The McDonogh-Archbishop Curley soccer rivalry will continue, but two of the most notable recent participants have moved on to a professional career with Major League Soccer.
The problem with MLS making Baltimore attacking midfielder Santino Quaranta, 16, its youngest signee ever, and Annapolis striker Devin Barclay, 17, the third youngest, leaves an important question unanswered. Who was better: Quaranta's Curley teams or Barclay's McDonogh teams?
McDonogh took the 1998 Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association championship, 2-1, over Curley, which returned the favor in the 1999 title match by the same score.
"That was my favorite thing in high school, playing McDonogh," said Quaranta, who has three younger brothers, one of them, Mario, now playing at Curley. "So many people came to those games. It was intense."
The future promises to be intense for these two youngsters, who both signed incentive-laden, multi-year contracts - Quaranta for five years and Barclay for four - which could average six figures, and much more, depending on how well they do. Today, they find out who they will play for when MLS conducts its six-round draft in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Both Soccer Club of Baltimore alumni are expected to be first-round selections, considering the investment the league has made in them. Quaranta has expressed a strong desire to go to nearby D.C. United, whose coach, Thomas Rongen, has been profuse in his praise of the speedy midfielder and in regular phone contact with Quaranta's father, Tommy, for weeks.
To help make this a reality, since Saturday night United traded All-Star defenders Carlos Llamosa and Jeff Agoos to obtain the fourth, eighth and 10th picks in the first round, where the team previously had none.
Barclay wants to play for the Galaxy in Los Angeles, where he has close family, with the Tampa Bay Mutiny a second choice.
Barclay finds himself again playing for the United States' under-20 national team, being promoted late in 2000 after spending most of the year with the national under-18s. He played in all five U.S. under-20 matches this year, starting four, and assisted Seth Trembly's winner two minutes into injury time Thursday for a 2-1 victory over Mexico in Guadalajara.
Barclay called "speed, quickness and my ability to get into position" his most notable skills.
"I score goals. I'm more of a forward or a withdraw striker. I can hold possession," he said.
