Falcons

MIAMI -- It appeared to be a mismatch two weeks ago when the Atlanta Falcons brought the league's 21st-ranked pass defense into the Metrodome to face the Minnesota pass offense that was ranked first in the league in the NFC title game.But the Falcons showed the rankings were misleading when they held Randall Cunningham to 266 yards passing and only one completion of longer than 18 yards.The Falcons held the Vikings to just one touchdown in the second half and overtime and escaped with a 30-27 victory that put the Falcons in the Super Bowl.

Time: 8 p.m., TNTLine: Rams by 3Outlook: The Rams (4-12 last season) and Falcons (7-9) play tonight for first place in the NFC West. Atlanta has won three straight for only the 11th time in franchise history, but the wins have come against teams a combined 2-19. The Falcons' Jeff George is the NFC's second-ranked passer; Eric Metcalf leads the NFL with 42 catches. Kicker Morten Andersen, who leads the NFL with 51 points, has a strained calf and may be replaced by former Ram Tony Zendejas.

"If we win the Anne Arundel County title," Severna Park football coach Andy Borland said back in August, "we're going to the playoffs. It's that simple."Well, not quite that simple.The Falcons are well on their way to the county championship after Friday night's 31-26 victory over host Glen Burnie. They remain unbeaten in the league (6-0, 6-2 overall), one game ahead of Annapolis and Old Mill, and two ahead of Glen Burnie (4-2, 6-3 overall), as the teams enter the final week of the regular season.

Third-seeded Annapolis advanced to the Class 4A Region IV girls basketball semifinals by downing Severna Park, 58-38, last night, earningthe right to visit second-seeded Broadneck at 7 p.m. tomorrow.Dee Dee Downs led the game in scoring for the Panthers (14-9) with 24 points, while Lisa Roberts added 11 and a team-high seven rebounds. The sixth-seeded Falcons (9-14) were led by Kris Drapalski's 11 points and game-high nine rebounds. Lori Sharpless tacked on eight in a losing effort.After Downs' opening bucket 23 seconds into the game, Severna Park forged ahead by a 6-2 count by pressing the Panthers into three straight turnovers, as Jill Natwick, Drapalski and Nikki Cecere providedsingle buckets for the Falcons.

Having watched his team yield a combined nine goals in th fourth quarter of its last two games, Broadneck coach Clay White challenged his seventh-ranked Bruins to play all four quarters in their matchup last night against Severna Park.White was not disappointed.The Bruins (14-1) fell behind early but regrouped in time to exploit the Falcons' zone defense and claim a 6-4 victory in the Class 4A-3A, Region IV final at Anne Arundel Community College."We were real upset with our mental mistakes on defense against Annapolis and I felt we corrected those tonight," said White, whose team advanced to the region final by defeating Annapolis, 10-9.

When last we watched the Severna Park and North County boys soccer teams playing against each other, the Falcons defeated the Knights, 1-0.That game, played 10 months ago at North County, was the regular season finale for both squads. It marked the only regular season loss for the 11-1 Knights and the 28th consecutive victory for the Falcons against a county rival.But Saturday's rematch, won by the host Falcons, 3-0, bore littleresemblance to last season's scorcher -- though it was played at a highly physical intensity.

MIAMI -- Two years ago, Atlanta's Morten Andersen missed a chip-shot field-goal attempt that wound up devastating the Denver Broncos.Andersen's miss against Jacksonville in the season finale sent the Jaguars into the playoffs.The Jaguars then went to Denver and knocked the Broncos out of the playoffs.The Broncos, though, can't count on Andersen missing another one in Super Bowl XXXIII.He said that miss made sure he no longer took anything for granted and he's still one of the best kickers in the game.

The numbers are a source of pride for Severna Park field hockey coach Lil Shelton. They can faze even the steadiest of opponents.The Falcons (13-0) had won five straight Class 4A Region IV championships, and nine overall, heading into yesterday's semifinal match against visiting Old Mill. It has become commonplace for Severna Park to visit Goucher College in Towson, site of the state playoffs, each November."This is an exciting time of the year," said Shelton, whose teams have claimed five state titles, the last in 1987.

Tim Green, the former Atlanta Falcon turned broadcaster and author, examines the subject of "why some teams always win and others always lose" in his new book, "The Dark Side of the Game."Green compared an NFL team to a $150 million mansion, although $200 million is probably a more accurate figure these days.He said the owner of the mansion hires a butler and a cook, and he compares them to a general manager and a coach."Each of these has a vital role in serving up a football season. A delicate balance exists among these men that can ruin everything if it's upset," he writes.

Severna Park's field hockey team may not have played up to its potential in yesterday's state semifinal matchup with Westminster, but it got the job done.The second-seeded Falcons scored the contest's only goal at the 17-minute mark of the first half to claim a 1-0 decision over the Owls at Goucher College.Severna Park (15-0) now must face top-seeded Bethesda-Chevy Chase (14-1) in Saturday's 11 a.m. state final at Goucher. In yesterday's other game, Bethesda defeated fourth-seeded defending state champion Walter Johnson, 2-1, in a shootout.