doug Kapustin/Baltimore Sun)

Gilman's football team remained No. 2 behind Good Counsel in this week's ESPN HS Maryland High School Football State Media Poll. The top rankings were decided on the field last week as Good Counsel defeated Gilman, 26-21, in the Patriot Classic.

Calvert Hall, however is creeping up on the Greyhounds, pulling to within three points after an 18-0 defensive gem over DeMatha at the Patriot Classic.

DeMatha dropped from No. 4 to No. 7.

The Greyhounds and the Cardinals could determine the No. 2 and No. 3 rankings on the field when they meet at Gilman on Oct. 7.

Continue reading "Gilman football stays No. 2 in statewide poll" »

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Atholton's Kenny Thomas changes direction to evade Howard's Andrew Young during Monday's 28-7 Raiders victory. (Nate Pesce/Patuxent Publishing)

Here are the local football scores from games played Monday due to weather-related postponements:

Aberdeen 50, Bohemia Manor 12
Atholton 28, Howard 7
Digital Harbor 35, Patterson 34
Elkton 21, Bel Air 12
Fallston 15, Edgewood 6
Glenelg 34, Centennial 0
Hammond 38, Mount Hebron 7
Joppatowne 14, North East 6
North Harford 44, Rising Sun 7
Patterson Mill 9, C. Milton Wright 3
Perryville 34, Havre de Grace 14
Reservoir 49, Marriotts Ridge 6
River Hill 35, Long Reach 14
Tower Hill (Del.) 20, Harford Tech 19
Wilde Lake 40, Oakland Mills 7

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 10:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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The football game between Patterson and Digital Harbor will pick up where it left off today at 3 p.m. at Poly.

Digital Harbor is leading the Clippers, 21-14, with 8:01 left in the third quarter with Patterson about to punt. Saturday night's game was suspended due to lightning.

The Rams, who finished 1-9 last season and were beaten 64-20 by the Clippers last season, are 1-0 and looking to pull the upset. The Clippers, Class 4A regional finalists last season, will have their quarterback Craig Oliver, who had not been expected to play after suffering bruised ribs in the first half Saturday night.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 10:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Gilman's football team dropped out of the ESPN High School Powerade Fab 50 rankings this week after Saturday night's 26-21 loss to Good Counsel.

The Greyhounds, ranked No. 1 in The Baltimore Sun, are 2-1 and still listed among the teams receiving votes. Last week, they were ranked No. 42, having moved up from No. 50 in the preseason poll.

Good Counsel jumped from No. 11 in the Fab 50 to No. 9 after the win at the Patriot Classic at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis. The Falcons are the only Maryland team in the Fab 50, which has Don Bosco Prep from Ramsey, N.J. ranked No. 1.

To check out the rest of the Fab 50, go to ESPNHS.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Digital Harbor football coach Keith Rudolph was not too happy about the lightning that kept flashing in the distance during the Rams’ football game Saturday night against Patterson at Poly’s stadium.

The Rams had a 21-14 lead with 8:01 left in the third quarter when the game was suspended. Patterson was about to punt on “fourth-and-a-mile” as Rudolph put it, but the lightning would not stop.

With a rule in place that requires a 20-minutes wait after you see lightning or hear thunder, the teams waited about 45 minutes before the game had to be suspended.

Rudolph and Patterson coach Corey Johnson said the lights at Poly are on a timer that automatically shuts them off at 10 p.m., so there wasn’t enough time left to finish the game. The game will be resumed Monday at Poly at a time yet to be finalized.

“It was extremely tough (to have the game suspended), because Patterson is a great team … and we just wanted to get this one,” said Rudolph, whose team finished 1-9 last season while the Clippers were Class 4A North regional finalists.

“We wanted to wait it out, but the lights go out at 10 o’clock, so it was just one of those things. We had to call it. At that point, I just wanted to get the game over with. I thought our kids had the momentum and that we could pull it out. You never know what’s going to happen Monday. We have a lot of respect for Patterson.”

Continue reading "Digital Harbor edging Patterson in suspended football game" »

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This has been one of the strangest weeks in recent high school football memory -- with two teams forfeiting games for infractions and a whole slate of games being postponed by last week's rains, some to be played on Monday. Still, there were plenty of numbers that stood out from weekend action. Here's a look at some of them:

0
Points allowed by Poly in its opening two games

0.03
Seconds left on the clock when Maryland Christian’s Josiah Avery kicked a field goal to edge Boys’ Latin 16-15

2
Touchdown passes thrown by City back-up quarterback T. Robinson in the second half of the 40-0 win over Douglass

2
One-point wins for Southern in its first two games, including Friday’s 25-24 nail-biter over South River

2
Teams -- Dunbar and Northwestern -- enduring forfeit losses for previous rules infractions.

2:50
Left in the game when Good Counsel stopped Gilman’s Cyrus Jones on fourth-and-1 from the 6-yard line to all but seal a 26-21 Falcons win

3
Passing touchdowns from Tyree Turner to Erik Kerns in Meade’s 45-25 win over Annapolis

Continue reading "Football By the Numbers -- Week 2" »

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The second weekend of high school football was disrupted by all of last week's rain with Harford and Howard county games being moved to Monday. Here are the local results for the rest of Week 2:

Archbishop Curley 13, Chesapeake-BC 12
Arundel 53, Northeast 0
Boonsboro 57, Manchester Valley 14
Broadneck 34, Chesapeake-AA 7
Calvert Hall 18, DeMatha 0
Catonsville 32, Perry Hall 23
Century 26, Oakdale 20
City 40, Douglass 0
Delmar, Del. 40, Dundalk 7
Edmondson 36, Mervo 8
Franklin 13, Eastern Tech 2
Forest Park 26, Du Bois 14
Forestville 20, Randallstown 18
Good Counsel 26, Gilman 21Hereford 42, Woodlawn 0
John Carroll 29, Dulaney 22
Loyola 26, Valley Forge, Pa. 14
Lutheran 40, Loch Raven 13
Maret, D.C. 47, Friends 2
Maryland Christian 16, Boys’ Latin 15
McDonogh 20, Archbishop Carroll, Pa. 7
Meade 45, Annapolis 25
Milford Mill 56, Kenwood 0
National Academy by fft. over Northwestern
North County 13, Glen Burnie 6
Old Mill 34, Severna Park 16
Overlea 24, New Town 18
Owings Mills 24, Sparrows Point 21 (OT)
Patuxent 21, South Carroll 14
Pikesville 22, Lansdowne 6
Pius X, Pa. 53, Mt. Carmel 15
Poly 32, Carver 0
Red Lion, Del. 41, Annapolis Area Christian 6
Reginald F. Lewis 26, Masonville Cove 6
St. Paul's 47, Western Tech 14
Severn 31, Pallotti 6
Smithsburg 14, North Carroll 0
S. Hagerstown 19, Francis Scott Key 0
Southern-AA 25, South River 24
Southwestern by fft. over Dunbar
St. Mary’s 46, Patapsco 6
Thomas Johnson 40, Liberty 10
Tuscarora 35, Winters Mill 10
Urbana 48, Westminster 14

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Here is a look at how The Baltimore Sun's Top 15 football teams fared in the first full weekend of action. Also included, a look forward to whom they play next weekend. Because all Howard County games were postponed Friday and moved to Monday, their last results are a week old.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Dunbar's No. 4 football team had to forfeit Saturday's game against Southwestern as a consequence of a bench-clearing brawl that broke out in the final minutes of last weekend's game against Dunbar, D.C. at the I-95 Kickoff Classic at Morgan State.

Poets coach Lawrence Smith (right) said every player who leaves the bench in a situation like that receives a one-game suspension and too many players were suspended to field a team.

The incident happened with just under five minutes left in the Kickoff Classic game. Smith said the Poets had recovered an onside kick when an opposing player made a blind-side hit on one of the Poets. A Poets player retaliated, Smith said, and "there was a lot of pushing and shoving and it got totally out of hand."

Fans also ran onto the field and the game was called at that point The Poets took a 22-8 victory, but the game cost them what likely would have been a victory over Baltimore City foe Southwestern.

Continue reading "Dunbar football forced to forfeit Southwestern game" »

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Catonsville's football team got off to a hot start last weekend, using a big second half to beat MIAA B Conference contender Boys’ Latin, 27-6. That sets veteran coach Rich Hambor’s Comets up for a tough five-game stretch in Baltimore County’s 4A-3A Division, beginning with Perry Hall at home Friday night.

The Comets have reached the regional playoffs four times in Hambor’s eight years as coach, including last fall when they fell to North Harford, 15-6, in the Class 3A North region semifinal to complete a 7-4 season. This season, for the first time in Hambor's tenure, the Comets move up to Class 4A North with some new foes, including Baltimore City’s Poly, Carroll County’s Westminster and Montgomery County’s Sherwood.

An Ohio native, Hambor has been at Catonsville for 15 years and was the offensive coordinator before taking over as head coach eight years ago. He was an assistant coach at Randallstown for three years before that.

As this week’s football Coachspeak guest, we asked Hambor to answer five questions about his team, this season and Mother Nature.

What were some of the highlights of the win over Boys’ Latin and how big a win was that to open the season?

We really like to try to get that first win. It really gets the whole school year off on a good note. I think the highlight of that night was that it was a 7-6 game at halftime -- we had a turnover inside our own five yard-line to give them that touchdown -- and that at halftime our guys were believing in the system and they felt like, "We’re just going to play these whole four quarters and things are going to work out.” We scored 20 points in the fourth quarter which is just a matter of continuing to do what we do and not really making any adjustments, just having faith in the system. We’ve always been a pretty heavily run-oriented team and we mix in the pass occasionally. Our philosophy is go three or four yards at a time and drive down the field and hopefully if we get a 10- or 15-yard play here or there, it will help us out and that’s what we did against Boys’ Latin. We had a couple big plays, but for the most part were we trying to get some sustained drives.

Continue reading "Coachspeak: Catonsville football coach Rich Hambor" »

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Gilman's football team rose to No. 42 in this week's ESPN High School Powerade Fab 50 national high school football poll.

The Greyhounds' 51-27 victory over Oscar Smith, from Chesapeake, Va., in Friday's I-95 Kickoff Classic, boosted them from No. 47 to 42.

This weekend, the Greyhounds (2-0) have a shot at making a big move in the poll when they take on Good Counsel in the Patriot Classic at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis Saturday night at 7:30. The Falcons moved from No. 19 to No. 11 in the Fab 50 after a double-overtime 24-17 win Friday over Manatee, from Bradenton, Fla.

Last season, the Greyhounds defeated Good Counsel, 28-7, in the Kickoff Classic.

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City coach George Petrides (left) and Eastern Tech's Marc Mesaros agreed to cancel their football game last Friday because so much practice time was wiped out by the weather.

The message boards lit up all weekend with opinions about whether officials at City and Eastern Tech were right to cancel Friday night's season-opening football game scheduled for CCBC-Essex, but both athletic directors stand by the decision to forgo the non-league contest for safety reasons.

Having only two days to prepare after four days without any practice at all just wasn’t enough time to get the players sufficiently ready for a football game, the coaches – City’s George Petrides and Eastern Tech’s Marc Mesaros – believed, so they opted to call off the game rather than risk injury.

“It was mutually agreed upon,” Petrides, also the Knights' athletic director, said. “The bottom line is we did what we thought was best for the kids. It was a situation where a lot of pulled muscles could occur and kids could be out for two or three weeks. Do you want that in a non-league game?”

Mesaros referred inquiries to athletic director Dave Scrivener, who said he agreed with the decision.

“It looks bad now, because everyone else did play,” Scrivener said, “but we were concerned with the health of our kids, not just how it could affect them for one game, but the ways that it could affect them for the rest of the year. Neither coach felt the necessity to play the game. Both felt, physically, their kids could be in jeopardy and no one wanted to get anyone hurt.”

Continue reading "City, Eastern officials stand by football cancellation" »

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Gilman quarterback Shane Cockerille runs for a touchdown last week against Oscar Smith. The Greyhounds are ranked No. 2 in the state by ESPN this week, and they face No. 1 Good Counsel on Saturday. (Steve Ruark for The Baltimore Sun)

Good Counsel remains No. 1 and Gilman, No. 2 in this week's ESPNHS Maryland High School Football State Poll. The Greyhounds take their shot at the top spot Saturday night when they play Good Counsel in the Patriot Classic at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.

To see which other Baltimore area teams landed in this week's Top 25, check out the new poll at ESPN High School.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 1:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Loyola All-Metro place kicker Jamie Dubyoski is so automatic when he steps up for a point after touchdown that he got credit for two points he didn’t even kick in Saturday’s game against DeMatha at the I-95 Kickoff Classic.

Dubyoski has been sidelined with back issues, so rookie kicker Bennett Bradley, a Dons’ volleyball player recruited by football coach Brian Abbott, stepped in and made two of three extra points. Bradley’s name was not on the roster handed out to the media, so he didn’t make it into the original box score as he should have.

When he walked out onto the Morgan State field for the first time Saturday to attempt an extra point, Bradley had never kicked in a football game. He had played rec football, but that was seven years ago and he played quarterback and safety.

“I was a little bit more nervous than I thought I was going to be actually,” he said. “Just all the pressure of it being the first game I’ve ever played and against a powerhouse like DeMatha. It was pretty frightening.”

It didn’t look that way as he nailed the extra point.

Continue reading "Bradley finally gets noticed after Loyola kicking debut" »

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Football is back!

The first weekend of high school football in Baltimore featured some of the most intriguing matchups of the season thanks to the I-95 Kickoff Classic and some other non-conference rivalries. Here's a look at some of the numbers that stood out as the season kicked off:

1
Win for Aberdeen since 2009 – its season-opening 51-20 victory over Edgewood

2-2
Results for the defending state champions. Dunbar and McDonogh won; Wilde Lake and Urbana lost.

2:19
Left to play when Havre de Grace scored to nip Elkton, 8-7

3
First-half turnovers for Wilde Lake, which had only 13 turnovers in 14 games last season, during the 16-12 loss to Hammond

3
Third-quarter fumbles overcome by Winters Mill in a 17-14 win over Oakdale

3-0
Record for Baltimore-area teams in the marquee games at the I-95 Kickoff Classic: Gilman over Oscar Smith, Va., Calvert Hall over St. John’s (D.C), and Dunbar over Dunbar (D.C.)

Continue reading "Football: By the Numbers – Week 1" »

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Here are the results of the first full weekend of high school football in the Baltimore metro area:

Aberdeen 51, Edgewood 20
Annapolis Area Christian 31, Severn 14
Archbishop Spalding 21, Douglass, P.G. 8
Arundel 57, Annapolis 7
Bel Air 45, National Academy 0
Boonsboro 21, North Carroll 12
Brunswick 43, Manchester Valley 7
Buchanan, Pa. 35, Southside 12
Calvert Hall 35, St. John’s, D.C. 18
Catonsville 27, Boys' Latin 6
C. Milton Wright 40, Rising Sun 0
DeMatha 24, Loyola 20
Digital Harbor 26, Sparrows Point 7
Dulaney 26, Kenwood 20
Dunbar 22, Dunbar, D.C. 8
Edmondson 56, Spingarn 0
Fallston 35, North East 0
Frederick 42, Century 30
Friendship Collegiate, D.C. 18, Mount St. Joseph 13
Gilman 51, Oscar Smith, Va. 27
Glenelg by forfeit over Atholton
Gonzaga 17, McDonogh 14
Hammond 16, Wilde Lake 12
Havre de Grace 8, Elkton 7
Howard 41, Centennial 0
John Carroll 35, Bohemia Manor 0
Joppatowne 14, Harford Tech 10
Liberty 20, Williamsport 12
Linganore 28, South Carroll 6
Loch Raven 24, Mt. Carmel 17
Long Reach 55, Marriotts Ridge 14
Long Island Lutheran, NY 48, Balt. Lutheran 28
Maritime Industries 8, Patapsco 6
Maryland Christian 55, Fairfax Home School, Va. 0
Mervo 28, Du Bois 0
Middletown 42, Catoctin 12
Milford Mill 32, Douglass-B 16
Mount Hebron 26, Oakland Mills 0
North Harford 28, Hereford 23
Northeast 13, North County 12
New Town 44, Pikesville 6
Old Mill 10, Broadneck 0
Overlea 12, Owings Mills 6
Pallotti 40, St. John's-Catholic Prep 22
Parkville 38, Randallstown 0
Patterson 20, Archbishop Curley 13
Patterson Mill 21, Chesapeake-BC 14
Perry Hall 21, St. Paul’s 19
Poly 28, DuVal 0
River Hill 28, Reservoir 7
St. Frances 36, Buford Drew Jemiston 0
Severna Park 30, Glen Burnie 6
South River 36, Chesapeake-AA 7
Southern 15, Meade 14
Southwestern 26, Lake Clifton 6
St. Mary's 26, St. Alban's 14
Western Tech 26, Lansdowne 20
Westminster 33, Tuscarora 3
Winters Mill 17, Oakdale 14
Wise 30, Franklin 7
Woodlawn 24, Forest Park 0

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 1:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Here is a look at how The Baltimore Sun's Top 15 football teams fared in the first full weekend of action. Also included, a look forward to whom they play next weekend.

1. Gilman/2-0/Def. Oscar Smith, Va. 51-27/Vs. Good Counsel, Sat.
2. Calvert Hall/1-0/Def. St. John’s (D.C.) 35-18/Vs. DeMatha, Fri.
3. River Hill/1-0/Def. Reservoir 28-7/At Long Reach, Fri.
4. McDonogh/0-1/Lost to Gonzaga 17-14/At Archbishop Carroll (Pa.), Sat.
5. Dunbar/1-0/Def. Dunbar (D.C.) 22-8/Vs. Southwestern, Sat.
6. Old Mill/1-0/Def. No. 15 Broadneck 10-0/At Severna Park, Fri.
7. Arundel/1-0/Def. Annapolis 57-7/Vs. Northeast, Fri.
8. Atholton/0-1/Forfeit to Glenelg./Vs. Howard, Fri.
9. Archbishop Spalding/1-0/Def. Dougalss 21-8/Vs. Potomac, Sat.
10. Poly/1-0/Def. DuVal 28-0/at Carver, Fri.
11. Franklin/0-1/Lost to Henry Wise 30-7/Vs. Eastern Tech, Fri.
12. Loyola/0-1/Lost to DeMatha 24-20/At Valley Forge (Pa.), Sat.
13. Hammond/1-0/Def. No. 14 Wilde Lake 16-12/At Mount Hebron, Fri.
14. Wilde Lake/0-1/Lost to No. 13 Hammond 16-12./Vs. Oakland Mills, Fri.
15. Broadneck/0-1/Lost to No. 6 Old Mill 10-0/Vs. Chesapeake-AA, Fri.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 8:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Because Glenelg High School is still without power after Hurricane Irene, the football game between the Gladiators and No. 9 Atholton has been moved up to 4 p.m. from the regularly-scheduled 7 p.m., according to Glenelg athletic director Jack Davis.

The junior varsity game will begin immediately after the varsity game.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 12:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Lawrence Smith succeeded his mentor Ben Eaton as Dunbar's football coach in 2007 after the beloved Eaton's sudden death. Since then, he has carried on Eaton's legacy, adding three state championships to two won by Eaton's teams and two won by Stanley Mitchell's teams.

The Poets, ranked No. 5 in preseason, have won five Class 1A crowns in the last seven years including last fall's. A Dunbar graduate, Smith played football and baseball for the Poets and became an assistant coach under Eaton in 2001.

Saturday night at Morgan State, the Poets open their season with their first-ever meeting with Dunbar of Washington, D.C. at the I-95 Kickoff Classic. Game time is 7:45.

Smith talked with us about the new season and the Dunbar football legacy.

Winning a state championship with a young team has pushed expectations very high for this year. The team’s goal is always to win a state title, but how do you keep the pressure off the kids?

I always say that last year they were the hunter and now they’re the hunted. A lot of people didn’t expect them to win last year. Now, they can’t be complacent or think it’s going to happen easily, because now people are after them.

Continue reading "Coachspeak: Dunbar football coach Lawrence Smith" »

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Our countdown of the preseason top five teams concludes with the No. 1 team in the area, Gilman.

If you missed any of the previous top five, they can all be found on Varsity Letters.

The entire poll will be released Thursday in The Baltimore Sun and on baltimoresun.com

And check out a preview of this year's I-95 Kickoff Classic, which will feature Gilman and two other teams in our the top five.

Continue reading "Football poll countdown: No. 1 Gilman" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 9:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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The Baltimore Sun's countdown of its preseason top 5 football teams nears its conclusion with today's look at No. 2 Calvert Hall.

The No. 1 poll in our official top 15 will be unveiled Thursday, as will the entire poll -- along with the full season preview.

Also check The Baltimore Sun and baltimoresun.com on Thursday for previews of the local boys soccer, volleyball, cross country and field hockey seasons.

Continue reading "Football poll countdown: No. 2 Calvert Hall" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Gilman jumped up three spots to No. 47 in this week's ESPN High School Powerade Fab 50 national high school football poll.

The Greyhounds opened their season with a 68-9 romp over Maryland Christian, a team of home-schooled students that finished 13-0 last season and had a win over MIAA B Conference runner-up Archbishop Curley.

The Greyhounds will face a tougher test this weekend when they take on Oscar Smith, from Chesapeake, Va., at the I-95 Kickoff Classic at Morgan State Friday night at 7:30.

Continue reading "Gilman football up to No. 47 in Powerade Fab 50" »

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Categories: Football
        

With the high school football season about to swing into full gear this weekend, we continue to take a look at the projected top teams in the area.

Join us as we count down the top five teams in The Baltimore Sun's official top 15 preseason poll.

The entire poll -- along with the full season preview -- will be published Thursday in The Baltimore Sun and on baltimoresun.com

Today we feature our No. 3 team in the area, River Hill.

Continue reading "Football poll countdown: No. 3 River Hill" »

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With the high school football season about to swing into full gear this weekend, we continue to take a look at the projected top teams in the area.

Through Thursday, we'll count down the top five teams in The Baltimore Sun's official top 15 preseason poll.

The entire poll -- along with the full season preview -- will be published Thursday in The Baltimore Sun and on baltimoresun.com

Today we feature our No. 4 team in the area, McDonogh.

Continue reading "Football poll countdown: No. 4 McDonogh" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Football
        

With the high school football season about to swing into full gear, it's time to take a look at the teams projected to be the best in the area.

From now through Thursday, we'll count down the top five teams in The Baltimore Sun's official top 15 preseason poll.

The entire poll -- along with the full season preview -- will be published Thursday in The Baltimore Sun and on baltimoresun.com

Today we start with a look at our No. 5 team in the area, reigning Class 1A state champion Dunbar.

Continue reading "Football poll countdown: No. 5 Dunbar" »

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Archbishop Spalding football coach Mike Whittles has helped the Cavaliers battle a lot of opponents since he took over the program in 1999. His teams have won four MIAA B Conference championships including the last two and now they will move up to the tougher A Conference.

While he helps the Cavaliers take on some new challengers, he is facing the toughest foe of his own life, stage four pancreatic cancer. Diagnosed in February, Whittles has been undergoing chemotherapy and said the treatment will continue “for a while.” That hasn’t kept Whittles off the football field as the Cavaliers prepare for their first season in the A Conference after having some success in recent years against A Conference opponents, including pushing last year’s No. 1 team Calvert Hall before falling in triple overtime.

Whittles, 57, talked with us about his team’s move to the A Conference and about his health.

Your team has been very competitive with A Conference teams in recent years, beating Loyola last season and Calvert Hall the year before. Are you happy to be moving up to the A Conference?

Oh yeah. There’s a lot of the excitement. That was one of goals when I became coach in 99. One of the things we wanted to do with football was move up to the A conference. Now is the time. I thought pretty competitive last year and why not? Now’s the time to do it and hopefully things are going to go our way.

Continue reading "Coachspeak: Spalding football coach Mike Whittles" »

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Lance Clelland, pictured here during his days as the coach at Meade, is the new man in charge at South River. (Photo by Matt Roth/Patuxent Publishing)

Baltimore native Lance Clelland returns to Anne Arundel County as one of five new county public school football coaches, taking over a South River team that has been striving to break into the county’s upper echelon of Arundel, Broadneck and Old Mill.

Clelland, an All-Metro offensive lineman at McDonogh in 1996, played at Northwestern, spent a preseason with the Ravens and played two years of arena football in Philadelphia. After that, he assisted at McDonogh for six years and coached Meade in 2008 and 2009. He coached high school football in Florida last season but eagerly returned to Maryland to take over the Seahawks, who finished 7-3 last fall.

We asked Clelland to talk about the upcoming season, as the Seahawks aim to post another winning record and take a crack at the county’s big three.

Why did you want the coaching job at South River?

The first reason we came back was for family reasons, just being closer to our own family. The second was for me professionally the great opportunity that South River represented. It was the only school that I went through the application process fully and I just saw a tremendous opportunity. It was a school that I held in high regard, the people I had dealt with from the AD to the principal to the players to the students, everyone I ever dealt with in my days in Anne Arundel County at South River. When that job came open, I immediately leapt at it.

Continue reading "Coachspeak: South River football coach Lance Clelland" »

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In the last couple of days, I've received a number of comments on this blog as well as emails from folks who agree or disagree with the MPSAA penalty against Atholton's football team for holding a 7-on-7 practice too early in the summer. The Raiders will have to forfeit their season opener at Glenelg on Sept. 2 as a result of the violation.

Raiders coach Kyle Schmitt took full responsibility for misinterpreting the rule, saying he believed the team could practice once before Memorial Day even though 7-on-7 events could not begin until the following week. However, the MPSSAA rule stipulates that neither practice nor games can take place until after the last game of the spring season, which was the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend.

I asked Ned Sparks, executive director of the MPSSAA, which governs all of the state's public school athletics programs, to explain how the penalty was derived.

Continue reading "Sparks clarifies reasons behind Atholton football forfeit" »

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Categories: Football
        

Atholton football coach Kyle Schmitt has been forthcoming about the summer practice violation his program has been penalized for -- forcing the Raiders to forfeit their season opener -- ever since he became aware of it.

Schmitt said his team did practice Monday, May 23 for a 7-on-7 tournament scheduled for the following week, but that the MPSSAA rule governing summer practices does not allow any football practices until after the final spring state championship game, which was Saturday, May 28.

The coach and athletic director Mike Senisi reported the violation to Mike Williams, coordinator of athletics for the Howard County public schools. Williams then reported the infraction along with a recommendation for penalty to MPSSAA officials, who handed down the forfeit penalty in July.

Continue reading "Atholton coach Schmitt talks about the forfeit" »

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Categories: Football
        

Atholton's football team will have to forfeit its season opener against Glenelg for holding a summer practice a week earlier than the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association allows.

Raiders coach Kyle Schmitt reported the violation as soon as he realized it and said he misinterpreted the rule, according to a news release issued Monday by Howard County coordinator of athletics Mike Williams.

"It is clearly my mistake," Schmitt said in the news release. "Our players, parents and administration were unaware of any wrongdoing."

The Sept. 2 game at Glenelg at 7 p.m. will go on as scheduled. The Raiders finished 8-2 last season and reached the regional semifinals where they fell to eventual state champ Wilde Lake.

"Nothing is more important than our integrity," Atholton athletic director Mike Senisi said in the news release. "[Schmitt has] done all the right things [in accepting responsibility]. The game will be played in good faith so that both our students and Glenelg's students get the full benefit of participation in the interscholastic athletic program."

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Football
        

Editor's Note: This is the first in a new series of interviews with local coaches that will run in Varsity Letters.

In his fifth season at Calvert Hall last fall, Donald Davis guided the Cardinals to their first conference championship since 1982. It was nearly a perfect year for the Cardinals (11-1), who finished with the MIAA A Conference championship, the No. 1 ranking in The Baltimore Sun, the No. 1 ranking in the MDVarsity.com statewide media poll and – of course – a win over Loyola at the Turkey Bowl.

The Cardinals returned to the practice field Wednesday having graduated 26 players from that team, including Defensive Player of the Year Daniel Yarborough and first-team All-Metro offensive lineman Ben Curtis.

We caught up with Davis this week for five questions about the upcoming season, which will include, for the first time, an A Conference championship playoff with the top four teams advancing to semifinals.

How do you talk to the guys about the transition from last season when you were A Conference champions and finished No. 1?

The same way I did when we came out of the season that we were 4-7. Every team is a new team that presents new opportunities and every team has to sculpt its own identity. That’s what we preach to our guys.

Continue reading "Coachspeak: Calvert Hall football coach Donald Davis" »

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Four football players from Baltimore schools have been nominated to play in the nationally-televised 2012 U.S. Army All-American Bowl in January.

Dunbar's Deontay McManus, Gilman's Cyrus Jones and Brian Gaia and Franklin's Ian Thomas will all be seniors next season and are among 12 Maryland players and 440 nationwide to be nominated for the annual event.

Other Maryland players nominated: Michael Moore and Brent Wilkerson, from DeMatha; Wes Brown, Roderick Chungong, Stefon Diggs, Mike Madaras and Ryan Watson, from Good Counsel; and Ronald Darby of Potomac.

The teams will be announced in January.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Football
        

Annapolis senior TaJuan Watson, a standout in football and basketball, will be attending North Carolina next year and plans to try out for the junior varsity basketball team in the fall. Watson was a running back and defensive back for the Panthers football team and a two-year captain and point guard in basketball. He declined several football scholarships to go to North Carolina and join his older brother, Teon, who is the head manager of the Tar Heels' men's basketball team.

Posted by Glenn Graham at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Boys basketball, Football
        

At Wednesday morning’s news conference announcing the 2011 I-95 Kickoff Classic, Patterson football coach Corey Johnson offered up an interesting tidbit about his backfield for the upcoming season.

It turns out that the Clippers’ season-opener against Archbishop Curley could double as the gridiron debut of star basketball player Aquille Carr, The Sun’s 2011 boys' basketball Player of the Year.

“Everyone’s probably excited to see Aquille Carr transition from the basketball court to the football field,” Johnson said Wednesday at Glory Days in Bowie. “He’s played [football] before, but he hasn’t played high school football. People will be excited to see what he’s going to bring to the table.”

On the basketball court, Carr is a known commodity. The 5-foot-7 sophomore guard averaged 32 points, six assists and five rebounds as the Clippers won the Baltimore City and Class 4A North region titles.

Carr is one of the highest-ranked prep players in the Class of 2013, and Johnson hopes his skills on the court will translate well for the 2010 Division 1 Baltimore City football champions and Class 4A semifinalists.

“He’ll probably play a little slot-back for me,” Johnson said. “Get him out catching some balls, trying to get him in some one-and-one situations. He’s just so dynamic and so fast, so that’ll be exciting.”

-- Jon Meoli

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Categories: Boys basketball, Football
        

DaVaughn Mellerson, a Mount St. Joseph graduate who played football at Wake Forest, has been hired as the new varsity football coach at Woodlawn.

Mellerson had been the defensive coordinator at Milford Mill and is the track and field coach at Carver A&T.

He played football at Wake Forest and was also on the track team from 1996 to 2001. Since he graduated, Mellerson has been coaching football and/or track in the Baltimore area. He was the JV defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at Mount St. Joseph from 2004 to 2009.

“I am excited and looking forward to making Woodlawn a perennial powerhouse again," Mellerson said in a new release. "I am more excited about building the character of our student-athletes and preparing them for life beyond the athletic arena.”

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Football
        

Officials of the Second Annual I-95 Kickoff Classic have announced the local teams that will participate in the Labor Day weekend event: Calvert Hall, Gilman, Loyola, Dunbar, Franklin, Patterson, Archbishop Curley and Mount St. Joseph.

The Classic, which runs the Thursday, Friday and Saturday before Labor Day, will open with Mount St. Joseph facing Friendship Collegiate Sept. 1 at 5:30 p.m. at Bowie State.

That game will be followed by the first game ever played under the lights at Bowie State -- Calvert Hall, The Sun's 2010 No. 1 football team and the defending MIAA A Conference champion, taking on St. John's from Washington 7:30 p.m.

The Classic will continue on Sept. 2 and 3 at Morgan State with games featuring the local Baltimore-area programs playing teams mostly from the Washington area.

On Sept. 2 at 7:30 p.m., Gilman will play Oscar Smith, a perennial national power from Virginia Beach. Before that, Franklin, the state Class 3A runner up last fall, will take on Wise, the state Class 4A runner up, at 5 p.m.

On Sept. 3, Patterson will play Archbishop Curley to get things started at 10:45 a.m.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 1:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Football
        

The Second Annual I-95 Kickoff Classic will feature Calvert Hall, The Baltimore Sun's 2010 No. 1 football team and the defending MIAA A Conference champion, taking on St. John's from Washington on Sept. 1 at 7:30 p.m. at Bowie State.

That game will kick off a three-day event that moves to Morgan State for Sept. 2 and 3 and will feature eight private schools, seven public schools and one charter school from the Baltimore and Washington areas.

The Kickoff Classic, which last year featured only private school teams, was rated third among football classics across the country last fall.

Information about the other matchups will be released next week.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 5:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Football
        

The high school football community will gather Wednesday night at Martin’s West to honor its top scholar-athletes as well as the top teams from the 2010 season at the 48th Annual Scholar Athlete Awards Dinner.

Presented by the Greater Baltimore Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, the Scholar Athlete Awards honor 88 senior football players from Baltimore City and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Harford and Howard counties. Five regional winners will share in $20,000 of scholarship money.

One of last year’s regional winners, Max Coale of River Hill, went on to receive national honors. Coale, now a freshman at Princeton, was named one of five winners of the 2010 National High School Scholar Athlete Award.

In addition to the players, the dinner will honor the three local state champions – Dunbar, Wilde Lake and Urbana – with the Ben Eaton Sr. Championship Award, named for the late Poets’ football coach. Calvert Hall will receive the A. Paul Menton Award as the No. 1 team in the Baltimore area.

The event also honors at least one student-athlete with the Courage Award and this year two will be honored -- Santina Busch of Patapsco and Zach Lederer of Centennial. The award, sponsored by the National Football Players Former Players Chapter of the NFL Players Association, rewards athletes “who have demonstrated unparalleled resolve in overcoming an on- or off-the-field personal challenge during their young athletic careers.”

Continue reading "Scholar Athletes to be honored Wednesday night" »

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Gilman football coach Biff Poggi has been awarded a Positive Coaching Alliance Double-Goal Coach Award, a national award honoring coaches who have made positive impacts on their young charges that carries beyond the athletics arena.

Poggi is one of 20 winners announced Tuesday who received $250 and a trophy as well as recognition for a being positive coaching role model. The award, according to a news release, is "named for coaches whose first goal is winning and whose second, more important goal is teaching life lessons through sports."

Poggi was honored for making "Building Men for Others," a program he and former Baltimore Colt Joe Ehrmann founded about 15 years ago before Poggi was the head football coach, part of the Greyhounds' football success. Stressing every day values, the coaches spend time with the players discussing such societal issues as dating, race relations and social injustice.

In guiding the Greyhounds, who finished 7-2 last fall behind Calvert Hall in the MIAA A Conference race, to nine championships in 14 years, Poggi has received his share of accolades but said this award, which he also credits to his assistant coaches, school administration and the parents, is different.

"Of the awards that I have received, I would say this is the ultimate," Poggi said.

"You really do need to know that you have the support of the school to coach this way, because in the sports world today if you put together a series of 5-5 seasons and it comes out that you're not the traditional kind of whipper and driver of the program, you could lose your job. It's really important to know that you could put together a series of those kinds of seasons and you have the support of the school as long as you're teaching the right things."

The assistant coaches have to be partners in teaching those lessons, he said, because they do much of the direct work on the field with the players and the parents have to support a coaching philosophy that stresses that there's more to athletics than winning. Poggi said he's been fortunate to have great success at Gilman, which makes it easier for everyone to buy into his philosophy.

Too many times winning at all cost is stressed over values that used to be taught every day along with how to make a tackle or throw a spiral, Poggi said.

"It’s just absolutely out of control and nobody is teaching the things that used to be taught almost every day in every program 50 years ago: respect for your opponent, competition’s really with yourself not with other people. These things that [former UCLA men's basketball coach] John Wooden taught -- how to respect all people, how to treat people, how to carry yourself, what does integrity look like, telling the truth and, for boys, how do you treat a young girl when you go on a date with her. These are things that kids need to talk about. Racism. Social injustice. These are things we spend a lot of time talking about and these things used to be incorporated into the co-curricular nature of athletics and now they're not.

"I think it shows up in our society. To me, atheltics is the greatest thing if it’s done right. It’s also one of the biggest evils if it’s done wrong."

Poggi and the 19 other winners were chosen from among 50 finalists from across the country.

"Biff wins on the scoreboard and more importantly, he wins by creating a positive character-building sports experience for youth athletes," Jim Thompson, PCA's founder and executive director said in a news release. "Ultimately, the youth athletes Biff coaches are the real winners, and as those athletes become tomorrow's leaders, our society wins as a whole."

Southern cross country coach Douglas Ellmore was also nominated for the award sponsored by the PCA and Liberty Mutual.

The Positive Coaching Alliance is a non-profit organization based at Stanford University in California, which aims “to transform the culture of youth sports to give all young athletes the opportunity for a positive, character-building experience,” according to its web site.

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While mulling where to play college football, Virginia-bound Darius Jennings didn't pay much attention to the blogosphere. Still, he did hear a few of the stranger rumors.

"It's crazy. There was a rumor that both of my parents graduated from Virginia," said the Gilman quarterback. "Neither of my parents went to Virginia at all. It was kind of funny and fun for me just to hear what they were saying.

"I heard Ohio State, Wake Forest. I heard I was going to do a surprise thing and commit to Miami. I've heard lots of stuff. I'm just glad it's all cleared up," he said after signing his National Letter of Intent Wednesday morning.

By the time he signed that letter, he had a swarm of text messages waiting for him.

"It's ridiculous. I had my phone off and then I turned it on and I probably had at least 20 text messages."

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Calvert Hall lineman Dan Yarborough, The Baltimore Sun's All-Metro Defensive Player of the Year, will sign a National Letter of Intent on Wednesday to attend Shepherd University, which has one of the top Division II football teams in the country.

Yarborough said the choice came down to pair of Division II schools: Bowie State and Shepherd in West Virginia.

"It came down to my future," he said. "They had all the majors I wanted and you can't argue with their success. They were the No. 7 team in the country last year with mostly underclassmen."

Last fall, the 5-foot-10, 300-pounder played a critical role in the Cardinals winning the MIAA A Conference championship and finishing with the No. 1 ranking. He was the cornerstone of a defense that gave up just 10.4 points per game and held six opponents to seven points or fewer.

One of his best games was the 26-21 victory over No. 2 Gilman in early October — a game the Cardinals trailed 21-7 early in the fourth quarter and that ultimately decided the A Conference title. Yarborough played the pivotal role in the second-half turnaround. He finished with 92 tackles (43 solo), three sacks and a forced fumble.

Calvert Hall coach Donald Davis said he felt Shepherd was a good fit for Yarborough, adding that he had drawn a lot of interest from Howard before its coaching staff was fired. Davis felt Yarborough was under-recruited because he wasn't tall enough for major college recruiters.

"I just think [college] guys place too much sometimes on the measurables," Davis said. "I try to explain to some of those guys that I watched this kid push around major 1A players. Don't tell me he would struggle with major 1A players. I just watched him handle guys that are going to be playing major 1A football in a year or two years and he handled himself quite well. He has leverage. When I look at [the Ravens'] Kelly Gregg and [the Steelers'] Casey Hampton, I don't get it."

Yarborough, who plans to major in sports marketing and would like to coach defensive linemen in the NFL someday, is happy with his choice and happy to get the pressure over with. He said he likes the family atmosphere at Shepherd.

He also said he expects to have the chance to compete for a starting spot in the lineup.

"It's a place where I can just come in and work really hard and have success early," he said. "I believe I can play right away, but it's going to take a lot of hard work."

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Football
        

Gilman lineman Hunter Goodwin has been selected for the 2011 U.S. Under -19 National Team and will play in the second annual Team USA vs. The World game Wednesday in Austin, Texas.

Goodwin, a 6-foot-6, 285-pound tackle plowed holes for a Gilman offense that scored 311 points more than the opposition last fall as the Greyhounds finished No. 2. He has committed to Wake Forest and plans to sign his National Letter of Intent on Wednesday when the signing period for football opens.

Goodwin said he found out about his selection last night after helping his little brother build a snowman.

“When I came in, I had like three calls and a few texts, one from my coach saying, ‘You’re about to get a good call,’” Goodwin said. “I called one of the numbers back and it was the head of the game, Matt Ferrara. He told me that the Gonzaga (high school) coach had recommended me and they looked at my film and they really like it and basically to come on down.”

Goodwin, 17, is one of 46 players chosen from around the country. He knows only two of his teammates, Gonzaga quarterback Kevin Hogan and St. John’s-DC defensive tackle Kevin McReynolds.

This experience, he said, will build on the ones he took away from playing in the Crab Bowl and the Chesapeake Bowl.

“Both of the all-star games I was in gave me a glimpse of what college is going to be like because you’ve only got the top of the top [players]. Now I’m going to be going against the best and I think it’s really going to help me level out my game, because Gilman’s all running and in a lot of these all-star games, they do a lot more passing. It will give me a chance to work on everything.”

Continue reading "Gilman's Goodwin selected for USA vs. The World game" »

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St. Mary's officials have named Russell Croteau football coach succeeding Brad Best, who resigned in November.

Croteau, a Michigan native who had been an assistant coach at Bladensburg, Oxon Hill and Cambridge-South Dorchester high schools, plans to meet with the Saints Tuesday.

A government and world history teacher at Bladensburg, he coached the team's running backs, but he has also coached wide receivers, quarterbacks and linebackers. He played wide receiver at Bay City Central High School and defensive back at Albion College. He is a graduate of American University.

"I am honored to be asked to lead the program at St.Mary’s, a school that has a long tradition of athletic and academic excellence,” Croteau said in a news release.

Although the Saints finished 3-7 in the MIAA B Conference last fall, they won four league championships under Best and were ranked No. 1 in 1996 after winning the MIAA A Conference title.

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Forest Park football coach Damon Bomar was named the Raven's High School Coach of the Year Sunday.

In his second season as the Foresters' head coach, Bomar continued the transformation he began a year ago when he turned a 2-8 team in to a 10-1 team and the Baltimore City Division II champions. This season, the Foresters went 12-1 and repeated as Division II champs.

The Foresters shut out seven opponents and outscored the opposition, 467-76, in their 12 wins. Their only loss was to eventual state Class 1A champ Dunbar, 20-0, in the regional final.

"I can't take credit by myself," Bomar said in a news release. "I'm lucky to have a great coaching staff and a talented group of players."

Bomar received his award during the Ravens' game against the New Orleans Saints. As the 14th Ravens' Coach of the Year, he received a $4,000 donation to his school's football program.

Past winners of the Ravens' Coach of the Year honor: Poly's Augie Waibel, Eastern Tech's Nick Arminio, Edmondson's Pete Pompey, McDonogh's Dom Damico, Hereford's Steve Turnbaugh, Dundalk's Dave Eubank, South Carroll's Gene Brown, Dunbar's Ben Eaton, Westminster's Brad Wilson, Edmondson's Dante Jones, Dunbar's Lawrence Smith, Century's Tony Shermeyer and Linganore's Rick Conner.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 4:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Owings Mills' All-Metro lineman Donovan Smith has narrowed his college list from seven to three and will chose among Penn State, North Carolina State and UCLA.

He plans to announce his decision after playing in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 8 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. The senior offensive tackle, who is 6 feet 6 and 260 pounds, had whittled his list from about 20 offers to seven, but has since dropped Maryland, Michigan State, Syracuse and Connecticut.

Smith said Wednesday that he has not yet made his final decision

"All three of them have great academic support," Smith said. "Their football program is a nice football program to be in. Their coaching staff is solid. I interacted well with the players the most when I went on these trips, my official visits to these colleges. I'm a family guy and I don't want to be around a bunch of people who won't treat you like family, so that was big. And then just the fan base, being at the games, the atmosphere -- and then the academics."

Although Smith said he is aiming for the NFL, he plans to major in criminal justice, so he could fall back on a career as a detective or in forensics.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 4:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Football
        

Every team aims for the state championship in August, but in the end, only two Baltimore-area teams wore the crown. No. 8 Wilde Lake and No. 12 Dunbar capped their seasons with hard-fought victories. The Wildecats jumped ahead of No. 6 Franklin and held on to win, 21-14, while the Poets rallied from 10 points down to beat Havre de Grace, 22-12.

Both games featured plenty of electricity and some shining moments for the players and fans. Here are the numbers that stand out from the state finals:

1
Pass completed by Wilde Lake – a halfback pass by Khalil Viera to Eron Pruitt for an 8-yard touchdown

2
Punts by Wilde Lake's Joe Kelly placed inside Franklin’s 20-yard line in the fourth quarter

2
Touchdown passes from Franklin quarterback Joey Dorsey to receiver Ian Thomas

2
Touchdown passes from Havre de Grace quarterback Darin Washington to receiver Jordan Stallings

3
Fumbles forced by Havre de Grace’s Monty Werts

4
Straight upsets for Wilde Lake in the playoffs – over Atholton, River Hill, Damascus and Franklin

5
Turnovers overcome by Dunbar in the Class 1A final

Continue reading "Football By The Numbers: Championship Week" »

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The Annapolis Touchdown Club today named Archbishop Spalding's K.K. Smith its Rhodes Trophy winner as the best player in Anne Arundel County.

Smith, a running back and linebacker, helped lead the Cavaliers to back-to-back MIAA B Conference championships. This season, he rushed for 1,849 yards and 19 touchdowns. He also had 12 receptions for three touchdowns, returned two punts for touchdowns and scored off a fumble recovery.

At linebacker, the senior had 61 tackles, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

The Rhodes Trophy is voted on by all of the high school football coaches in Anne Arundel County at public and private schools, said Spalding coach Mike Whittles.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Gilman senior Darius Jennings was named the Gatorade Maryland Football Player of the Year Thursday.

Jennings, an All-Metro first-team selection last season as an athlete, was the No. 2 Greyhounds' quarterback, rushing for 1,592 yards on 165 carries. He also was 29-for-50 passing for 425 yards and three touchdowns — two of them in the season-ending 42-6 win over archrival McDonogh.He also returned five kickoffs for 220 yards and two touchdowns.

The 6-foot, 185-pound Jennings is the Greyhounds' all-time leading rusher with 4,338 yards on 493 carries with 53 touchdowns. He was named an Under Armour All-American and will play in the Under Armour All-American game Jan. 5 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Jennings is undecided on college, but has narrowed his list to Ohio State, UCLA, Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.

Continue reading "Jennings named Gatorade Maryland Football Player of the Year" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 1:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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After a long fall with lots of surprises, the state finals at M&T Bank Stadium are here. Local fans anticipate the matchups between No. 6 Franklin and No. 9 Wilde Lake in the Class 3A final Thursday at 7 p.m., and between No. 12 Dunbar and Havre de Grace in the Class 1A final Saturday at noon, as well as undefeated Urbana vs. Wise in Class 4A Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Middletown vs.McDonough in Class 2A, the tournament finale Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

Here are some numbers that stand out from the state semifinals, the Turkey Bowl and the state tournament record book:

0
Time left after Mark Venable scored the game-winning touchdown in Franklin’s 15-14 win over Huntingtown Friday.

0
Defending champions returning to the finals after last year’s Class 2A champ Eastern Tech fell to Middletown Friday.

1
State finalist back from last year – Wise in Class 4A.

1
No. 4 seed left among the state finalists – Wilde Lake, which knocked off the No. 1 team in the state as ranked by MDVarsity .com, undefeated Damascus, 21-14, Friday.

2 I
Interceptions for Wilde Lake’s Nick Pelletier in the win over Damascus.

3
State finalists that have never won a championship – Franklin, Middletown and Wise.

5
Turnovers for Damascus – two converted by Wilde Lake in the victory.

5:43
Time needed for Franklin to score 15 points and come from 14 points down to nip Huntingtown on a buzzer-beating touchdown run.

6
Least number of points allowed by any team in the playoffs since the three-game playoff system began in 1985 – by Wilde Lake in 1997.

Continue reading "Football By The Numbers: Week 13" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 10:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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After 13 weeks, the state football championship matchups are finally set. Only eight teams remain to play at M&T Bank Stadium Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Frederick County is the only jurisdiction with two representatives -- Urbana and Middletown. One each hail from Baltimore City (Dunbar), Baltimore County (Franklin), Harford County (Havre de Grace), Howard County (Wilde Lake), Charles County (McDonough) and Prince George's County (Wise).

Franklin, Middletown and Wise are seeking their first state titles while the other five finalists aim to add to some already impressive trophy cases. Here are the number of state crowns won by each with the year of the most recent title:

Dunbar, six, 2008
Wilde Lake, five, 1997
Urbana, four, 2001
Havre de Grace, three, 1986
McDonough, three, 1990

Continue reading "State football finals set; Get tickets now" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 7:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Maryland Christian’s football team wasted little time asserting itself at the National Homeschool Football Association’s national championship last week as the Saints went up 26-0 in the first quarter of their opening game and 28-0 by halftime of the final.

The quick starts helped the Saints, a team of home-schooled students based in Harford County, defeat defending national champion Lighthouse Christian from Missouri, 38-6 in Thursday’s semifinal, and undefeated North Georgia, 35-2 in Saturday’s title game. Not only did the Saints emerge with the national championship, but they finished the season with a 13-0 record.

“It was actually a dream at the beginning of the season to win the national championship,” junior quarterback Christian DiPaola said, “but we weren’t sure we could do it. Our goal was to win the championship. We weren’t worried about being undefeated but it all worked out that way. It was very special for the seniors.”

In the two games played in Panama City Beach, Fla., DiPaola threw for nine touchdowns and wide receiver Jed Yousefi caught seven of them.

“We just went out there and executed very well,” Yousefi, a senior, said. “We all have one heartbeat. We work together very well. Everyone came together as a team and we have great coaches, so it was a really awesome feeling.”

The Saints landed nine players on the 22-man All-Tournament Team. Joining DiPaola and Yousefi were Will Carlton, Johnny Lewis, Alex Dowling, Brian Wilt, Caleb Gordon, Austin Lee and Evan Chase.

One key to winning the national title was bouncing back to play the championship game just two days after the semifinal – an extremely quick turnaround for football players.

Continue reading "Maryland Christian football brings home national title" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 8:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Football
        

Since we posted the state football semifinal schedule with an explanation that the teams were reseeded for the semifinals, I've received several comments and questions about the process.

While the state semifinal matchups in other team sports are predetermined by a blind draw for the seedings -- this year, it's No. 1 West vs. No. 4 East and No. 2 South vs. No. 3 North -- football is different. The four teams that advance to the state semifinals are reseeded based on a complex points-averaging system that is also used to determined which four teams advance to the playoffs in each region.

This has nothing to do with how many points your team scores or how many it allows. It's a system designed by the MPSSAA to give more weight to wins over bigger schools and schools that have been more successful during the season.

For a complete explanation of how this system works, click here to go to the MPSSAA website.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 5:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Only two weeks remain in the high school football season and only six Baltimore-area teams are still in the running for state championships. After Week 12, just No. 4 Broadneck, No. 12 Franklin, No. 14 Dunbar, Eastern Tech, Wilde Lake and Havre de Grace move on to the state semfinals.

Here are some numbers that stand out from this past weekend's games, the history of the state semifinals and the annual Turkey Bowl game coming up Thanksgiving morning between No. 1 Calvert Hall at Loyola at M&T Bank Stadium

1
Defending champion to reach the state semifinals – Eastern Tech in Class 2A.

2
Teams seeded fourth in their regions that reached the state semifinals – Broadneck and Huntingtown.

2
Straight years No. 8 Archbishop Spalding has avenged a regular-season loss to win the MIAA B Conference crown – this year over No. 13 Archbishop Curley and last year over Boys’ Latin.

4
Undefeated local teams to fall in the regional finals – No. 7 North Harford, No. 11 South Carroll, Western Tech and Forest Park. Only Maryland Christian and Annapolis Area Christian School finished off undefeated seasons in the Baltimore metro area.

5
Turnovers by No. 3 Arundel in falling to Broadneck, 39-28, in the Class 4A East region final.

5
Yards gained by Franklin quarterback Joey Dorsey on his four touchdown runs in the Indians’ 28-21 upset of North Harford for the Class 3A North title.

6
Sacks for Dunbar’s defense in the 32-12 victory over Forest Park for the Class 1A North title.

6:56
Time it took Broadneck to score 22 straight points to finish off Arundel in the region final.

7
Most state titles won by any team in this year’s semifinal field – by Damascus.

7
State semifinalists who have never won a title – Broadneck, Franklin, Wise, Huntingtown, Middletown, Queen Anne’s and Brunswick.

8
Teams seeded No. 1 in their regions still alive in the state semifinals, including two locals -- Eastern Tech and Havre de Grace.

8
Straight regional championships for Dunbar, which went on to win the state Class 1A title four times between 2004 and 2008.

8
Years since Wilde Lake defeated River Hill before the Wildecats’ 13-7 overtime victory Friday in the Class 3A East regional final.

Continue reading "Football By The Numbers: Week 12" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 3:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
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The dates and times for next weekend's state high school football semifinals have been set after the teams were reseeded according to their regular-season points averages to determined the matchups and home teams.

Class 4A
No. 4 seed Broadneck at No. 1 Wise, Saturday, 1 p.m.
No. 3 Urbana at No. 2 Gaithersburg, Friday, 7 p.m.

Class 3A
No. 4 Wilde Lake at No. 1 Damascus, Friday, 7 p.m.
No. 3 Huntingtown at No. 2 Franklin, Friday, 7 p.m.

Class 2A
No. 4 Eastern Tech at No. 1 Middletown, Friday, 7 p.m.
No. 3 McDonough at No. 2 Queen Anne's, Friday, 7 p.m.

Class 1A
No. 4 Fort Hill vs. No. 1 Dunbar at Poly, Saturday, 1 p.m.
No, 3 Brunswick at No. 2 Havre de Grace, Friday, 7 p.m.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 9:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
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The Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference coaches have named the following players to their All-Conference team:

Calvert Hall: Thomas Stuart, Ben Curtis, Trevor Williams, Joe Carroll, Dan Yarborough, Emmanuel Holder, Stefan Janik, John Casparriello, Adrian Amos and Daquan Davis.

Gilman: Darius Jennings, Cyrus Jones, Hunter Goodwin, Brian Gaia, Henry Poggi, Chris McMaster, Kenneth Goins, Linn Worthington and Micah Kiser.

Loyola: Demmer Class, Mike Fafaul, Jimmy Holder, Jeff Jenkins, Jordan Floyd, Jordan Horne, Jamie Dubyoski and Ryan Young.

Continue reading "All-MIAA A Conference football team named" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 9:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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The Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference coaches have named the following players totheir All Conference team:

Archbishop Curley: Luke Stidham, Joe Evans, Anthony Williams, Eric Price, Demonya Womack, Avery Williams, Matt Zelechowski and D.J. Sartori.

Archbishop Spalding: K.K. Smith, J.D. Izon, Nick Allen, Matt Wicklein, Shelley White, Zach Waller, Julian Washington and Malik Johnson.

Boy's Latin: Greg Pyke, Brandon Barnes, Marco Jones, Mike Turner, Jeff Chase, Joey Weidner, Taylor Stothoff and Ben Kellar.

John Carroll: Kyle Miele, Denzel Varner, D.TJ. Owens, Alex Gambrell, Brian Hunt and Tyler Ray.

Continue reading "All-MIAA B Conference football team named" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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The Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association C Conference coaches have named the following players to their All-Conference team:

Annapolis Area Christian: Chris Chick, James Anderson, Chandler Edmonds, Alpha Jalloh, Jon Hunter, Travis Cole, Galen Evans, Malik Dorsey, Jamarie Spencer, Benjamin Milburn, Malique Johnson, Tony Paige and Ryan Slenk.

Lutheran: Aaron Armes, Jay Davis, John Nunes and Matt Brause.

St. Vincent Pallotti: A.J. Bright, Tyler Drew, Derek Pittman, Justin Clatworthy, Brandon Manning, Rafi Correa and Allen Hall.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 9:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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If you have never heard of the Maryland Christian football team, you had plenty of company until the Saints defeated Archbishop Curley, 30-22, on Oct. 30.

That put the six-year-old Saints program for home-schooled students on the local football radar and helped boost them to an 11-0 season that concludes this week at the National Homeschool Football Association's national tournament in Panama City Beach, Fla.

The Saints, who are based in Harford County and play their home games in Kingsville, started as an outlet for home-schooled students to play football and they "had some humble beginnings," said Tony DiPaola, head coach and one of the team founders.

That year, the Saints were 1-10, but they improved over the years to 10-3 last season and 11-0 this season against a schedule of homeschool teams in Maryland and Virginia, as well as a few private or parochial schools such as Friends and Curley.

The transformation has the Saints on a collision course with the NHFA's defending national champion -- Lighthouse Christian from Springfield, Mo. -- in the opening round of the tournament Thursday. The championship game is on Saturday.

"We've been doing better every year," DiPaola, who has 44 players, said. "I attribute it to more home school kids and just the kids that come to our program. Some of them have never played football before, but our coaches work really hard with the boys and they're really buying into it. We've also got some experienced kids coming from the rec leagues. It's just another avenue for the people to be able to get high school sports without sending their kids to high schools."

Continue reading "Maryland Christian football heads to national tournament" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Franklin coach Anthony Burgos was named Ravens High School Coach of the Week on Monday after his Indians rolled over No. 9 Hereford, 47-14, in the opening round of the Class 3A North regional playoffs Friday night in Hereford.

The Indians avenged a 14-6 loss to the Bulls on Oct. 22, largely by forcing five turnovers and converting all of them. It was their first win over the Bulls since 1994.

"It was tremendous to kind of get that monkey off our back," Burgos said in a news release. "All of our athletic teams have had a tough time with Hereford. It was a great win for the whole student body and the community."

A key player on both sides of the ball, Mark Venable had 14 tackles, forced two fumbles and ran a fumble recovery in for a touchdown. He finished with three touchdowns, including two rushing. He gained 162 yards on 16 carries and caught one pass for 21 yards.

Continue reading "Franklin's Burgos named Ravens' Coach of the Week" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 4:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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The first week of playoffs saw its share of upsets as five ranked teams went down — No. 4 Old Mill, No. 9 Hereford, No. 10 Southern, No. 11 Boys' Latin and No. 12 Atholton. There were lots of key performances, too, so here are some of the numbers that stand out after the regional semifinals:

0 Points allowed by Dunbar's defense since Oct. 1. While the defense has shut out six straight opponents, the offense has rolled up 254 points.

1 Playoff victory in No. 14 Hammond’s football history — Friday’s 26-21 win over No. 10 Southern, which had upset then-No. 1 Arundel the previous week.

1 Defending state champion still alive — Eastern Tech in Class 2A.

2 Teams left in the running for the MIAA A Conference title — No. 1 Calvert Hall and No. 2 Gilman. Loyola beat Georgetown Prep Saturday to drop the Little Hoyas from contention.

3 Touchdowns each for Loyola’s Mike Fafaul and Ryan Black in the 49-24 win over Georgetown Prep.

4 Touchdown passes from Eastern Tech’s Brad Hager to Chris Pomory in Friday’s 42-0 win over Dundalk.

4 Fumbles recovered by Forest Park en route to its 32-14 win Friday over Forestville.

6 Undefeated teams remaining in the metro area as No. 7 North Harford, No. 15 South Carroll, Western Tech, Forest Park and Maryland Christian won their games to improve to 11-0 while Annapolis Area Christian has completed a 10-0 season.

7 State championships between No. 6 River Hill (2) and Wilde Lake (5), who meet in the Class 3A East region final.

Continue reading "Football By the Numbers: Week 11" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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The schedule for this weekend's regional football championships has been set with all but one local matchup coming Friday night at 7. Dunbar and Forest Park will square off at 1 p.m. Saturday at Poly.

Here is the schedule for the Baltimore-area teams:

Class 4A North
Patterson at Urbana, Friday 7

Class 4A East
Broadneck at Arundel, Friday, 7

Class 3A North
Franklin at North Harford, Friday, 7

Class 3A East
Wilde Lake at River Hill, Friday, 7

Class 2A North
City vs. Eastern Tech at CCBC-Essex, Friday, 7

Class 2A South
Hammond at McDonough, Friday, 7

Class 2A East
Fallston at Queen Anne’s, Friday, 7

Class 2A West
South Carroll at Middletown, Friday, 7

Class 1A North
Brunswick vs. Western Tech at CCBC-Catonsville, Friday, 7

Class 1A South
Dunbar vs. Forest Park at Poly, Saturday, 1

Class 1A East
Bohemia Manor at Havre de Grace, Friday, 7

For the rest of the statewide schedule, click here.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 7:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Five local athletes are finalists for the Army Iron Man of the Year as Maryland's top two-way high school football player.

Winters Mills' Mike Jones, Archbishop Spalding's K.K. Smith, Franklin's Ian Thomas, North Harford's Cody Turner and Annapolis' Tajuan Watson remain in the running for the award, and you can vote for your favorite at www.TheSportsFlash.com beginning at midnight Monday and through midnight Nov. 28. On Nov. 29, the winner will be announced.

Also in the running are Kent Island's Matt Baxter, North Point's Conner Crowell and Ja'wan Poole, and Paint Branch's Bene't Willis.

According to a news release about the award, "Playing and excelling on both offense and defense, the Army Iron Man must demonstrate physical and emotional strength, as well as strength of character. The Army Iron Man embodies the qualities of Army STRONG. High school football fans selected the finalists throughout the season by voting online at www.TheSportsFlash.com."

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 4:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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St. Mary's football coach Brad Best, who led the Saints to four league championships and was The Baltimore Sun's All-Metro Coach of the Year in 1996, resigned yesterday.

Best, who teaches physical education at the Annapolis school, guided the Saints to the MIAA A Conference championship and the No. 1 ranking in 1996 when they were also The Baltimore Touchdown Club Team of the Year.

His teams were also A Conference co-champs in 1995, B Conference champs in 2008 and MSA C Conference champs in 1990.

“I would like to thank every player who has worn a St. Mary’s Saints jersey and played, and all the great men who helped me coach,” said Best in a news release. “I have loved every second of it.”

St. Mary's principal Rick Bayhan said, “I am grateful that Coach Best stepped in to take the team for the past three years and I know that, as a member of the faculty, he’ll continue to be a voice of encouragement and positive spirit for all of our student athletes and an integral part of our PE program."

A search for a new coach will start immediately. Qualified applicants may contact the school at 410-263-3294.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Donovan Smith, a senior lineman from Owings Mills, has been selected to play in the US Army All-American Bowl January 8 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

The 6-foot-6, 260-pound offensive tackle is rated by Rivals.com as the No. 4 senior recruit in Maryland and No. 199 in the country. He told The Baltimore Sun's Matt Bracken that he is considering Maryland, Michigan State, UCLA, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Penn State and Connecticut.

Click here to read more about Smith's college recruiting process on Matt Bracken's Recruiting Report.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Century quarterback Ryan Throndset and wide receiver Brandon Soderstrom ended their high school careers Friday night by adding their names to a couple of record books.

In the 53-20 win over Francis Scott Key, Throndset tied a state record with seven touchdown passes while Soderstrom broke a Monocacy Valley Athletic League record for most receptions in a season with 59.

Century coach Jim Holzman said all season you could see the connection between the two, who worked hard in the offseason to improve their individual skills as well as their timing.

“They did a lot of work in 7-on-7s and football camps and Ryan went to the Quarterback Factory,” Holzman said. “They took it on themselves to be better players. Brandon did a lot of work on his speed and he got his 40 down to about a 4.5. He always had really good hands and he and Ryan, they were real good friends and that connection showed on the field this year.”

Soderstom said he and Throndset played against each other until they got to high school.

Continue reading "Century football duo ends season in record-breaking fashion" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 12:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Southern coach Russ Meyers was named the Ravens High School Coach of the Week on Monday after leading the unranked Bulldogs to one of the biggest upsets of the football season -- a 30-19 victory over undefeated and No. 1 Arundel.

The Bulldogs needed a win to clinch a playoff berth in Class 2A South. Trailing by five going into the fourth quarter against the Wildcats, they rallied with 16 straight points.

"We tried to prepare our kids like it was a playoff game, really," Meyers said in a news release. "Really, the playoffs started this past week for us. I said, 'Listen, we can play with these guys. You just have to be willing to stand in there and go toe-to-toe with them.'"

The Bulldogs gained 348 yards of offense -- all on the ground. Davonte Burke ran for 168 yards and scored two touchdowns. The defense forced five turnovers -- four of them interceptions.

Continue reading "Southern's Meyers named Ravens' Coach of the Week" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 5:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Football
        

Football's regular season ended with some surprising results, most notably Southern upsetting No. 1 Arundel. Here are some of those surprising -- and not-so surprising -- numbers from the final weekend of the regular season with a look toward the playoffs:

2 Interceptions for Southern’s Andrew Harris -- one run back for a touchdown -- in the Bulldogs’ 30-19 upset of top-ranked Arundel.

3 Defending state champions back in the regional playoffs – Old Mill in Class 4A, Linganore in Class 3A and Eastern Tech in Class 2A. Defending 1A champ Catoctin missed the cut by four tenths of a point.

3 Rushing touchdowns scored by No. 10 Hereford’s Vince DePaola in the first quarter of Friday’s 49-14 win over Perry Hall.

5 Straight shutouts for Dunbar, which has outscored those five opponents 194-0.

6 Undefeated teams remaining in the metro area – No. 7 North Harford, No. 15 South Carroll, Forest Park, Western Tech, Annapolis Area Christian and Maryland Christian. All are 10-0.

7 Touchdown passes thrown by Century’s Ryan Throndset in Friday’s 53-20 win over Francis Scott Key – tying a state record.

7 Local teams seeded No. 1 in their regions – No. 5 Old Mill, North Harford, No. 6 River Hill, Eastern Tech, Western Tech, Havre de Grace and Forest Park.

9 Straight wins for Old Mill after dropping its season opener to Arundel.

17 The area’s longest active winning streak by Annapolis Area Christian School, which completed its first perfect season with Friday’s 44-0 win over Friends.

59 Receptions this season for Century wide receiver Brandon Soderstrom – a Monocacy Valley Athletic League record.

61 Wins for Poly in the 122 years of the City-Poly rivalry with Saturday’s 14-6 victory. City has 55 wins and there have been six ties.

310 Yards rushing for Demond Brown and Rob Chesson in Old Mill’s 31-7 win over No. 4 Broadneck.

527 Total yards gained by No. 8 Archbishop Spalding in its 57-36 win over St. John’s-College Prep on Friday.

2004 The last time the home team won the Gilman-McDonogh game until No. 3 Gilman won Saturday, 42-6.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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In a coin-flip tie breaker, No. 8 Archbishop Spalding received a bye into the MIAA B Conference championship football game on Nov. 20 while No. 11 Boys’ Latin and Archbishop Curley will meet Saturday to determine the second finalist.

The coin flip took place Sunday afternoon at Archbishop Spalding, which is the defending B Conference champion. Each school’s athletic director flipped a coin at the same time and the odd man out received the bye into the final. Spalding AD Lee Dove flipped tails while the others flipped heads.

Cavaliers coach Mike Whittles, who as there with his counterparts Boys' Latin coach Ritchie Schell and Curley coach Sean Murphy, was pleased with the result.

"I think it's that time of the year where people might be a little nicked up here and there and it gives everybody time to get a little healthier," Whittles said. "There's going to be a lot at stake in that game and if we were in it, we knew we'd have to give it everything we had and they're both going to have to give it everything they have. I'm excited for everybody. If we were playing, we'd be excited about playing."

Saturday at noon, Boys' Latin will host Curley for the right to advance. The Lakers got the home-field advantage because they beat the Friars, 21-7, during the regular season.

"Ideally, we'd love to have the bye," Lakers coach Ritchie Schell said, "but to play at home, that's the second-best option. Both teams are very strong obviously. We match up pretty well against Curley. They've got a little revenge factor, because we beat them the first time, but it's better for our kids to play than to sit around for another week."

All three teams finished the season 7-1, forcing the tie-breaking procedure, because Spalding lost to Curley, Curley lost to Boys’ Latin and Boys’ Latin lost to Spalding, so there had to be a playoff game to determine one of the finalists. The B Conference is the only one of the three MIAA conferences that has a title game.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 3:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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After scoring four touchdowns to lead Gilman to a 42-6 win over archrival McDonogh Saturday, Darius Jennings may not make his next big move until January.

Now that the high school season has ended for the Greyhounds, Jennings' priority will be to choose one school from among his top six colleges: Maryland, Ohio State, UCLA, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.

Jennings said in August that he would put the decision aside to concentrate on his senior season as the Greyhounds' All-Metro quarterback. He now plans to take his official visits, including one to UCLA, the only school on his list that he has not visited.

"I'll be out there in December or January. I don't know yet," Jennings said Saturday. "Now that the season is over, I can focus more on making officials and everything. I'm taking all five official visits."

After receiving 30 initial offers, Jennings settled on a top ten, but he dropped Penn State, Pittsburgh, Boston College and Connecticut to bring his list down to six.

"It was really tough to get down to six," Jennings said. "The six that I chose, I guess I had more of a comfort level with the coaching staff and the guys who were recruiting me."

It won't be any easier to whittle his list down to one. He started with 30 initial offers and was rated No. 2 in the nation in the athlete category by Scout.com. Rivals.com rated him No. 18 as an athlete and No. 175 overall, which put him in the top 1 percent of recruits.

Jennings, who also plays basketball and runs track for the Greyhounds, will make one other football stop in January to play in the 2011 Under Armour All-America Game on Jan. 5 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. He is the only Baltimore athlete invited to the game, which will be telecast live on ESPN at 7 p.m.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Football
        

The schedule for the first round of football regional playoffs has been set for next weekends with most local teams playing on Friday night although a few will see action on Saturday.

Seven local teams received top-seed spots: defending Class 4A champion Old Mill, defending Class 2A champ Eastern Tech, North Harford, River Hill, Western Tech, Forest Park and Havre de Grace.

Here is the schedule for the Baltimore-area teams.

Class 4A North

Perry Hall at Urbana, Friday, 7 p.m.
Patterson vs. Thomas Johnson at Poly, Friday, 7 p.m.

Class 4A East

Broadneck at Old Mill, Friday, 7 p.m.
North Point at Arundel, Friday, 7 p.m.

Class 3A North

Catonsville at North Harford, Friday, 7 p.m.
Franklin at Hereford, Friday, 7 p.m.

Class 3A East

Stephen Decatur at River Hill, Friday, 7 p.m.
Wilde Lake at Atholton, Friday, 7 p.m.

Class 2A North

Dundalk vs. Eastern Tech at CCBC-Essex, Friday, 7 p.m.
City vs. Douglass at Poly, Saturday, 1 p.m.

Class 2A South

Southern-AA at Hammond, Friday, 7 p.m.

Class 2A East

Fallston at Kent Island, Friday, 7 p.m.

Class 2A West

Rockville at South Carroll, Friday, 7 p.m.

Class 1A North

Western Tech vs. Sparrows Point at CCBC-Catonsville, Friday, 7 p.m.
New Town at Brunswick, Friday, 7 p.m.

Class 1A South

Forest Park vs. Forestville at Poly, Saturday, 6 p.m.
Dunbar vs. Southside at Mervo, Friday, 7 p.m.

Class 1A East

Cambridge-SD at Havre de Grace, Friday, 7 p.m.
Patterson Mill at Bo Manor, Friday, 7 p.m.

For the rest of the statewide schedule, click here

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Gilman All-Metro quarterback Darius Jennings has narrowed his college list to six schools: Ohio State, UCLA, Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.

The senior, who had 30 initial offers, dropped Penn State, Pittsburgh, Boston College and Connecticut from his top ten. Jennings, who will play in the Under Armour All-America Game in January, is so versatile that he was listed as an athlete. Although he could play many positions in college, he was recruited primarily as a running back or cornerback.

With his skills and a 4.4-second 40-yard dash, Jennings was rated No. 2 in the nation in the athlete category by Scout.com and No. 18 by Rivals.com. Overall, Rivals.com ranks him No. 175, which is in the top 1 percent.

Jennings, who has compiled 1,733 yards and scored 20 touchdowns for the No. 3 Greyhounds, will complete his senior year Saturday when the Greyhounds host the 95th Gilman-McDonogh game at 2:30 p.m. He has run for 1,395 yards on 148 carries and scored 17 rushing touchdowns this season. He also has completed 20 of 40 passes for 305 yards and one touchdown. He returned two kickoffs for touchdowns.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 12:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: Football
        

Gilman quarterback Darius Jennings will be the only Baltimore athlete to play in the 2011 Under Armour All-America Game.

The highly recruited senior is one of just two Maryland players to be named an Under Armour All American and be invited to play in the game on Jan. 5 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. DeMatha lineman Cyrus Kouandijo was also invited.The game will be telecast live on ESPN at 7 p.m.

Jennings, an All-Metro first-team selection last season, has amassed 1,733 yards of offense this season. He has rushed 148 times for 1,395 yards and 17 touchdowns and is 20-for-40 passing for 305 yards and one touchdown.

In addition, he has returned five kickoffs for 220 yards and two touchdowns. As a cornerback, he has 20 tackles, seven pass break-ups and one forced fumble.

Jennings said he would make his college choice after the No. 3 Greyhounds' season ends -- and it ends Saturday when they host the 95th meeting with No. 9 McDonogh at 2:30 p.m. He is still considering offers from Maryland, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Ohio State, Boston College, Connecticut, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and UCLA.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 1:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Football
        

Only one week of regular-season play remains in the high school football season, but plenty of scrambling for playoff positions remains. Here’s a look at a few of the key numbers from the weekend past and the one to come:

2 Seconds left as Annapolis Area Christian School’s Ryan Slenk booted a 21-yard field goal Saturday for a 22-21 win over Lutheran that preserved a perfect season.

3 Touchdown passes from Westminster quarterback Tyler Codd to Garrett Bean in the Owls’ 42-13 win over Century on Friday night.

3 Teams tied for the MIAA A Conference lead at 3-1 -- No. 2 Calvert Hall, No. 3 Gilman and Georgetown Prep -- with one game each to go.

4 Touchdown passes thrown by Patterson quarterback Aaron Overton in leading the Clippers to a 45-24 win over Mervo on Friday.

7 Undefeated teams remaining in the metro area -- No. 1 Arundel, No. 7 North Harford, No. 15 South Carroll, Forest Park, Western Tech, Annapolis Area Christian School and Maryland Christian, a team of home-schooled students based in Kingsville. All are 9-0.

14 Teams in The Baltimore Sun’s Top 15 won their games over the weekend.

16 Straight wins for Annapolis Area Christian School -- the area’s longest active streak.

21 Straight points scored by Calvert Hall to rally from 9-7 down in the second half and beat No. 8 McDonogh, 28-15.

64.8 Average yardage on four touchdowns for Long Reach’s Phillip Rhoden in Friday’s 34-32 win over Howard. He rushed for three and also scored on a 75-yard kickoff return.

95th Year for the Gilman-McDonogh game which takes place Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Gilman.

100 Wins at Gilman for coach Biff Poggi, who surpassed former Greyhounds coach Sherm Bristow’s 99 with Saturday’s win over Mount St. Joseph.

122nd Year of the City-Poly rivalry when it continues Saturday at noon at M&T Bank Stadium.

131 Yards of total offense for Poly against a Dunbar defense that shut out the Engineers, 22-0, on Saturday night.

295 Yards passing for Maryland Christian quarterback Christian DiPaola in Saturday’s 30-22 win over Archbishop Curley.

340 Yards rushing for No. 9 Archbishop Spalding’s dynamic duo, K.K. Smith and J.D. Izon, in Friday’s 22-15 win over St. Paul’s.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 8:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Forest Park coach Damon Bomar, whose team is 8-0 after Friday's 41-0 win over Southwestern, has been named Ravens' High School Coach of the Week.

Friday's shutout is the fifth for the Foresters this season -- more than any other team in the Baltimore Metro area. Having outscored the opposition 318-50, the Foresters are tied with Douglass for first place in Baltimore City's Division II.

In his second season as the Foresters' coach, Bomar has an 18-1 cumulative record, having led Forest Park to the Division II title last season. They fell to Dunbar in the Class 1A South regional championship. The year before Bomar arrived, the Foresters were 2-8.

"I changed the mental focus of the kids," Bomar said in a news release. "It's all about discipline and structure. They were talented, but just undisciplined. I brought in some great coaches and we've been grinding every day. The kids bought into it because they were eager to win."

Against Southwestern, quarterback Andrew Allen threw for three touchdowns and running back Antwon Harmon ran for two. Pat Makall returned a punt for a touchdown.

Bomar joins Hereford's Steve Turnbaugh, Gilman's Biff Poggi, the Howard High coaching staff, Atholton coach Kyle Schmitt, North Harford coach Ken Brinkman and South Carroll coach Steve Luette as Ravens' coaches of the week. One coach will be named the Ravens' High School Coach of the Year at the Dec. 19 game at M&T Bank Stadium between the Ravens and the Saints.

Each weekly winner receives a $2,000 donation for his school's football program.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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With just two weeks left in the football regular season, very little has been decided as far as league races and many teams remain in contention for regional playoff berths. Most of those will go down to the wire in Week 10, but here's a look at a few numbers that stand out after last weekend's games:

2 Losses this season for No. 8 McDonogh — both by one point — Saturday’s 13-12 setback to Georgetown Prep and an earlier 35-34 loss to Loyola.

3 Teams leading the race for the Baltimore City Division I title — No. 13 Patterson, Poly and Dunbar — all 5-1.

4 Teams in a heated race for the MIAA A Conference title — No. 2 Calvert Hall, No. 3 Gilman, Loyola and Georgetown Prep — with one conference loss each.

4 Teams in a heated race for the MIAA B Conference title — No. 9 Archbishop Spalding, No. 11 Boys’ Latin, Archbishop Curley and St. Paul’s — with one conference loss each.

5 Shutouts for Forest Park, which has not allowed a point since Oct. 1.

7 Big defensive plays — four sacks and three interceptions — by Calvert Hall in Friday's 33-2 win over Largo.

6 Undefeated teams remaining in the metro area — No. 1 Arundel, No. 7 North Harford, No. 15 South Carroll, Forest Park, Western Tech and Annapolis Area Christian. All are 8-0.

13 Teams in The Baltimore Sun's Top 15 won their games over the last weekend.

15 Straight wins for Annapolis Area Christian School with Friday’s 49-22 win over Pallotti — the area’s longest active winning streak. Next best: the other undefeated teams listed above with eight.

19 Tackles by Atholton’s Adam D’Amico in a 14-0 win over Glenelg — the No. 12 Raiders' third shutout in four games.

20 Points scored by Century wide receiver Brandon Soderstrom in a comeback 28-14 win over North Carroll Friday night.

31.9 Point margin of victory this season for Arundel.

1,885 Yards passing this season for Arundel quarterback Nick Rosati, who is 143-for-224 with 29 touchdowns.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 8:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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After seven weeks of football, six local teams are holding onto first place in the regional points standings.

Arundel (Class 4A East), Franklin (3A North), Western Tech (1A North) and Forest Park (1A South) are all unbeaten at 7-0 while River Hill (3A East) and defending 2A state champ Eastern Tech (2A North) are 6-1.

To check out how your team stands in the race for the four playoff spots in each of the state's 16 regions, click here.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 2:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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South Carroll football coach Steve Luette has been named the Ravens High School Coach of the Week.

Luette's Cavaliers moved to 7-0 on Thursday with a 35-0 rout of Manchester Valley. They held the Mavericks to just 28 yards of total offense and have outscored opponents 284-26 this season.

“We stress the whole game plan,” Luette said. “Our defense is playing really well, our offense is scoring a ton of points, and our special teams are putting us in great position to score.”

South Carroll's defense on Thursday forced two turnovers. Senior quarterback Anthony Nardo threw two touchdown passes and rushed for another score, while senior running back Ben McCarty and junior running back Dan Mullen rushed for a touchdown apiece.

“All around, since I’ve been here, this is the most complete and deepest team we’ve had,” said Luette, a second-year head coach who was an assistant with the Cavaliers from 1998-2003. “We’ve got some guys who can step in when needed, and that’s the big difference.”

Luette will be honored along with this season's other winners during the Ravens-Saints game at M&T Bank Stadium on Dec. 19. Previous honorees this season are North Harford's Ken Brinkman, Atholton's Kyle Schmitt, Hereford's Steve Turnbaugh, Gilman's Biff Poggi and the Howard coaching staff.

Posted by Baltimore Sun sports at 5:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Calvert Hall entered the week ranked 8th in the USA Today east regional high school football rankings, largely due to last Saturday's thrilling 26-21 victory over Gilman. The Greyhounds were ranked as high as No. 15 in the Super 25 poll, but were dropped after a 33-6 loss to Don Bosco (N.J.) Prep. The Cardinals are the only school from Maryland ranked in the poll. Calvert Hall travels to Georgetown Prep on Friday.

-- Todd Karpovich

Posted by Baltimore Sun sports at 9:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame announced Tuesday that former River Hill lineman Max Coale was one of five winners of the 2010 National High School Scholar-Athlete Award.

The award is given to the student who best balanced football and academics in five different geographic regions. Coale was the recipient of the award for the East region.

Coale, a three-year starter at offensive and defensive tackle at River Hill, guided the Hawks to Class 2A state championships in 2007 and 2008, and a Class 3A state semifinals appearance as a senior in 2009. River Hill went 40-1 during Coale's time on the Hawks' offensive line.

Coale, a Baltimore Sun first-team All-Metro performer, was a team captain for the Hawks and a standout on River Hill's lacrosse team. He was named the school's top male athlete last spring.

Coale, who now plays football at Princeton, carried a 4.0 grade-point average in high school and earned valedictorian honors in his class of 342.

"Max was a three-year starter for us on the offensive line," River Hill coach Brian Van Deusen said in a news release. "During his time here at River Hill, we won 40 consecutive games, three regional championships and two state championships. Max worked extremely hard in the weight room to improve himself, and he ended up being one of our strongest kids and in the 1,000 pound club. His teammates selected him as a team captain because of his strong work ethic and outstanding leadership qualities.

"Max's accomplishments in the classroom and community are just as impressive. He was a pleasure to coach and is a great role model for the younger players in our program. I think that Max is a perfect example of a scholar-athlete; he focused on academics first and was also able to excel in all of his extra-curricular activities. He is a very intelligent, dedicated, well-balanced individual that is an excellent candidate for this scholar-athlete award."

Baltimore Sun photo of Max Coale by Kenneth K. Lam / Oct. 6, 2009

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Fresh off of North Harford's comeback win over Fallston on Friday, Hawks coach Ken Brinkman has been named the Ravens High School Coach for the Week.

Brinkman guided North Harford to a 36-35 win over the previously undefeated Cougars. The Hawks were down 1 after running back Brandon Bayer scored on a 4-yard run with 47 seconds remaining. Instead of kicking the extra point and playing for overtime, Brinkman went for 2.

“The way Brandon had been running the ball in the second half -- he was just running with a mission,” Brinkman said. “I thought I could put it on his shoulders.”

On the two-point conversion, Bayer got the call and ran it in for the lead. He finished with 127 yards rushing and three touchdowns. North Harford defensive back Nate Brockmeyer intercepted Fallston quarterback Grant Kelly on the ensuing drive to seal the win for North Harford.

Brinkman will be honored along with this season's other winners during the Ravens-Saints game at M&T Bank Stadium on Dec. 19. Previous honorees this season are Atholton's Kyle Schmitt, Hereford's Steve Turnbaugh, Gilman's Biff Poggi and the Howard coaching staff.

Posted by Baltimore Sun sports at 5:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Maybe the biggest factor in No. 4 Calvert Hall's 26-21 upset win over top-ranked Gilman on Friday night was the play of its defense. After giving up 271 yards in the first half, and letting both Greyhounds quarterback Darius Jennings and speedy back Cyrus Jones run wild, the Cardinals switched up their scheme at halftime, with remarkable results.

Gilman managed just 42 yards of offense in the second half. Jennings, who had rushed for 168 yards in the first half, had just 32 the rest of the way.

"We made some adjustments at halftime -- a little bit of an alignment adjustment and a personnel switch," Cardinals coach Donald Davis said. "We kind of flip-flopped a matchup that we thought we could take advantage of, and we did."

The physical game also took its toll on Calvert Hall, which likely will be without top running back and middle linebacker C.J. Williams for several weeks. The junior left with an apparent knee injury on the game's opening possession, and will have an MRI this week, though Davis isn't optimistic.

"There were some things that were telling," he said. "He's just got to get the official word."

As for the finish, it was one for the ages, with Calvert Hall roaring back from a 21-7 deficit with three fourth-quarter touchdowns, including two in the final 1:39. Delando Johnson scored the game-winner with 26.3 seconds left, picking up an errant long snap -- which had sailed over the head of Gilman's punter -- and returning it 20 yards.

At the final horn, several hundred Calvert Hall fans streamed onto the field in an emotional celebration.

"I've never seen anything as crazy as that," Davis said. "It is the wildest finish, certainly, that I've ever been a part of, as a player or a coach."

-- Rich Scherr

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For guiding Atholton to a stunning upset of No. 3 River Hill on Friday, Raiders coach Kyle Schmitt has been named the Ravens High School Coach of the Week.

Atholton's 10-0 win snapped a 49-game winning streak for River Hill in Howard County play. The victory for the Raiders broke a 13-game losing streak to the Hawks, including a loss in last year's regional championship game.

“It was a tremendous win,” Schmitt said, “not only because of who we beat or the streaks we broke, but because of where we were in the season. It puts us right back in the middle of it.”

Atholton was 2-2 heading into Friday's matchup with River Hill, fresh off a loss to Howard. The Raiders jumped out to a 7-0 lead when quarterback Bryan McMahon scrambled for a 6-yard score. Brett Hass extended Atholton's lead to 10-0 with his 25-yard field with 15 seconds remaining in the first half. The Atholton defense stood strong by forcing three turnovers.

“Our defensive coordinator Jared Albert put together an incredible game plan,” Schmitt said. “Our kids tackled extremely well. River Hill is very sound schematically, so you have to make tackles and make plays when you have the opportunity, and that’s what they did.”

Schmitt, who was named the Ravens High School Coach of the Week last year after Atholton's 34-30 win over Wilde Lake in Week 3, will be honored along with this season's other winners during the Ravens-Saints game at M&T Bank Stadium on Dec. 19. Previous honorees this season are Hereford's Steve Turnbaugh, Gilman's Biff Poggi and the Howard coaching staff.

Posted by Baltimore Sun sports at 7:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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At the midpoint of the regular season little has been decided in the race to the playoffs, but there have been plenty of surprises with Atholton upsetting River Hill and only six unbeaten teams left in The Sun's Top 15. These statistics caught our attention this weekend:

2 Games postponed until Monday by wet field conditions – No. 12 North Harford at Aberdeen at 6 p.m. and No. 5 Old Mill at Southern at 6:30 p.m.

3 Straight shutouts for No. 6 Calvert Hall – two over ranked teams, then-No. 13 Mount St. Joseph and No. 9 Poly.

4 Teams sitting atop the Howard County standings with 4-1 records – No. 3 River Hill, No. 15 Hammond, Howard and Wilde Lake.

9 Sacks by No. 7 Archbishop Spalding's defense in a 37-0 win over B Conference foe St. Mary’s.

11 Baltimore-area teams still undefeated – No. 2 Arundel, Calvert Hall, No. 8 Boys' Latin, No. 10 McDonogh, No. 11 Franklin, North Harford, South Carroll, Fallston, Western Tech, Annapolis Area Christian and Lutheran.

12 Straight wins for Annapolis Area Christian, the area’s longest active winning streak.

12 Seconds needed for South Carroll’s Ben McCarty to recover a fumble and then rush 73 yards on offense for a touchdown in the Cavaliers’ 21-13 win over Century.

17 Points allowed this season by Calvert Hall – the stingiest defense in The Sun’s Top 15.

19-1 Differential in passing touchdowns for Arundel over its first five opponents.

48 Straight wins against Howard County opponents for No. 3 River Hill until Atholton ended the streak with a 10-0 upset Friday.

62 Tackles recorded for Atholton’s defense in the win over River Hill – 10 by Adam D’Amico.

100 Points scored by Wilde Lake in its last two games, both 50-0 wins.

108 Yards of total offense Friday for Dunbar – good enough to edge City, 14-6.

436 Yards of total offense Friday for Franklin in its 44-7 win over Milford Mill.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 11:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Atholton quarterback Brian McMahon had just one thought Friday night when his screen pass was tipped and River Hill’s Max Williams intercepted the ball and took off down field.

“When the ball got tipped, I thought, ‘That can’t be good,’ but as soon as he intercepted it, I knew I had to stop him,” the junior first-year starter said.

With the host Raiders leading No. 3 River Hill, 10-0, McMahon said it never entered his mind that he might have given up a touchdown and given away the momentum. He just took off.

“I believe we were on their 10 and I tackled him on our 30-yard line,” McMahon said. “I was about seven yards in front of him when he made the pick and he had two blockers in front of him. They pushed me to the left when we were about even, but I ran and caught up to him and jumped on his back. I was glad I saved a touchdown, but I still felt bad about the interception.”

No worries though. The Raiders defense stopped the Hawks on four downs and finished the game with the first shutout over River Hill since 2001, ending a 48-game Hawks' winning streak against Howard County opponents.

For McMahon, who scored the game’s only touchdown on a short keeper in the first quarter, the victory was the highlight of his athletics career.

“We took the knee [on the last play] and then the fans rushed the field. That was really great. Everyone was jumping around and cheering. That was the first time I had ever experienced anything like that.”

The Raiders improved to 3-2 and are one of six teams in the heart of the Howard County title race at 3-2 or 4-1.

“It makes every Friday night more exciting. It’s just a wild season and it’s been a lot of fun,” McMahon said as the Raiders get back to business to prepare for Reservoir at home Friday night. The Gators are also 3-2 and coming off a 21-14 loss to Howard, which is 4-1 along with River Hill, Hammond and Wilde Lake.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 5:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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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.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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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.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 8:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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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.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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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.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Dan McManus is used to the build up to high school football season, so he's ready for Saturday's first day of fall practice.

By now, working out all summer long and getting back on the practice field in mid-
August is old hat for the Eastern Tech senior. He knows he's ready and he is confident that his teammates are too, because the Mavericks have a lot to live up to after winning the state Class 2A crown last season, the school's first football title.

"I'm just looking forward to getting started, seeing who's going to fill in the spots and who's going to step up," said McManus, an All-Metro defensive tackle who had 92 tackles and 11 sacks last season.

The Mavericks are one of two local teams who take the field, on Saturday's first day of practice for public school football teams, looking to defend a state title come December. Old Mill took the Class 4A title a year ago, also the first football title in its school history.

For the Mavericks and coach Marc Mesaros, the All-Metro Coach of the Year, their title was particularly rewarding because they had been to the final the two previous years and lost. Now, they're not only used to being there, they know how to win and that's what McManus said the Mavericks aim for again this season.

"Basically, we just have a higher standard to live up to now," he said. "It would be a senior dream [to repeat as champs]. If you keep building and keep up the enthusiasm, it's all about coaching and hard work."

McManus wants to boost his game and knows he will have to be more of a leader now as a senior, so he spent the summer at camps and combines to improve his skills. He drew attention from several college programs, including Bucknell, which like the aspiring engineer's combination of a strong game and a 3.8 grade-point average.

As most football teams do, the Mavericks had a big turnover, graduating 22 players. McManus is used to that.

"Every year, we've graduated the whole offense, the whole defense except for two or three players, so the coach gets everything he can out of the players. Just rebuild, build a lot of strong players over the summer."

Some of those likely to be keys this fall along with McManus? He named Marquiese Bannister, Josh Cannella, Brad Hager, Mike Wright, Devon White and Brandon Jones..

The Mavericks won't rest on their laurels. They're just eager to get going.

"We don't really look back. We just keep moving forward," McManus said. "We're ready. We're used to practicing every week during the summer. First game is always a little nervous, but I'm used to it."

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 10:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Gilman football coach Biff Poggi said Thursday he was disappointed that the possibility of a football merger between the MIAA and Washington Catholic Athletic Conference is off the table.

Poggi said Gilman supported the merger, which had been in an exploratory phase since December. However, talks with the WCAC will not be continued after the merger failed to receive unanimous support from A Conference programs at this week's annual MIAA athletic directors' workshop, according to Rick Diggs, MIAA executive director.

For Poggi, whose team already has WCAC powers Good Counsel and DeMatha on its non-league schedule for fall, adding more competitive teams to the six-team A Conference was the big draw.

"We're just never going to get to a critical mass in the A Conference with the schools we have now and this was a really good reason to get it done," Poggi said. " I'm disappointed that whatever administrative or structural or political things that needed to be taken care of couldn't be taken care of. I don't know any of the facts. I don't know who said what, but I know at Gilman, we were a big supporter of it. It's too bad because I think it would have been one of the great high school football leagues in the country."

Scheduling is a difficulty the A Conference has struggled with because it is so small. Teams have to go outside the conference to fill half of their 10-game schedules.

"For Gilman, we're already playing the WCAC's top teams and for us it's a good fit," Poggi said. "The football is competitive and our record against DeMatha is 4-5 over the last nine years. And it's so hard to get games. I think it would be neat to have the leagues together and have a North Division and a South Division and have a playoff and a championship game. That's what I was hoping we were going to do."

Instead, the Greyhounds will play non-league games against Good Counsel, DeMatha, Archbishop Spalding, Malvern Prep from Philadelphia and Don Bosco Prep from New Jersey — last season's No. 1 team in USA Today as well as MaxPreps and Rivals Top 100 — in a game to be played at Morgan State.

No other team has so ambitious a schedule and Poggi said he isn't sure everyone wants one.

"Quite frankly, I think a lot of the coaches, they don't want to play DeMatha and Good Counsel and I think that we need to be playing them," Poggi said.

Without the merger, Poggi said teams will have to continue to travel to get such high-caliber competition. In recent years, the Greyhounds have traveled to northern New Jersey, New York City and Philadelphia to play strong opponents.

"Travel is becoming more a part of it now and it makes it a lot harder," Poggi said. "A 40-minute trip down the highway to WCAC land is a lot better than what we've had to do."

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association officials have opted not to pursue a merger with the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference that would have created an exceptionally strong football conference including the top private and parochial school programs in the Baltimore-Washington area.

Rick Diggs, executive director of the MIAA, said Thursday morning that the decision was made during the annual MIAA athletic directors' three-day workshop.

"We just decided at our meeting yesterday that we're not going to pursue the merger any longer," Diggs said. "No particular reasons other than we didn't have full support from all the A Conference schools. We decided if we had full support from all of our schools that we would pursue it, but there were some questions."

In December, MIAA officials met with WCAC officials to pursue the possibility of a merger for football only. Such a merger would bring Gilman, Loyola, McDonogh, Calvert Hall, Mount St. Joseph and Georgetown Prep into one league with such programs as Good Counsel, DeMatha, Gonzaga, St. John's and Bishop McNamara. Plans called for a league championship game which the MIAA A Conference currently does not have as it crowns its regular-season champion.

Crossover between the two leagues would have been nothing new. Defending MIAA champion Gilman and DeMatha have a long-standing rivalry and the Greyhounds also played WCAC champ Good Counsel last season as did Mount St. Joseph. Calvert Hall played St. John's last fall.

Diggs did not elaborate on the specifics of the sticking points in voting down the possibility of a merger other than scheduling and maintaining the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Bowl between Calvert Hall and Loyola.

"There would have been some difficulties to overcome like scheduling, how we would have split the divisions. There's always other things not worth talking about," Diggs said.

As for the Calvert Hall-Loyola game, plans for a conference championship would have made that game difficult to continue, because it is so late in November. Diggs said in January that some heads of MIAA schools did not want to continue playing football into December, because many athletes play two sports and playing that late would overlap basketball practice by six weeks.

With only six teams in the A Conference, scheduling has been an issue and Diggs said perhaps one or more teams would eventually move up from the B Conference. Last fall, B Conference champion Archbishop Spalding defeated Calvert Hall during the regular season.

No changes can be made for this fall, however, because the MIAA sets its conferences for two years and 2010-11 is the second year of that cycle. Any changes would have to wait until the 2011-12 school year.

"We know we have to strengthen our schedule and that's going to be up to our competition committee to look at it after next year and see how we can strengthen the A Conference," Diggs said. "We have to look at whether one or two schools need to go up and play in the A Conference. Any change would be for the 11-12 season. That would be up to the principals and athletic directors, They have to take a look at it and see what's best."

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 9:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Football
        

McDonogh will face Gonzaga in a fifth high school football game added to the inaugural I-95 Kickoff Classic scheduled for Labor Day weekend at Towson University's Johnny Unitas Stadium.

McDonogh and Gonzaga will play Friday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m., kicking off the two-day event which features teams from the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association and the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, said Tony Kennedy, president and chief executive officer of Extra Point Productions and the organizer of the Classic. The game will be ticketed separately from the four games to follow Saturday, Kennedy said, with tickets sold through the schools.

The Classic will conclude Saturday night, Sept. 4 with a showdown between defending MIAA A Conference champ Gilman and WCAC champ Good Counsel at 7:30 p.m.

The full Saturday lineup, which was set in April:

Mount St. Joseph vs. Bishop McNamara, 10:30 a.m.
Calvert Hall vs. Archbishop Spalding, 1:30 p.m.
Loyola vs. DeMatha, 4:30 p.m.
Gilman vs. Good Counsel, 7:30 p.m.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 9:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Football
        

Gilman's Darius Jennings and Owings Mills' Donovan Smith are among approximately 400 football players who have been nominated to play in the U.S. Army All-America Bowl next year in San Antonio.

Ninety players from across the country will be chosen to play in the annual East-West showdown at the Alamodome on Jan. 8.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 5:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Football
        

As soon as Blake Henry took a job as an assistant football coach at Loyola, he knew he wanted to be a head coach in the MIAA A Conference.

Henry played for the Dons and spent five years as a Dons assistant, but Friday he realized his dream. He was named head football coach at Mount St. Joseph.

“It’s familiar because it’s the conference I played in growing up, so I know the level of competition. In my opinion it’s the toughest league in the state. I enjoy the rivalries between all the schools, how well they know each other and for the A Conference, there are no playoffs so there’s so much emphasis on each regular-season game. There’s a championship mentality for every game you play in,” said Henry, 30.

Henry graduated from Loyola in 1998 and went to Northwestern on a football scholarship. He transferred to Wake Forest, where he was a first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference offensive guard as a senior. He had a brief stint with the Atlanta Falcons after signing a free-agent contract and joined Loyola’s staff in 2003.

Gaels athletic director Paul Triplett said Henry was chosen from among 45 applicants for the job. Nine candidates were interviewed and he was the top choice of the selection committee.

Continue reading "Henry ready for Gaels football" »

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 5:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Football
        

Eighty-eight area football players have been nominated for the Greater Baltimore Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame's Scholar Athlete Awards, which will be presented at its 47th annual dinner Wednesday night at Martin's West.

Student-athletes from Baltimore City and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Harford and Howard counties will be honored. The five winners will share in $20,000 worth of scholarship money.

Here are the nominees:

Ryan Shetterly, Aberdeen
Francis Cooper, Annapolis
Timothy Lyons, Annapolis Area Christian School
John Rybak, Archbishop Curley
Christopher, Piccirilli, Archbishop Spalding
Philip Gordon, Arundel
Zachary Deal, Atholton
Kennard Brown, Poly
Matthew Simini, Bel Air
Garrett Steele, Boys’ Latin
Bradley Ruehle, Broadneck
Austen West, C. Milton Wright
Francis Kelly, Calvert Hall
Matthew Nesbitt, Catoctin
Dwight Weingarten, Catonsville
Matthew Sheckells, Centennial
Michael Lanni, Century
Jesse Johnson, Chesapeake-AA
James Bedgood, Chesapeake-BC
Adrian Coxson, City
Ryan Lee, Lake Clifton
Eric Dissinger, Dulaney
Reynard Parks, Dunbar
Jonathan Bynaker, Dundalk
Stephen Borunda, Eastern Tech
Timothy Polack, Edgewood
Samuel Bradley, Edmondson
Benjamin Barile, Fallston
Buddy Ricketts, Francis Scott Key
Max Grossfeld, Franklin
Joseph Stephen, Frederick
Tony Connor, Douglass
Dylan Matteson, Friends
Kostantinos Skordalos, Gilman
Matthew Watson, Glen Burnie
Robert Shekletski, Glenelg
Nikolas Forbes, Thomas Johnson
Alexander Baugh, Hammond
Eric Scanlon, Harford Tech
Zachary Tabor, Havre de Grace
David Wood, Hereford
Douglas Rohrbaugh, Howard
Stephen St. Clair, John Carroll
David Miller, Joppatowne
Chukwukadit Udeze, Kenwood
Jordan Weaver, Liberty
Kenneth Eckard, Linganore
Maxwell Wilson, Loch Raven
Joseph Montag, Long Reach
Benjamin Cranston, Loyola
Daniel Marland, Marriotts Ridge
Ross Farquharson, McDonogh
Koby Cavanagh, Middletown
Michael Jones, Milford Mill
Andrew Walker, Mount Hebron
Sean Dornbush, Mt. St. Joseph
Cornelius Savage, New Town
Jordan Hoover, North Carroll
Louis Carey, North County
Joshua Barben, North Harford
Brandon Haney, Northeast
Justin Mullins, Old Mill
Robert Condon, Overlea
Joshua Pearlman, Owings Mills
Tadas Jaskulis, Parkville
Michael Zerberlein, Patapsco
Adam LaFleur, Patterson Mill
Pablo Said, Perry Hall
Shawn Markow, Pikesville
Yao Advantor, Reservoir
Max Coale, River Hill
Henry Duden, St. Mary’s
Gavin Class, St. Paul’s
Josef Jolissaint, St. V. Pallotti
Beau Wood, Severn
Jacob Boone, South Carroll
Daniel Leach, South River
Ryan Sullivan, Southern
Andre Christian, Southside
Thomas Anderson, Sparrows Point
Luke Smith, Towson
Aaron Bias, W.E.B. DuBois
Jeremiah Musselman, Walkersville
Ryan McCullough, Western Tech
Joshua Fetchko, Westminster
Gregory Meighen, Wilde Lake
Matthew Shriver, Winters Mill
Myron Singleton, Woodlawn

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 6:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Football
        

Wednesday’s Scholar Athlete Awards Dinner, which features scholarships presented to area high school football players, will have a slightly different format this year. Instead of five regional awards and one larger overall award, only regional awards will be presented.

“Basically, we’re trying to spread out more money to the kids more equally,” said Ken Mills, dinner chairman. “We found generally that it is tough picking one grand-prize winner. We’ve had ties in the past, but it was just the feeling that it would be a better idea to spread the money around a little wider, more equitably. Tough economic times and all of that.”

This is the 47th year the Greater Baltimore Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame has sponsored the dinner at Martin’s West. Football players from Baltimore City and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Harford and Howard counties will be honored. The five winners, chosen from 88 nominees will share in $20,000 worth of scholarship money.

In addition to the scholarships, each of the state championship high school teams will be presented the Ben Eaton Sr. Championship Award, which honors the late Dunbar football coach. The area had all four state champs last fall: Old Mill in Class 4A, Frederick in Class 3A, Eastern Tech in Class 2A and Catoctin in Class 1A. Old Mill will be recognized with the A. Paul Menton Award as the highest ranked team in the chapter’s area.

For the first time a Courage Award will be presented to a player who has overcome substantial odds to continue his stellar academic success as well as his high school football career.

“The last few years, it’s come to our attention that there is usually at least one scholar athlete that has had a story of compassion, emotion if you will, just an example of a kid overcoming obstacles off the field typically that bear out recognizing because it’s remarkable that they’ve been able to continue on their path and do so well in spite of what they’ve had to deal with,” Mills said.

Johns Hopkins’ football team, which reached the NCAA Division III quarterfinals last fall, also will be honored.

Tickets are $60 per person and are available at 410-668-6901.

Stay tuned for a list of the nominees.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 2:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Football
        

The National Federation of State High School Associations football rules committee has toughened its rules for players who sustain concussions or appear to sustain concussions.

Beginning this fall, players showing signs of a concussion have to leave the game and cannot return to action until they are cleared by a medical professional. Previous rules required players to be removed from action only if they are rendered unconscious, but many players who sustain concussions do not lose consciousness.

Following is the complete excerpt from the NFSH news release pertaining to the new concussion rule:

INDIANAPOLIS, IN (February 23, 2010) — Effective with the 2010 high school football season, any player who shows signs, symptoms or behaviors associated with a concussion must be removed from the game and shall not return to play until cleared by an appropriate health-care professional.

In addition to football, the new concussion language is being placed in all NFHS rules books for the 2010-11 season, as well as the “NFHS Suggested Guidelines for Management of Concussion.”

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 4:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Football
        

Boys' Latin's Patrick Steele, the workhorse senior running back who led the Lakers to the MIAA B Conference title game, has been named a national Old Spice Red Zone Player of the Year.

One of 50 players chosen from 10,000 participating high schools across the country, Steele and the other winners were selected for their critical play in the red zone.

According to the news release announcing his selection:

The Old Spice Red Zone High School Football Player of the Year program recognizes those high school football players who elevate their play and that of their teammates in the Red
Zone. The Red Zone athlete embodies and exemplifies leadership and performance. He's the
one player the coach looks to when the game is truly on the line.

Coach Richie Schell, “Patrick worked diligently and never looked back. ... He
is tough and never gives up.”

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 8:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Football
        

River Hill All-Metro lineman Max Coale has committed to play football at Princeton after narrowing a list of all-star academic schools to a final four that included Colgate, Lehigh and Brown.

For the 4.0 student who plans to become a doctor, finding a school that put academics ahead of sports was a top priority.

"One of the biggest questions I asked was, 'If I had a class that I could only take at such-and-such a time and it ran 35 minutes into practice, would you let me take it? They were, "Of course. You have to take it.'"

Coale visited Princeton a couple years ago and, he said, fell in love with the campus and was impressed with the world-class faculty in the academic fields in which he was interested.

When he met the team on his official visit, they sealed the deal.

"Everyone was like me," Coale said. "It's been hard oftentimes to find people who have a very good balance of academics and athletics. Everyone there fits that mold."

While playing football and lacrosse, Coale was also an Advanced Placement Scholar with Dinstinction, a member of the National Honor Society and the Science National Honor Society. His 4.0 average is unweighted -- straight A's.

At River Hill, Coale, 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds, played on two state champion football teams and the Hawks reached the state semifinals in November. During his three years, the team went 40-1. He was key to an offensive line that led the way for a unit that gained 3,889 yards this past fall.

Coale would like to stay close to sports after he becomes a doctor by going into the orthopedic field. He said that would give him a chance to work with athletes.

"I know I'm probably not going to play professionally. Few do. The numbers are so small. What better to fall back on than a degree from Princeton?"

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 2:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Football
        

After a month off, largely because a relatively small number of games were played between Nov. 28 and today, The Next Level makes its return -- and also says its farewell to this college football season.

With this eventful and exciting season rapidly coming to a close, and with no local players expected to take part in the few remaining bowl games, let’s wrap up this first volume with the final statistics for every former area high school player who made it onto the field for a Football Bowl Division program this year.

But first, let’s tie up some loose ends by recapping the performances of some of these players in games played since Nov. 28:

Continue reading "The Next Level -- Season wrap-up and final stats" »

Posted by Steve Gould at 2:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Due to the snowfall expected to hit the region Saturday, the Maryland Crab Bowl has been postponed until 7 p.m. on Monday at Towson University.

The event organizers released the following schedule for Monday:

4:30 p.m. Youth Players should arrive
5 p.m. Gates will open/High school players should report
5:30 p.m. Youth Crab Bowl game
7 p.m. Maryland Crab Bowl game

Crab Bowl practice will be held Friday at the University Maryland football bubble. The youth teams will both practice from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. The high school practice schedule is not determined at this time. Event officials ask that players not report to Gossett Football Team House (there will be no changing facilities provided).

Posted by Baltimore Sun sports at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Football
        

Baltimore native Gino Culotta, who has spent the past two years playing linebacker and running back at the International School of Brussels, had a season to remember as a senior.

Culotta, who lives in Joppatowne in the summer and this year has been pursuing a Division I football scholarship, received every possible award during the season-ending banquet for the Department of Defense Dependents Schools League. The DoDDS League is composed of about 30 teams, most of them affiliated with schools on U.S. military bases around Europe.

The icing on the cake was that Culotta also received an offer from NCAA Football Championship Subdivision school Duquesne to join its football program.

“Gino’s plan is to keep his options open because he is hopeful his participation in the [Offense-Defense Bowl next month] will open some doors when college coaches can see him in person or at least competing against the highest level of competition,” said Culotta’s dad, Dominic, whose job with UPS took his family to Brussels in the first place. “The most common feedback he continues to get from colleges is they like his results, but they can’t gauge the level of competition he is playing against, therefore they consider him an unknown risk.”

Culotta is certainly not unknown in the DoDDS league. Here are the awards he received at the league’s recent banquet:

*Team Most Valuable Player, for leading it to an undefeated regular season

*Division II All-North Conference Running Back, for leading the league with 1,342yards and 20 TDs

*Division II All-North Conference Linebacker, with a team-high 41 solo tackles

*All-Europe League first-team Running Back

*All-Europe League first-team Linebacker

Cullotta is the 12th International School of Brussels player this decade to earn an All-Europe award in football, and the only one to earn the honor for both offense and defense.

— Sandra McKee

Posted by Steve Gould at 6:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Football