Broadneck

The Fuel Fund Classic will be played Wednesday at the Baltimore Arena, but without the scheduled boys basketball matchup between No. 5 Lake Clifton (12-5) and No. 12 Broadneck (12-3).State and Anne Arundel County rules prevent Broadneck from playing Lake Clifton."We're trying to find another team to play Lake Clifton, but we're not optimistic," said Joni Scholwin, chairman of the planning committee. "If we don't come up with an opponent for Lake Clifton, we will go with four games."The girls games are No. 3 St. Mary's (16-2)

Having fallen one game short of reaching the state playoffs the lasttwo years, the Broadneck boys basketball team anxiously awaits another opportunity to join the elite at Cole Field House.But to do so, the Bruins must resist looking ahead.Last night, visiting LaPlata of Charles County could attest that the Bruins are a focused team.Adjusting quickly to the Warriors' deliberate offense, Broadneck opened a 15-point halftime lead and cruised to a 65-34 victory in the Class 4A Region IV quarterfinals.

Broadneck boys soccer coach Kevin McMullen always teaches his athletes to be flexible. He believes it's a sound way to prepare for the inconsistencies of the "real world."That advice came in handy over the weekend, when the second-seeded Bruins were faced with the postponement of Saturday's Class 4A state semifinal game against No. 3 Thomas Wootton because of rain.The game was rescheduled for 5 this afternoon at Broadneck. The other semifinal, pitting top-seeded Bowie and No. 4 Walt Whitman, will follow at 7:30 p.m."

Marissa Ballera scored her second goal of the game with 1:28 left in the second overtime to give No. 1 Severna Park a 3-2 victory over No. 6 Broadneck in an Anne Arundel County field hockey game Monday night. Ballera and Madeline Ross scored in the first half to give visiting Severna Park (7-0, 5-0) a 2-0 lead. But the Falcons couldn't hold the lead as Kate Stengel scored two second-half goals for the Bruins (7-1, 4-1), and the game eventually went into overtime. The game was delayed for nearly 30minutes when Severna Park's Kierston Muhly was hit in the mouth by a ball with 50seconds remaining in regulation.

It took almost an entire up and down season, but Broadneck found the missing piece just in time for the playoffs and finds itself in tomorrow's Class 3A East Region final.The Bruins were missing a "go-to" player until senior guard Stacy Smith answered the call a couple weeks ago."I just decided that if I don't shoot, it won't go in, so I started shooting more and started gaining confidence," said Smith, who scored seven of her 13 points in the final period to ignite a 13-0 run as the host Bruins closed with a 40-28 victory over Atholton.

COLLEGE PARK -- The Broadneck volleyball team prides itself on having fun while it plays, and that attitude has served the fifth-ranked Bruins (16-2) well with seven consecutive trips to the state tournament. Unfortunately, there weren't many smiles as the Bruins lost to Montgomery County's Sherwood, 25-10, 25-13, 25-17, in the state Class 4A semifinals at the University of Maryland Ritchie Coliseum last night. The Warriors advanced to Saturday's 7:30 p.m. Class 4A title game there. They will face Damascus, a winner in three games over C.H. Flowers in the other semifinal, in an all-Montgomery County final.

After watching his No. 6 Broadneck girls basketball team complete what he described as its worst half of the season, coach Bruce Springer gave the Bruins some simple advice."

Broadneck's balance, especially among its lower weights, is going to be trouble for a lot of teams this year. Just ask No. 14 Arundel's Isaac Haertel."

Don't count Broadneck among the teams that suffer letdowns after a big game.The No. 13 Bruins came into No. 10 Arundel in Gambrills last night and outscored the host Wildcats 44-16 in the second half and coasted to a surprisingly easy 68-44 victory.The Broadneck victory left both teams 3-1 overall and came on the heels of Saturday's 78-56 loss to top-ranked Lake Clifton in the Fuel Fund Classic. Broadneck showed no after- effects and played with poise and confidence in dominating the statistics.