Clinched

Scott Pierce passed for five touchdowns as No. 5-ranked Eastern Tech finished a school-best 10-0 regular season and clinched the Class 3A North region title.Eastern's 40-6 win over Kenwood yesterday also gave it the No. 1 seed for the playoffs.Eastern clinched its second straight Baltimore County Class 3A-4A crown as Anthony Lawston had three touchdown catches, and his brother, Steve, caught two.No. 6 Broadneck 33, North County 7: Broadneck (10-0) became the 11th team in Anne Arundel County since 1960 to go undefeated in regular season and clinched its second straight 3A playoff berth.

The sweat and nerves that accompanied St. Mary's journey to the NCAA tournament turned into a leisurely jaunt after the team had upset reigning national champion Salisbury, 13-11, in Sunday's final of the Capital Athletic Conference tournament and earned the automatic qualifier. It was a relaxing moment for a Seahawks program that had never advanced to the NCAA tournament until Sunday. “Well, it definitely took a little pressure off,” coach Chris Hasbrouck said with a chuckle Monday afternoon.

BOSTON -- As anniversaries go, they don't come more bitter than last night in Fenway Park's third base dugout. There, along with a chilled, delirious crowd of 30,903, the Orioles watched the Boston Red Sox complete an unlikely run for the AL wild card on the same day they had clinched the 1997 AL East title in Toronto."

When C. Milton Wright and North Harford met in girls lacrosse Thursday night, both sides expected a close game. None of their previous seven meetings had been decided by more than four goals. Three of the last five were one-goal games. Early on, No. 3 C. Milton Wright appeared ready to buck that trend by running up a seven-goal lead, but the Mustangs needed that advantage to hold off the visiting Hawks for a 12-10 victory that clinched the Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference Chesapeake Division championship.

The Ravens clinched the AFC North last night, although it came at a price. When the Indianapolis Colts came away with a 34-16 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, the Ravens captured their first division title in three seasons, but their hopes of landing a first-round bye might have slipped through their grasp. Ravens@Steelers Sunday, 1 p.m., Ch. 13, 1090 AM, 97.9 FM Line: Steelers by 3

Heat: Alonzo Mourning scored 28 points Friday night as Miami clinched the final Eastern Conference playoff spot with a 106-100 victory over Milwaukee.

NATIONAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCEThey're inTeam ... ... Rec. ... ... The scoop49ers .. ... 13-2 ... ... Clinched NFC West and home-field advantage through playoffs.Cowboys .. . 11-3 ... ... Need victory or tie tonight vs. Atlanta or Sunday vs. Chicago or an Eagles loss or tie to the Giants on Sunday to clinch NFC East.Saints ... . 11-4 ... ... Clinched wild-card spot. Must beat Jets on Sunday or have Eagles lose to Giants to be at home in first playoff game.Vikings .. . 10-5 ... ... Clinched Central title.

Meghan White of Dulaney swept the 880-yard, one- and two-mile runs at the 16th annual Baltimore Metro Winter Invitational yesterday at Catonsville Community College.White's performance helped Dulaney (42 points) take second in the girls meet. Frederick captured the top spot with 54. The Lions can score more points when the pole vault competition takes place at Dulaney on Jan. 13 -- but cannot win because only one Lion will be there.Dulaney's boys edged Meade, 56-55, and clinched that title because no Mustangs pole vault.

At times this season, the inability to score over long stretches has hurt the Century girls basketball team. Last night against Frederick County's Urbana, it was a sizable drought in each half that doomed the host Knights in a 51-43 loss. The team, in its first varsity season, has shown maturity and clinched a tie for the Carroll County title. But shooting woes continue to be a problem. The Knights (11-7, 7-6 Central Maryland Conference) shot 24 percent from the field over the first three quarters.

FOOTBALL State regional playoffs Havre de Grace, Joppatowne and Fallston (possibly) DATES AND TIMES:: TBA OUTLOOK:: Havre de Grace and Joppatowne already clinched spots in the Class 1A playoffs heading into the final week of competition. The only question is who they will play. If the two teams meet in the regionals, it would be at Havre de Grace, where Joppatowne already scored a 20-0 victory earlier this year (a game the Mariners later forfeited because of an ineligible player). Fallston needed a win in the season's final game during the weekend to clinch the first playoff berth in school history.

Denver's Jill Remenapp had no idea she was on her way to a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation record when she handed out nine assists in the No. 15 Pioneers' 20-9 win over St. Mary's (Cal.) on Sunday afternoon. “I didn't realize I was on such a roll,” the Century graduate said. “At halftime, Josie Owen, our grad assistant coach, said, 'Jill, you have six assists.' I was like, 'What?' because when I'm in the game I'm not thinking, 'Oh I had another assist.' Plus, you don't know whether you're going to get recorded for it. But [the St. Mary's defenders]

Unlike last season, Towson will not have to wait until the final weekend of the regular season to find out if it has qualified for the Colonial Athletic Association tournament. Despite Saturday's 14-11 loss to No. 15 and league rival Drexel, the Tigers clinched the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. “Obviously, we're excited,” coach Shawn Nadelen said Monday afternoon. “We've played decently within the CAA this year, and we've earned enough wins to qualify us for postseason play.

Frostburg State has already accomplished a school first by cementing a spot in the Capital Athletic Conference tournament, but the program has its eyes on a bigger prize. If the Bobcats can defeat Wesley this Saturday, they will clinch the No. 4 seed in the six-team tournament and host a first-round contest. It's a goal that the team and coach Tommy Pearce have aspired to all season. “That's where we want to be,” Pearce said Friday morning. “We think we should be right in that discussion with the teams that are getting the No. 4 seed in the playoffs.

When Stevenson was a member of the Capital Athletic Conference, the program took home regular-season crowns in 2009 and 2011. The No. 4 Mustangs have an opportunity for another league championship, but as members of the Middle Atlantic Conference. Stevenson (13-2 overall and 6-0 in the league) only have to defeat No. 16 Widener (9-4, 5-1) on Saturday night to capture the regular-season title, and coach Paul Cantabene said the accomplishment is a coveted honor. “Any time you can win a conference title, it's good for the program,” he said Thursday.

Shannon Mangini scored her third goal of the game with 2:16 left in overtime to give host Pennsylvania a 10-9 win over No. 13 Princeton and clinch at least a share of a seventh consecutive Ivy League women's lacrosse championship on Wednesday. The Quakers (8-4, 6-0 Ivy League), who earned the right to host the league tournament, did not lead until there was 21:29 to play in the game, and led again only after Mangini's winning goal. The game never featured a lead of more than two goals and was tied five times.

Colleges Stinnett pitches Terps past Miami in baseball Host Maryland won its baseball series finale over Miami, 7-2, on Sunday behind seven strong innings from starter Jake Stinnett . Stinnett, who pitched five scoreless innings at George Mason on Wednesday, retired 13 of the first 15 batters and held the Hurricanes (24-15, 8-10 Atlantic Coast Conference) to one run on three hits with six strikeouts to earn his third consecutive victory and improve to 4-3. In his past three starts, Stinnett has a 1.42 ERA and is averaging 8.53 strikeouts per nine innings.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Glenn Taggart's short jump shot with four seconds left carried North Carolina A&T (17-8, 10-5) to a 76-75 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference victory over regular-season champion Coppin State (17-8, 13-2) at the Corbett Center last night.Larry Yarbray had given Coppin State a 75-74 lead when he made the first of two foul shots with 19 seconds to go. Senior Larry Stewart and freshman James Mazyck led the Eagles with 17 apiece.Taggert had 30 points for the Aggies, who clinched second place in the MEAC.

Maryland Scholastic Association first vice president Jerry Savage said the MSA will look into the circumstances surrounding Friday's football game between Patterson and Northern.The game, which Patterson won, 55-16, was stopped by officials with 1 minute, 50 seconds left, because of an increasing number of personal fouls. After the game, a brawl broke out when the teams lined up for the ceremonial handshake."Something like that, especially when it involves media coverage, the MSA certainly will step in and do something, and I think city officials will do the same," Savage said.

Led by Tony Donatelli's hat trick, the Blast earned a victory Thursday night over the Missouri Comets in Game 1 of the MISL championship series. Ptah Myers, Adauto Neto and Machel Millwood added two goals each for the Blast, and goalkeeper William Vanzela recorded 18 saves. Game 2 is set for Saturday night at 1st Mariner Arena , with a deciding mini-game to be played immediately after regulation, if needed. The Comets are no strangers to an opening loss, having rallied in the semifinals to beat the Milwaukee Wave in Game 2 and the mini-game.