Allegany

Same county, different team.After making the two-hour trek over the mountains and methodically dismantling North Carroll Tuesday night, Allegany figured to at least make a game of it in Thursday's Class2A Region I volleyball finals.But Liberty's play on Thursday in no way resembled how North Carroll played Tuesday while losing to the Campers, 3-1.The Lions setwell, blocked well and moved well on the court to sweep Allegany andmove into the state Class 2A semifinals Wednesday at Parkville High in Baltimore County.

FROSTBURG -- House Speaker Casper R. Taylor Jr. exhorted Maryland's two westernmost counties yesterday to create 2,000 jobs next year by adopting an economic development strategy embracing industries as modern as biotechnology and as old as cutting trees.The speaker's challenge came as work groups of the Western Maryland Economic Development Task Force gathered to present their goals for reviving the distressed economies of Garrett and Allegany counties.Their proposed initiatives included a high-capacity connection to the Internet and increased access to public lands for coal mining.

Nice timing, Glenelg."It absolutely was our best game of the year, without a doubt," said Glenelg coach Ciaran Lesikar. "To have their best game in the state championship . . . I really could not have even imagined that that would happen."It did.The eighth-ranked Gladiators shot 50 percent from the field, played spectacular defense and got contributions from a number of players to defeat Allegany, 70-57, last night at UMBC for the Class 1A state title. It was the Howard County school's first basketball title.

The Board of Public Works has approved more than $1 million for preliminary work on two new prisons to house Maryland's burgeoning inmate population.The board, which comprises the governor, comptroller and treasurer, yesterday voted to spend $1.2 million for a 420-bed minimum security prison that inmate laborers are to build next to Eastern Correctional Institution in Somerset County on the Eastern Shore.The board also agreed to spend $140,000 for a consultant to prepare architectural, engineering and site plans for a 2,500-bed prison that is to be built at an undetermined location in Allegany County in Western Maryland.

The University of Maryland basketball fanatics and curiosity seekers arrived early last week at Harford Community College to get a glimpse of dynamic Allegany Community College point guard Steve Francis in action.They wanted to see what all the fuss is about over the 6-foot-3 junior college kid.Is he really good enough, like some coaches are saying, to transform Maryland into a Final Four team next season if coach Gary Williams wins one of the most important recruiting battles in his nine years at the school?

Allegany College sophomore point guard Sterling Ledbetter, who signed with the University of Maryland last month and is expected to back up veteran John Gilchrist, is hospitalized after being hurt in a car accident early Monday while driving back to school. Ledbetter, who played at Laurel High before enrolling at Allegany in Cumberland, apparently fell asleep at the wheel of his vehicle while traveling on Interstate 70 in Frederick County, state police said. He had to be cut from the car before being flown by helicopter to Washington County Hospital in Hagerstown.

THE MARYLAND Racing Commission's approval of a new racetrack in Allegany County will further handicap an already hobbled industry in this state. The award of a license to two members of the powerful William Rickman family for the small track near Little Orleans was based on politics, not on good economics or the betterment of the sport. Thank House Speaker Casper R. Taylor Jr., Del. John A. Hurson (chairman of the House Environmental Matters Committee) and even Gov. Parris Glendening for the decision.

There is nothing like it. "There's no pressure like a state final," said Glenelg senior Jenny Kurdziel. A year ago when Glenelg played Allegany for the Class 1A state championship, seniors Lauren Martin and Kris Brust combined for 41 points and led the Gladiators to the school's first title. Last night, in a rematch of last season's championship, Glenelg needed to find someone to take charge. "It's a different role when you have to be a leader," Kurdziel said. "You have to find someone willing and someone who can hit it."

Can you say rematch? Glenelg and Allegany, which met in last year's Class 1A state final, earned return trips last night with lopsided semifinal victories at UMBC. The 17th-ranked Gladiators got 17 points from freshman Alli Biggs and 14 from senior Stephanie Howell and rolled past Rising Sun of Cecil County, 56-27. Allegany jumped out to a 10-point first-quarter lead en route to a 66-47 triumph over Pocomoke of Worcester County. Glenelg (18-8) defeated Allegany, 70-57, in last year's championship, and Gladiators coach Ciaran Lesikar has a good feeling about today's 6 p.m. rematch.

There is nothing like it. "There's no pressure like a state final," said Glenelg senior Jenny Kurdziel. A year ago when Glenelg played Allegany for the Class 1A state championship, seniors Lauren Martin and Kris Brust combined for 41 points and led the Gladiators to the school's first title. Last night, in a rematch of last season's title game, Glenelg needed to find someone to take charge. "It's a different role when you have to be a leader," Kurdziel said. "You have to find someone willing and someone who can hit it."