Bears

Take inventory of disaster supplies. •Stock a three-day supply of water, or one gallon per person per day. •Store at least a three-day supply of food, including non-perishable items and food that is easy to prepare. •Locate flashlights and extra batteries. •Have a first-aid kit on hand. •Check medication supply and gather toiletries and medical items, including hearing aids and extra batteries, glasses, contact lenses, syringes and cane. •Gather multi-purpose tools, cell phones and chargers, emergency contact information, blankets, area maps, extra clothing and rain gear.

Nearly seven decades separate the youngest and oldest hunters who killed black bears in this year's state-controlled hunt, which ended Friday night. A record 92 bears were killed in Allegany and Garrett counties during the five-day hunt, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. A quota of 80 to 110 bears had been set, an increase from last year's quota of 55 to 80, which corresponds with the growth of the bear population in Maryland. Sixty-eight bears were killed a year ago. Aurora Wilhelm, who won't turn 8 until next month, became the youngest hunter to take down a bear since the hunt was revived in 2004.

There was a time when the real reasons weren't known for why the autumn leaves of leaf-losing trees and shrubs look so colorful prior to falling. But it was an important question just the same, since autumn's leaf-color changes clearly signaled the end of the growing season. In lieu of a scientific explanation, then, other explanations were concocted - and some were as colorful as autumn-colored leaves themselves. For instance, according to pre-Colombian Algonquins - Native Americans that once resided in our area - a fierce fight was fought long ago and high in the sky by spirit warriors against a great-bear spirit.

In 2007, quarterback Nick Elko rewrote the state record book at Arundel High. On Thursday night, the Delaware State signal caller added another page to his superlatives. Playing before family and friends at Morgan State, Elko, now a redshirt senior, sliced through the Bears' defense with near surgical precision, completing 17 straight passes in the first half to set a school record and leading the Hornets to a 28-23 win in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game. "With the talent that kid has throwing the football, we were pretty sure they were going to try and throw it against us," Morgan coach Donald Hill-Eley said.

Fourteen years ago on the outskirts of Ann Arbor, Mich., an 8-year old boy learned to be a football player. In the blistering heat of summer, the boy climbed and descended the concrete steps of Eastern Michigan's Rynearson Stadium, past empty bleachers as sweat dripped down his face. After, he would run route after route on the field, sprinting and chasing his older brother. As the young running back worked, his father watched, giving instruction. For years, through high school, the boy, Travis Davidson, would run those steps and those routes, never fully grasping why his father had him do this.

Kaitlin Zembower had gone deer hunting with her father Jerry countless times over the years near their Frostburg home, but the experience they shared during last year's annual Maryland black bear hunt was much different. Though Jerry Zembower had seen the same bear every day on his way to work in the week leading up to the hunt, he and his daughter didn't see any, let alone shoot one, during their hunt. But Kaitlin wouldn't trade those hours last October for any other time she had spent with her dad hunting.

Maryland's annual bear hunt will begin Oct. 22 with more hunters and the highest quota of bears allowed killed since the hunt was reinstituted after a 50-year hiatus in 2004. According to Harry Spiker, the bear biologist who runs the hunt for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, 340 hunters have been issued tags with a quota set between 80 and 100 bears. After setting a quota of between 55 and 80 bears last year, a total of 72 were killed. The number of hunters has increased from 260 in 2011.

Morgan State (3-2, 2-0 MEAC) vs. North Carolina Central (3-2, 2-0 MEAC) Time: 1 p.m. Site: Hughes Stadium Radio: 88.9 FM Series: Morgan State leads 22-12-2 What's at stake: After a 45-6 dismantling of Savannah State last weekend, the Bears have potentially set themselves up for one of their best seasons in recent memory. Morgan State was picked to finish seventh in the MEAC, but at 2-0 the Bears currently find themselves third in the conference standings.

Each week, Baltimore Sun reporters Aaron Wilson and Matt Vensel will look back at the Ravens' previous game and that of their next opponent. Cowboys 18, Bears 34 (Note: We are looking at Dallas' game before Sunday's bye.) Strategy: The Cowboys used three or more wide receivers on more than half their plays. They attacked the Bears with deep and intermediate throws mixed with short throws to running back DeMarco Murray and tight end Jason Witten. Defensively, they stayed in their 3-4 scheme against Chicago's two-receiver sets and used three or four cornerbacks in clear passing situations.

Morgan State @N.C. Central Saturday, 1 p.m. Radio: 88.9FM Morgan State coach Donald Hill-Eley and running back Travis Davidson had an enjoyable homecoming of sorts Saturday night at the expense of Savannah State. After a sluggish first half, Morgan State (3-2, 2-0) exploded in the third quarter and coasted to a 45-6 win over the host Tigers (0-5, 0-3) in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game before an announced 1,978. The Bears led 14-6 at the half, but used a 38-yard kickoff return by Tyrone Hendrix to jump-start a 24-point outburst in the third quarter.