B Conference

After a slow start on offense in Saturday's Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference football championship, Archbishop Spalding wanted a big second-half play to break through against Boys' Latin. The No. 14 Cavaliers got a handful of them. Among the highlights - Ryan Cochrane's 61-yard run that set up a touchdown by Scott Sharik and Zach Waller's 38-yard touchdown run off a fumble recovery. Those and several more big defensive plays fueled a 12-0 victory that avenged their only regular-season loss and spoiled the No. 8 Lakers' bid for a perfect record before a standing-room-only crowd at Mount St. Joseph.

Going into the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference playoffs, Calvert Hall coach Bryan Kelly said a team has to be playing great lacrosse and also have some breaks go its way to claim one of the country's most prized championships. In Friday's title game against No. 2 Loyola, his No. 1 Cardinals skipped the good fortune and were just plain great. Taking charge with a precise second quarter that finished with four unanswered goals, the Cardinals proved better in every facet in earning a 17-3 win over the Dons in front of an announced 5,684 Johnny Unitas Stadium.

The presence of former Orioles shortstop Mike Bordick as a coach in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference has given it credibility, but he is the first to say that he is not the main reason for the perceived higher level of play in the league. "Just because I played with the Orioles doesn't mean I would come into the league and re-invent the wheel," said Bordick, who is in his second season as coach at Boys' Latin. "There are some really good players in this league, and it makes for great competition.

The Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A and B Championship games are set.  The A Conference game will be 5 p.m. at Ripken Stadium Sunday. It will match Calvert Hall, the No. 2 seed that made its way through the loser's bracket to reach the final,  against  unbeated No. 4 seed Archbishop Curley.  To win the title in the double elimination tournament, Calvert Hall would have to win Sunday and again Monday in a second championship game, scheduled for Ripken Stadium at 7 p.m.  The B Conference game will be played Monday at 4 p.m., between Annapolis Area Christian School and Pallotti . A second game, if necessary, will be Tuesday, May 22 at Calvert Hall.

With nine sophomores on a 13-player roster, a first-time head coach and a four-win season the previous year, Cardinal Gibbons couldn't have entered 1999 with many more bleak prospects.Two months, endless practice and 17 wins later, the Crusaders stand a win away from the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference championship after knocking off defending champion Chapelgate, 10-1, yesterday in the second round at Joe Cannon Stadium in Harmans.They have a bye into Thursday's championship round against the winner of today's game between St. Mary's and Chapelgate.

John Carroll rolled past St. Vincent Pallotti, 15-9, 15-1, 15-8, yesterday to win the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland B Conference volleyball title at Villa Julie. Setter Margaret Luppino made the defensive play of the match, a rally-saving dig in a third-game run that dug the Patriots out of a 7-1 hole and built their lead to 10-3. "Defense has been a huge factor," said Kayani Turner, a junior. "Without defense, you can't win volleyball games." Turner, a 6-foot-1 outside hitter, kicked off the run with a kill, but the momentum really swung the Patriots' way after Luppino dove after a ball headed out of bounds and kept it in play.

Last week's 42-22 rout by three-time Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B football champion McDonogh over A Conference power Mount St. Joseph renewed the call for the Eagles to move up to the A -- traditionally the stronger of the two leagues. McDonogh vacated the upper conference in 1995, after going 0-8. And its officials, despite past urgings of rivals in both conferences, had cited size and athletic disadvantages as reasons for resisting a return. But now, the Eagles (2-0)

With nine sophomores on a 13-player roster, a first-time head coach and a four-win season the previous year, Cardinal Gibbons couldn't have entered 1999 with many more bleak prospects.Two months, endless practice and 17 wins later, the Crusaders stand a win away from the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference championship after knocking off defending champion Chapelgate, 10-1, yesterday in the second round at Joe Cannon Stadium in Harmans.They have a bye into Thursday's championship round against the winner of today's game between St. Mary's and Chapelgate.

Quarterback Peter Athens' fourth touchdown pass of the night, a 10-yarder to Dan Rogers with 8:42 remaining, gave St. Mary's a 26-20 victory over Archbishop Spalding for the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference championship last night at Towson University's Johnny Unitas Stadium. It was the first appearance in the B Conference final for the Saints (8-3), while the Cavaliers (7-4) were going for their third consecutive crown. But they were held scoreless by the Marlon Johnson-led defense in the second half after holding a 20-12 halftime lead.

It was more than your normal championship for the St. Paul's girls volleyball team last night at Goucher College as the Gators won the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference crown by 3-1 over Mount de Sales. Winning by scores of 28-26, 25-17 and 25-22, the No. 15 Gators (16-2) won their third title in four years in unique fashion. St. Paul's seniors won the C Conference as freshmen, the B Conference as sophomores, were A Conference runners-up last year and now are A Conference champions.

IAAM BASKETBALL ALL-STARS A CONFERENCE ADAEZE  ALAEZE                                 ROLAND PARK COUNTRY SCHOOL CAMILLE CALHOUN                             ARCHBISHOP SPALDING TAYLOR CUMMINGS                             MCDONOGH TORRI CHESTNUT                                ARCHBISHOP SPALDING ...

It was just a few years ago that St. Mary's had about six wrestlers. Then came coach Dave Hicks, who began rebuilding the program. Then, last season, the team got an emotional boost from school and athletic support groups that combined their resourses to buy the team its first new wrestling mat in decades, and the Saints were on their way. Saturday, at the Maryland Independent Schools state wrestling tournament, St. Mary's won the MIAA...

A trio of veterans propelled the Gilman basketball team Sunday to the program's third Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference championship. Seniors Cyrus Jones and Ryan Ripken and junior Ben Grace all took turns stepping up at opportune times, helping the Greyhounds to a 69-62 win over St. Vincent Pallotti at UMBC's RAC Arena. Jones scored a game-high 22 points, Ripken added 21 and Grace finished with 17 to help make sure the Greyhounds stayed a step ahead of Pallotti throughout the game.

Maria Edwards and Ashley Hunter combined to make three free throws in the final 10.6 seconds to seal No. 12 John Carroll's 42-38 victory over St. Mary's for the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland B Conference basketball championship Saturday at UMBC's RAC Arena. The Patriots had a five-point lead after Emily Soller hit a pair of free throws with 1:26 to go, but Delia Ruttum answered with a pair for St. Mary's to pull within 39-36. John Carroll then turned the ball over out of bounds under the Saints' basket.

At the midway point in the season, the Glenelg Country boys basketball team is still getting settled into the demanding Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference after moving up from the B Conference. Coach Kevin Quinlan has continually preached a "one quarter at a time"  approach, and Tuesday it helped produce the program's biggest win to date when the Dragons (7-6) upset perennial league power and No. 6 St. Frances, 57-55. For Quinlan, who led the Dragons to the B Conference crown and a 28-3 mark in his first season last year, there was little time to celebrate - the team travels to Loyola on Friday.

Annapolis Area Christian School's speed and big-play ability, especially in the second half, overwhelmed Boys' Latin, 46-13, in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference championship at Towson University's Johnny Unitas Stadium on Friday night. Senior running back Joshua McPhearson rushed for 148 yards on 17 carries and had a 77-yard kickoff return for a score for the Eagles, who scored 46 unanswered points to claim the title in their first year in the B Conference after claiming successive C Conference crowns.

Today was supposed to be Boys' Latin coach Butch Maisel's going away party. The only problem was, the Gilman boys soccer team decided to celebrate first. Z. Ross Fragapane's goal with just under 13 minutes left gave Gilman a 1-0 win and the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference championship yesterday at Johns Hopkins' Homewood Field. It was the first and only loss of the season for No. 15 Boys' Latin (19-1-0). "That's all we wanted to do all year was to beat BL," said Fragapane, whose team lost to the Lakers twice in the regular season.

The executive committee of the Maryland Scholastic Hockey League voted last week on a format for the upcoming playoffs. As in the past, the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference and the area's public high school teams will participate. Unlike last season, however, the MIAA B Conference champion also will earn a berth. "I think it's a great thing to have them," said MSHL commissioner Don Gensler of the B Conference teams. "It shows that we're all one big family. Now instead of saying they're the best team in a particular conference, they'll get a chance to show that they're one of the best in the state."

Gilman goalie Andrew Harris thwarted several scoring chances by No. 1 McDonogh in Saturday night's Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference championship game, making acrobatic saves that had the Eagles simply shaking their heads in disbelief. The No. 2 Greyhounds also made sure that two and sometimes three defenders focused on closing down McDonogh's Mike Gamble, and the striker with 34 goals going into the game was kept off the board. But after neither team scored during regulation, the Eagles' Matt Linardi emerged as the hero, lofting a ball from about 12 yards out that somehow went over Harris' head and into the goal with two minutes left in the first overtime for a 1-0 victory in front of nearly 2,000 at Archbishop Spalding.