December 03, 1995|By PAT O'MALLEY | PAT O'MALLEY,SUN STAFF
The fall sports season belonged to Severna Park, the Falcons claiming two state championships (field hockey and girls soccer), five county titles (boys and girls cross country, golf, field hockey and volleyball) and five region titles (boys and girls cross country, boys and girls soccer, and field hockey).
Season highlights in review:
* Week No. 1 -- Football: Roman Harrison's 3-yard plunge with 36 seconds left lifts Meade over Laurel, 18-16, and the season-opening victory propelled the Mustangs to their first winning season since 1989 and first playoff berth since '87.
Field hockey: In the season opener for both, Severna Park edges neighborhood rival, Severn School, 3-2, on a Kristen Hancock-to-Sarah Horn goal.
* Week No. 2 -- Field hockey: Ani Mason's goal in the second overtime gives Severna Park a 1-0 thriller over Chesapeake.
* Week No. 3 -- Football: Dennard Melton's 78-yard touchdown run with 3:18 left and a two-point conversion pass from Willis Wu to Pete Janney enables Severn to slip past St. Mary's, 15-14, in the renewal of one of the county's top rivalries.
Field hockey: The Falcons take still another one-goal decision by 3-2 over Spalding for their 40th consecutive victory.
* Week No. 4 -- Football: Junior Erik Lipton, who would go on to be named county Offensive Player of the Year, completes 12 of 19 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns as Arundel took its homecoming game by 34-25 over Chesapeake.
Girls soccer: Severna Park takes the first of three meetings with Old Mill by 2-1 on goals by Linda Hall and Dana Cappello.
Field hockey: Horn scored to give Severna Park its third one-goal victory, 1-0 over St. Mary's.
* Week No. 5 -- Volleyball: The North Caroline Tournament may as well have been the 4A state championship as Northern edges Severna Park, 15-5, 15-10. Northern goes on to beat the Falcons in the first round of the playoffs and repeat as state champion.
Football: St. Mary's defeats Loyola, 15-6, to set the stage for the Saints' tri-title in the MIAA A Conference with the Dons and Mount St. Joseph.
* Week No. 6 -- Golf: Severna Park wins District V.
Volleyball: Maureen Carter, who would take Coach of the Year honors, guides South River to a near-upset of Tim Dunbar's Severna Park in a 3-2 match (13-15, 15-9, 9-15, 15-13, 15-0).
Field hockey: The season's most lopsided score, Severna Park 11, South River 1.
* Week No. 7 -- Football: Harrison scores five touchdowns and 34 points in Meade's 36-20 homecoming victory over Glen Burnie.
Field hockey: Bess Freedlander's goal gives Severn a 1-0 upset of Baltimore power Roland Park. In another upset, Eileen Pierce scores both goals as Old Mill (2-7-2) stuns (9-3) Spalding, 2-1.
Golf: Severna Park takes the county boys and girls team titles with the Falcons' Andy Alcorn and Old Mill's Jaclyn Surles winning the individual honors.
* Week No. 8 -- Girls soccer: Game II of Severna Park/Old Mill on Tuesday with the Patriots taking the county championship by 1-0 on Carina Sonberg's goal in the final seconds of the second overtime. Severna Park wins battle III, 1-0, in the first round of playoffs on Lindsey Poland's goal.
Field hockey: After winning the county championship by 4-1 over Chesapeake, Severna Park (14-0) survives a scare a couple days later in the first round of the playoffs nipping (6-3-2) Arundel, 1-0, on Noble's re-directed goal.
Cross country: Severna Park sweeps boys and girls varsity and JV team titles while Ian Ross (Annapolis) and sophomore Kristy Klima (Glen Burnie) take the individual titles.
* Week No. 9 -- Boys soccer: North County (6-6-2) shocks county champ (13-1) Chesapeake, 6-3, in first round of 4A East playoffs. St. Mary's ties St. Paul's, 2-2, in double overtime for share of the MIAA B Conference title.
Volleyball: Severna Park sweeps Glen Burnie, 15-7, 15-4, 15-12 for county title.
Cross country: Severna Park wins 4A East Region while Klima wins girls race.
* Week No. 10 -- Field hockey: Severna Park wins fourth straight and ninth overall state title by 1-0 over Walt Whitman on Horn's goal.
Football: Arundel defeats Meade, 36-22, to become only 10th county team since 1960 to go undefeated in regular season and the first since Annapolis in 1984.
Boys soccer: Severna Park wins region by 1-0 over Meade on Player of the Year Scott Vane's ninth game-winning goal, but loses to Northwestern-PG, 1-0, in the 4A state semis.
* Week No. 11 -- Girls soccer: Player of the Year Shannon Chaney makes 11 saves in 0-0 double overtime to give Severna Park (16-1-2) a share of the state 3A-4A title with Centennial (13-3-2).
Football: Meade shocks Arundel, 14-7, in the 4A state quarterfinals on two touchdown passes by Malwan Johnson in the final 2:38, the 84-yard game winner to Willie Thomas with 1:10 left.
* Week No. 12 -- Football: Meade's season ends on a sour note in a 41-0 loss to Gaithersburg in the 4A semis, but going from 1-9 to 8-4 will not be forgotten.
