4 Arundel

All season long, the Arundel Wildcats lived by the pass. Last night in the Class 4A state championship game at M&T Bank Stadium, they died by the pass in a 36-30 loss to Quince Orchard of Montgomery County. The Cougars won their second state championship, with the other in 1991. The Wildcats, who won a state title in 1975, were playing in their first final since 1979. Quince Orchard quarterback Jaron Morrison connected with Travis Hawkins on a 78-yard touchdown pass with 1:30 remaining to give the Cougars a 30-23 lead and cap a 16-point comeback in the fourth quarter.

This weekend is the reason every high school football player decided to put on shoulder pads, cleats and a jersey. M&T Bank Stadium will play host to the high school football state finals, and five undefeated area teams have qualified for the biggest games of the year. The Class 3A championship game will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday with No. 5 Hereford (13-0) looking for its fourth state title and first since 2002. The Bulls will take on Damascus (12-1), a team that is no stranger to playoff football either.

District Heights -- The last time Arundel was in a state football final was 1979, when the Wildcats lost the Class A (now 3A) championship to Seneca Valley. A fledgling coach and Arundel graduate was the defensive coordinator for coach Buddy Hepfer. That coach was Chuck Markiewicz, who is in his 20th season as an Anne Arundel County head coach and has been at his alma mater for the past seven years. Yesterday, Markiewicz led his No. 4 Wildcats to a 14-13 upset in a Class 4A semifinal at defending state champion Suitland (12-1)

Quarterback Nick Elko threw four touchdown passes to tie the state public school season record of 38, but it was the Arundel defense that sparkled even more last night as the No. 4 Wildcats won their first regional title in 24 years. Host Arundel won the Class 4A East crown with a 49-20 victory over defending regional champion No. 6 Broadneck at John Puglise Stadium in Gambrills last night. With linebacker Arinze Obiako - the Wildcats' best defensive player, according to coach Chuck Markiewicz - out because he was ejected last week and was suspended for one game, linebacker Michael Inyang stepped up. Inyang intercepted two passes and returned a fumble 54 yards for a touchdown to give the Wildcats a 27-14 lead.

FOOTBALL Class 4A East regional final: No. 6 Broadneck (9-2) @ No. 4 Arundel (11-0) WHEN -- Friday, 6:30 p.m. OUTLOOK -- The county's best two teams meet for the right to advance to the state semifinals. The host Wildcats are looking for their first regional title since 1983, while the defending regional champion Bruins are looking to claim their fourth regional title in five years. The Wildcats lost to Old Mill, 18-12 in last year's regional semifinals, and have been on a mission to go to the final four ever since.

An undefeated regular season in which top-ranked River Hill captured its fifth straight Howard County title and recorded eight shutouts in 10 games was quickly put out of the Hawks' minds going into last night's matchup against McDonough of Charles County in the Class 2A South regional semifinal. This is because River Hill's single goal this season was to capture its first state championship in football after falling short in the title game last year.

After accomplishing a football rarity by keeping the ball for the entire third quarter, No. 6 Old Mill didn't execute Part 2 of its plan and keep No. 4 Arundel from scoring. Instead the host Wildcats' do-everything quarterback Nick Elko answered with a 55-yard touchdown dash to propel Arundel to a 24-7 victory. Elko ran for two touchdowns and 139 yards on 18 attempts, completed 13 of 26 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown (his 24th), kicked three extra points and a 25-yard field goal, and punted six times for an average of 42.2 yards.

Severna Park had No. 4 Arundel on the ropes last night but couldn't finish off the host Wildcats. The hard-nosed, unranked Falcons were foiled by multitalented Wildcats senior Nick Elko. Elko, the quarterback who also runs, punts, kicks off and kicks extra points and field goals, did all those things last night to lead Arundel to a 24-14 victory. Severna Park led 7-0 at the half and 14-7 with 4:21 left in the third quarter on two touchdown passes by Pat Morrison before Elko led Arundel's comeback.

In one of the biggest nonconference games of the early season, No. 3 Seton Keough was able to withstand a furious fourth-quarter rally by No. 4 Arundel to win, 48-47, last night. The visiting Wildcats trailed by 13 points at the end of the third quarter, but relentless pressure by their defense and some clutch three-point shooting by Brittany Watts and Ayanna Randolph allowed the Wildcats to nearly overtake Seton Keough in the game's closing seconds. Asya Bussie was the difference for the Gators, with a game-high 14 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots.

Four unions of Anne Arundel County school employees have formed a coalition to share information on issues that affect members and to coordinate advocacy efforts. The Coalition of Educational Employees will represent more than 8,700 teachers, principals, secretaries, instructional assistants, custodians, school bus drivers and food service workers. "Over the course of the last year we've recognized there are many issues that we share," said Sheila M. Finlayson, president of the Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County, at a news conference Wednesday.