Atholton

Centennial's David Hudson has pitched about as well as he could have hoped for this season.Yesterday -- in a crucial game against second-place Atholton -- he came through again with a three-hit shutout as the ninth-ranked Eagles virtually clinched the county championship, 4-0.With four games left to play, Centennial (14-2, 10-0) now has a three-game lead over 13th-ranked Atholton (11-5, 7-3) and 14th-ranked Glenelg (6-5, 6-3).In beating Atholton, Hudson struck out eight, walked one and won his seventh game.

Atholton had hoped to become the first Howard County team to claim a state softball title, taking the field against Class 2A top-seed Damascus nearly three hours before Mount Hebron would take a swing at the Class 3A crown.Atholton's seven defensive errors and critical mental lapses on the base paths, combined with two Damascus home runs, ruined the sixth-ranked Raiders' plan as the Hornets (17-3) of Montgomery County won the 2A championship, 6-1, yesterday at Randazzo Park.For Damascus, making its fourth straight trip to the Class 2A finals, it was the second title in three years for coach Barb King (96-13 in six years)

All that stood between Atholton and at least a share of its first Howard County boys basketball title since 1985-86 was upstart host Howard.But unlike Hammond's end-of-season loss to Howard a year ago -- which cost the Golden Bears the championship outright -- the visiting Raiders (16-6, 10-4) were not about to let the Lions (8-14, 5-9) relish the spoiler role once again.Behind the inside combination of junior center D.J. Chiles (18 points, 11 rebounds) and senior forward Tony Stewart (11 points, nine rebounds)

No. 14 Atholton needed overtime to do it, but the Raiders finally won their own Central Maryland Tournament with an 81-77 victory over Sherwood of Montgomery County yesterday."

The Atholton Raiders spent three quarters hurting themselves at Howard on Friday night, but in the end, quarterback Brian Van Deusen and his run-and-shoot offense fixed the problem.Van Deusen completed 13 of 24 passes for 235 yards and four touchdowns. And he saved his best work for the fourth quarter, when Atholton erased a 17-14 Howard lead with two Van Deusen touchdown passes to lead the Raiders to a 28-17 victory.Van Deusen's brilliant fourth-quarter -- he threw just two passes, both for touchdowns -- erased an evening of frustration for the Raiders.

Jamie Burford drove in three runs and Dan Keyser pitched a complete-game seven-hitter, leading No. 13 and fourth-seed Atholton to a 18-0 victory over third-seed Lackey, in the state 2A South Regional championship game at White Plains Regional Park yesterday.The Raiders built a 12-0 lead after three innings, then added six more in the top of seventh.Burford highlighted the rally with a two-run triple. Burford finished 2-for-4, leading a 14-hit attack.Brandon Eierman went 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBIs for Atholton.

Kevin Kelly was named Atholton's head football coach Wednesday. He replaces Don Van Deusen who stepped down for personal reasons after 21 seasons.Van Deusen, the athletic director, also announced that Warren Michael will be head varsity girls soccer coach. Michael replaces Jim Carlan.Kelly, a guidance counselor, worked with Van Deusen for 17 years either as the Raiders' junior varsity football coach or as an assistant varsity coach."I have mixed emotions," Kelly said. "I'm excited because it is something I've always wanted to do. But I'm sad because my mentor is gone.

With a strong returning nucleus and outstanding quickness, Atholton hopes to take a major step forward from last season's 10-12 record.Several coaches, in fact, have touted the Raiders as the team to beat this season.Atholton looks to 6-2 senior swing man Tony Stewart to lead the team. He averaged nine points last season."He's very athletic, shoots well, runs well and has the ability to take over a game," coach Jim Albert said. "He's our best rebounder and might just bust out this season."

Even when Centennial's volleyball team isn't performing at peak efficiency, the Eagles are usually too tough for their competition.Take last night's 15-7, 15-9, 15-6 victory over Atholton. The Eagles sputtered at times with their serves, recording a season-high nine service errors, including four in a sloppy second game. In the first game, they allowed Atholton to turn a healthy 10-1 Centennial lead into an uncomfortable 10-7 advantage.But in the end, Centennial had all the answers -- solid passing, great defense and the potent front row of Shannon Saltzman, Laura Taneyhill and Carly Cangiano.