Earley

Laura Gerrior was a player on the 1989 Broadneck field hockey team that knocked off powerhouse Severna Park, 1-0. That was the last time the 12-time state champions had lost to an Anne Arundel County public school team until yesterday in Edgewater. Gerrior, now the fourth-year head coach at South River, guided her No. 8 Seahawks to a thrilling 3-2 upset of the top-ranked Falcons in overtime yesterday. Severna Park had won over 120 consecutive county public school league games since '89. "I remember it like it was yesterday," said Gerrior, who took over a program that had won one game, and in four years has the Seahawks playing on the level of the team that has set the standard.

ANNAPOLIS -- Mayor Alfred A. Hopkins launched an inquiry yesterday into the Anapolis Fire Department's handling of a sexual misconduct scandal, as a second firefighter fired in the probe demanded reinstatement, saying the case against him was flawed.On Monday, the fire chief threw out charges against firefighter Robert "Tommy" Thomas after determining that fire investigator Dan Earley's investigation had been tainted because he had had sex during off-duty hours with a woman described as "central to the allegations."

CHESTERTOWN - Top-ranked Salisbury scored the first seven goals en route to a 17-12 win over third-ranked Washington College yesterday, improving to 15-1 overall and cutting the Shoremen's lead in the series to 19-15. The Sea Gulls struck quickly, getting a goal from Brian Oakley at 2:56, then adding six over the next seven minutes for a 7-0 lead. The Shoremen (12-3) stopped the run when Jon Spivey and Craig Earley scored back-to-back goals, but Josh Bergey and Cory O'Neil answered for Salisbury, which took a 10-3 lead into halftime.

* Crosby Communications, the Annapolis-based marketing, design and ad firm, has completed design of a new logo for the Capital Plaza Mall in Landover Hills. The new design, featuring a festive shopping bag, will be used throughout the mall in its signage, stationery, materials and advertising.* Charlestown Retirement Community raised more than $100,000 for its benevolent care fund at a recently held gala at the life care and retirement community located in Catonsville.* Wagner Appliance Parts, located in Timonium, has initiated a point of purchase 10 percent discount, through March 1, 1995, to customers who give a contribution of nonperishable foodstuffs to the South Baltimore Homeless Shelter.

Michelle Grap's two-run, fifth-inning double sparked the host Centennial softball team to an 8-4 victory over Long Reach in a Howard County battle of undefeated teams yesterday. "That was the big hit because it put us down 5-2 and that changed the nature of the game," said Long Reach coach Chuck Struhar. "After that, we couldn't bunt or steal. Centennial is the best hitting team I've seen in Howard County in a long time." Michelle Bosserman led No. 12 Centennial by going 3-for-4 with an RBI. Jessica Olenik was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Jessica Grimshaw was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

South River field hockey coach Laura Hoffner didn't have to remind her Seahawks about this time last year, but she made a small point to do so anyway. Point well-taken. Stunningly sent home in the first round of last year's region tournament, the No. 12 Seahawks have taken it as a lesson well-learned and, this time are handing out lessons of their own. The latest came yesterday afternoon in Edgewater, where senior wing Sheli Gobbel scored the first of her two goals just four minutes in as the Seahawks rolled to the Class 4A East region final with a 5-0 win over visiting Arundel (8-7-1)

No. 4 Broadneck (11-0) at Friendly (11-0)When: 7: 30 tonightWhere: Fort Washington, Prince George's CountyOutlook: Broadneck's first playoff appearance ended at this site last year in a 34-20 loss to the Patriots in the 3A quarterfinals. The Bruins won their first playoff game last week, 22-21, over Westlake; Friendly beat Bel Air, 41-7. Friendly last appeared in a state final in 1983 but is a perennial playoff team. Ranked No. 3 in the Washington area, coach George Earley's Patriots boast several NCAA Division I prospects.

FAIRFAX, Va. --- The only two elections for governor tomorrow, here in Virginia and in New Jersey, are either bellwethers for the 2002 congressional and 2004 presidential races or merely local contests with no national significance. It depends on whether you think your party's candidates are going to win or lose. Although both seats are now held by Republicans, this time it's the Democrats, comfortably ahead in the polls in both states, who are saying the results will set the stage for Democratic control of Congress next year and the presidency beyond.

NEW YORK - There is a lot of dancing in the grandstands, but no one is singing in the rain at the U.S. Open. Matches are backing up. Two of 73 were completed Monday, after both day and night sessions were officially canceled. Yesterday, none of the 84 scheduled afternoon matches were played by 5 p.m., officially canceling the day session for fans, enabling them to exchange their tickets, while players were told to continue to hang around for play if it became possible. Though No. 1 seed Andre Agassi and other matches eventually did get played, matches are backed up to the near breaking point.

Dustin Hoffman has been a major movie star for more than three decades, one of those rare actors whose careers can be judged as both a commercial and artistic success.Yet there Hoffman was in the New York Times last week, a quivering bundle of insecurities, confiding that he has always felt like a "fluke" who never believed he had really "arrived," and concluding that "in a way I've been hanging on by my fingertips for the whole ride."Huh? Clearly, there is stuff going on inside an actor's psyche the rest of us can only guess at.Caroline Nesbitt, a stage actress now on tour with "Enchanted Doll," a production of the Underground Railway Theatre of Boston, clears up some of the mystery in the current issue of American Theatre magazine.