Falcons

Two months later, Oakland Mills midfielder Mia Dammen still can taste the bitterness of her team's 2-1 loss -- the Scorpions' second of the season -- to the Severna Park girls soccer team."

On the strength of its doubles teams, Old Mill did what no other county tennis squad has done in more than six years -- beat Severna Park.Yes, the Falcons' highly publicized 69-match winning streak finally has ended. Defending state doubles champion Phil White and last year's state mixed-doubles participant Matt Pharr combined to down Severna Park's Andy Smith and Tony Somers, 6-2, 7-5, to give the visiting Patriots a 5-4 win."During the first set, there was no pressure at all, we were justhitting the ball and not over-thinking," said White.

Like heavyweights in a championship fight, the Severna Park and Northern volleyball squads will take center court at Catonsville Community College tomorrow night.There, they'll slug it out for the Class4A state title."I couldn't think of a better matchup," Northern coach Cheryl Lord said of the 7:30 p.m. match. "The teams are similar, and probably the biggest similarity is hitting. Both teams can hit big and with a lot of control."Lord's third-seeded Patriots of Calvert County (17-0) return four senior starters and eight players overall from last year's Class 3A state champion squad.

Both the Arundel and Severna Park football teams were aware of the fact going into Friday night's clash that one more loss for either team surely would eliminate any hopes it had of making the playoffs.And neither squad seemed willing to predetermine its postseason fate.But, someone had to lose and face the reality that come mid-November, the only way they would see any postseason action would be as a spectator.Arundel now must live with that reality.The visiting Wildcats rode three first-half turnovers to a 14-13 halftime lead under the lights of Severna Park Friday.

The Atlanta Falcons finally have a quality win, a win that says they don't have to apologize anymore for the motley bunch of teams they've beaten over the last 17 games.By pounding the New England Patriots, 41-10, in Foxboro, Mass., this week, the Falcons proved they can beat a good team on the road.But before anyone considers them a serious threat in the NFC, they have to stay with -- and ultimately beat -- the San Francisco 49ers, who have won the NFC West 12 of the past 15 years.In Week 11, Atlanta gets the chance to do just that.

This was a classic Class 4A championship field hockey game, and when all the action was over, Severna Park reigned as the new state champion.The top-seeded Falcons were outplayed often in the game but they came out on top, 1-0, on the scoreboard against the defending 4A champion Westminster Owls.It was a rematch of last year's title game, which Westminster won, 1-0, and more than lived up to all expectations.Both teams -- No. 1 ranked Severna Park and No. 3 Westminster -- showed all their best weapons and dueled each other for 60 minutes.

Notebook Coach Melissa Page said her Chesapeake field hockey team "might not be the best talent-wise that we have had, but team-wise, there has been none better" in her five years. "This group has really bought into the team concept," she said. "And this team has a ton of heart and always seems to turn it up in the last 10 minutes." The team concept showed Thursday when No. 5 Chesapeake defeated then-No. 1 Severna Park, 2-1, in overtime on the road. Chesapeake (6-1, 4-1 county league)

A Class 4A football playoff berth is at stake tonight at 7:30 as Annapolis (7-2) and Severna Park (6-3) meet for the 35th time in the county's oldest rivalry.Neither team can win the county 4A title nor the 4A East Region. North County, which plays at 3A Broadneck (6-3) at 7:30 p.m., already has clinched both. Annapolis would finish at 6-1 in the county to tie North County, but the Knights took the head-to-head meeting, 40-6.The Baltimore Sun's 12th-ranked Annapolis hopes to join No. 6 North County (8-1)

Don Gregg, the Severna Park boys soccer coach recently named National Soccer Coach of the Year by the National Federation of Soccer Coaches, is considering retirement as a physical education teacher at the end of this school year, but he definitely will coach the Falcons one more season. "Don told me he wanted to coach one more season, which will be his 30th, but will probably retire as a teacher," said Severna Park athletic director Wayne Mook. Gregg said he has bought a house in Florida "contingent upon us selling our house [in Pasadena]"

The Severna Park girls lacrosse team has engaged in a multitude of important games in recent years, as its four consecutive 4A-3A state championships will attest.Now, it's Chesapeake's turn.A title isn't at stake when the Falcons and Cougars (both 7-0) meet this afternoon at Severna Park -- only a couple of winning streaksand sole possession of first place in the 4A League."Severna Park has had plenty of these important games. It's nice that we're in that position," said Cougars coach Jim Buchan.