Class 4a East

Speed defeated size as visiting Blake's four-guard lineup dominated in a 51-45 win over previously undefeated and seventh-ranked Dulaney last night in a Class 4A North regional semifinal. The four starting guards, led by 14 points from Christine Weithman, scored 41 points. They also pestered the Lions' guards, accumulating 12 steals. After giving up two straight baskets out of a tied halftime (19-19), the Bengals (16-5) of Montgomery County went on a 14-2 run and never yielded the lead.

Chris Agorsor scored his 20th and 21st goals of the season and added an assist as top-ranked McDonogh boys soccer shut out host Gilman, 3-0, yesterday. The Eagles (18-3) clinched the regular-season MIAA A Conference title and the No. 1 seed in the playoffs with the win. A McDonogh loss to the Greyhounds (9-8-1) coupled with a 3-1 Archbishop Curley loss to Mount St. Joseph on Tuesday could have resulted in a two-way tie for first. McDonogh coach Steve Nichols called the field conditions "sloppy," but was thankful to have Agorsor back after a hip flexor injury.

Chesapeake's dominance started right from the first whistle and the goals soon followed against North County in last night's Class 4A East region semifinal at Severna Park.Getting possession first, running off the ball full blast and using the entire field - ingredients that led the No. 6-ranked Cougars to the state championship a year ago - were once again on display in a 5-0 win that sends them back to the region final.Chesapeake (15-2) will meet host Severna Park at 7 p.m. Tuesday.Junior striker Adrian Titus, finding more room with the recent strong play of fellow striker Karl Watson, led the way for the Cougars with two goals and an assist.

It was the baseball "game of the year" last spring. Get ready for the encore tomorrow.The site, some of the players, and the stage of the meeting are different as top-ranked Severna Park (17-4) plays No. 2 Arundel (16-5) at 4: 30 p.m. tomorrow in Gambrills.But the rankings are the same for the teams going into this Class 4A East quarterfinal, the first playoff game for both after first-round byes.Last year, the teams met in the Class 4A East final at Severna Park, with Arundel taking a dramatic 12-7 victory in eight innings.

Unranked Severna Park (14-9) used a trapping, pressure defense and had four players -- three of them sophomores -- in double digits to stun No. 9-ranked Annapolis, 61-48, in the Class 4A East quarterfinals last night.The Falcons will host eighth-ranked Meade at 7 p.m. tomorrow in the semifinals.Kim Lawton led the host Falcons with 24 points, followed by 14 and 10 points from fellow sophomores Lauren Bessire and Natalie Hicks. Junior Beth Davis tossed in 11.Annapolis (18-6) humbled the Falcons in their two regular-season games by 57-38 and 65-28.

Second-ranked Severna Park gave Queen Anne's its first loss of the season yesterday, 3-1, in a Class 4A East volleyball semifinal.Julie Gosewisch had 24 kills and was 24-of-25 serving, with four aces, and Lauren Boyd was 19-of-20 serving, with 42 assists, for the visiting Falcons (17-1). Severna Park will make its eighth trip to the regional finals in 11 years.No. 10 Annapolis 3, Glen Burnie 1: Kammi Cottrell and Emily Dammeyer combined for 16 kills as the host Panthers (14-1) advanced to their first Class 4A East region final.

Coach of the YearPhil Popielski, Meade: His zest for a head coaching position drove Popielski to Meade three years ago and he found himself at a school not known for a lot of girls basketball success. But this season Popielski was "in a state of euphoria" when Meade established the best record in school history (22-4), captured the Anne Arundel County championship and advanced to the Class 4A East Region semifinals. The Mustangs had gone 9-70 in the four years before Popielski's arrival. Popielski said the players weren't used to a regimented basketball system when he got there and practices were often very short.

Sorara Grace did a little dance, and Maria Drury continued to talk about winning a state softball championship.That was the scene last night at Randazzo Park after Arundel turned back Old Mill and its hard-luck senior pitcher Jenn Bernard, 5-1, in the Class 4A East region semifinals.Grace stopped Old Mill on two hits, and Drury had a clutch two-run single in the seventh inning, leading the sixth-ranked Wildcats one step closer to a state title and ending Bernard's brilliant high school career on a disappointing note.

Meade's football schedule was too tough, and Broadneck's may not have been tough enough. The Annapolis schedule was just right.As a result, No. 2 Annapolis (9-0) is the only team definitely going to the playoffs. The Panthers clinched the Class 4A East region title and will host a first-round game a week from tomorrow.Meade has been history for awhile, and No. 11 Broadneck (8-1) could be denied its first playoff berth, even if the Bruins finish 9-1. A lack of bonus points (one point for each victory by a team you beat)

Slender Annapolis shooting guard Todd Nicolini never once soared through a maze of bodies last night for a big rebound, a layup or a slam dunk.But his late-game scoring heroics in a 77-67 victory over Arundel in the Class 4A East Region boys basketball semifinals prompted high praise from those all around him at Annapolis."

The poll Compiled by sports staff after consulting with coaches 1. Garrison Forest: Coach: Traci Davis. Last season: 18-1-1, ranked No. 3. Postseason: IAAM A Conference champion. Outlook: Great chemistry led to a second IAAM A Conference title in three years. With 10 starters back, including multi-talented seniors Liza Blue, Meghan Cover and goalie Emily Cain, even a rugged schedule might not stop the Grizzlies. 2. Severna Park: Coach: Lil Shelton. Last season: 19-1, No. 1. Postseason: Class 4A state champion.

GIRLS TRACK Performer of the Year Lauren Allam Chesapeake The junior came up big at the state meet, throwing 137 feet to take second in the discus in Class 4A, coming in 15 inches behind the nearly unbeatable Emily Vannoy of Thomas Johnson. Allam also took third in the shot put--- again behind Vannoy - in the Class 4A competition. That followed Allam's sweep of the put nd discus in the Class 4A East regional meet that helped Chesapeake edge Old Mill by four points. Allam also won both events at the county meet.

Stephanie Speierman threw a no-hitter, broke a state record and helped the No. 7 Hammond girls softball team advance to the Class 2A South regional semifinals by beating visiting Patuxent, 3-1, on Monday. Speierman (15-2) gave up one run and two walks, and struck out 15, which pushed her career total to 1,351 to best previous record-holder Megan Elliott of Calvert with 1,345. No. 3 Chesapeake-AA 7, Leonardtown 0: : Lauren Gibson (11-2) pitched seven innings, gave up five hits and struck out 10 to lift the Cougars (16-2)

Ciarra Lucas hit a three-pointer with 30 seconds left to lift No. 8 Old Mill over visiting Leonardtown, 46-44, in a Class 4A East regional semifinal last night. Old Mill (19-6) trailed by 44-43 with a minute to go. Lucas finished with a game-high 17 points. Old Mill faces host Arundel in tomorrow's regional final at 2 p.m. No. 5 Arundel 57, South River 30: : Simone Egwu led all scorers with 16 points as the host Wildcats (21-4) beat the Seahawks in Class 4A East. No. 3 Western 88, Dundalk 29: : Keirah Hicks had a game-high 23 points to power the host Doves (19-5)

It seemed like everyone wanted to talk to Arundel's Alec Lemon after last night's Class 4A East regional playoff game against visiting North County. One kid asked Lemon to sign a football, another just wanted to say hello, while some adults conveyed their best wishes. The game Lemon had will usually draw a crowd. The senior finished with 306 all-purpose yards and scored four touchdowns - two on pass catches, one on an interception and another on the game's opening kickoff to help No. 6 Arundel to a 49-15 victory over No. 10 North County.

FOOTBALL Severna Park @ Chesapeake: WHEN:: Tomorrow, 6:30 p.m. OUTLOOK:: The visiting Falcons are trying to hold off county rival Broadneck for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Class 4A East region. A win at Chesapeake tomorrow will likely take care of that. Senior QB Sam Jones has been the Falcons' focal point all season, including his second straight three-touchdown game (two throws, one run) last week in a 31-7 win over South River. Senior WR Zach Karr, who had six catches for 79 yards and one TD last week, is one of Jones' reliable targets.

It was seven-plus minutes the North County football team will look back on when it comes to its 2008 season. And the tough decision at the end turned out not to be that tough at all. The No. 8 Knights (6-1) put together a memorable 14-play, 77-yard drive in the fourth quarter of their 22-21 win over previously undefeated and then-No. 4 Old Mill on Friday. After senior running back Dino Stevens scored from 1 yard out to cut the Patriots' lead to 21-20 with 5:09 to play, there was no question the Knights would go for two points and the lead.

1. McDonogh Last season: 20-1-3, ranked No. 1 * The defending MIAA A Conference champs have eight players who were part of the Baltimore Casa Mia Bays' under-15 national championship team. 2. River Hill Last season: 16-4, No. 3 * The class 2A state champion is poised to make another run with seven returning starters, including All-Metro selection Jake Pace. 3. Archbishop Curley Last season: 20-5, No. 2 * The Friars, MIAA A Conference runners-up last season, will vie for the top spot with the return of defender Oumar Ballo and goalie John Connolly.

0 Anne Arundel County boys basketball teams that advanced to the state semifinals. It's the first time since 2002 that there were no county boys teams in the final four. 1 Free throw made in seven tries by Old Mill's Brandon Riley, but it was the game-winner in the Patriots' 55-54 Class 4A East regional semifinal win over Severna Park. 21 Rebounds for Arundel girls' 6-foot-4 sophomore Sherrone Vails in the Wildcats' 77-54 rout of South River in the Class 4A East regional final Friday.

GIRLS Runner of the Year Hillary Lee South River After an outstanding freshman year, Lee was even stronger this fall. The sophomore turned in an impressive performance in the county meet, beating Severna Park's Liya Kasimova by nearly 16 seconds. She followed that up with a second-place effort in the Class 4A East region race, behind Kasimova. Lee then ran 11th in the tough Class 4A state meet field on a cold and windy day. Coach of the Year Patrick Kiley South River Kiley worked hard to help South River peak at the right time, coming on late in the year to pull off a string of impressive performances.