Several times in the past few weeks, I've been asked whether the Loch Raven girls lacrosse team that ran up 103 straight wins and went 104 games without a loss between 1973 and 1982 was as good as the Mount Hebron team that just saw its 103-game winning streak come to an end on Saturday.

Talk about comparing the proverbial apples and oranges. Make that a red apple and a green apple. They don't look exactly the same on the surface, but they're pretty much identical underneath.

Put both teams, as they were, on the field together and, of course, the Vikings would have the edge. They have the benefit of 30 years of evolution in equipment, rules and training.

In their time vs. their competition, however, the Raiders were every bit as good and every bit as dominant.

Loch Raven's streak began in 1973 -- long before the game evolved into what it is today. The Raiders played with wooden sticks, no restraining line and no boundaries. Rules were different. Positions were different. Strategies were different. Even the athletes were different. Many of the Raiders played three sports. They didn't play lacrosse almost all year round as a lot of today's players do.

When Severna Park ended the Raiders' streak in 1982, Howard County was still six years away from adding girls lacrosse. In the early years of the streak, girls lacrosse was offered locally only in Baltimore County and the private schools -- some of which Loch Raven played.

The Raiders' streak began the first year Loch Raven opened its doors. Coach Joy Nuttall, who had built a powerhouse at Parkville, moved to the new school and faced the daunting task of blending players from several high schools into one cohesive team. There were no seniors in the school that first year, only sophomores and juniors, but they played a varsity schedule right away.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the Raiders' streak is how long it lasted. They didn't lose a game for 10 years. The Raiders played fewer games in a year --eight to 13 -- and so Nuttall, who coached the Raiders for their entire streak, faced more turnover in athletes.

Move to the present day and the Vikings won 103 straight games in just six years. That's a lot of wins in six years, an average of 17 per year as opposed to 10 for the Raiders.

The Vikings' non-league competition has been tougher. Sure, they've had to play a lot of lopsided games. So did Loch Raven. But, for the most part, the Vikings' coaches have tried to schedule challenging competition in the four or five non-league games they're allowed each season. Their streak includes multiple wins over other top Mid-Atlantic programs, including Moorestown, N.J., and St. Stephen's/St. Agnes, Va., as well as A Conference contenders St. Paul's, Notre Dame Prep, St. Mary's and Roland Park.

Times are different now.

The Vikings play on a much bigger stage than Loch Raven ever did. There's more emphasis on girls sports and more attention from the media. Nuttall said Loch Raven didn't draw much media attention until the team neared 100 straight wins. The Vikings have drawn considerable press coverage almost since their program started. All last week, they had reporters and cameras in their faces almost every day.

The Vikings have won 14 state championships, but Nuttall's Raiders never played for a state title. The state tournament didn't begin until 1990, five years after Nuttall retired from the Raiders' program.

Today, there are many more high school girls lacrosse programs (West Genesee N.Y., the team that beat Mount Hebron Saturday, didn't field a team until 1995). There are many more potential opponents for Vikings coach Brooke Kuhl-McClelland to choose from.

Not to mention national attention. The Vikings have been ranked No. 1 in Lacrosse magazine for five straight years. The Raiders didn't have that opportunity, although Nuttall was featured in Faces in the Crowd in Sports
Illustrated.

So which team was better? It seems to me there are 206 reasons why it's a tie.