Falcons

In a battle of defending state champions, Fallston ran into Severna Park at the wrong time. After losing to No. 7 Broadneck in its season opener earlier in the week, No. 6 Severna Park wanted to play better Saturday. The Falcons got their wish, using first-half goals from Adley Beairsto and Sam Slattery for a 2-0 victory over No. 14 Fallston in the Sally E. Nyborg Invitational at Roland Park. Fallston won the Class 1A state title last year, and Severna Park was the champion in Class 4A. Both schools are among the most successful field hockey teams in state history, but this game belonged to Severna Park from the start.

Five miles separate the workplaces of Brad Wilson and Ken Johnson. In their long and distinguished coaching careers, they've walked a lot further than that distance on their respective sidelines. Wilson is beginning his ninth year as the head football coach at Westminster High School. Johnson, the dean of Carroll coaches, is in his 10th season at Winters Mill and his 19th overall in the county. The two preside over football programs that have become successful largely because of their abiding commitment to the young men they've influenced through the years.

The Severna Park field hockey players were working on their traditional pregame chants as new head coach Ann Andrews stood on the sideline. As she continued her conversation, the chants became louder. Andrews turned her head to look at the girls in their white-and-blue practice uniforms. She saw their excited smiles, faces lit by sunlight, their collective eyes focused on her. "They think if they chant long enough they can get out of the running," she said, a smile curling her lips.

Home Turf: 560 Gorsuch Road, Westminster Head Coach: Ken Johnson (10th season) 2011 Record: 6-4 overall; 4-3 county The Falcons were oh-so-close in 2011. Despite having the county's youngest squad a year ago, Winters Mill fell just one win short of a Class 2A West Region playoff berth. The upstart Falcons surprised a lot of observers with early-season wins over two Frederick County teams in Oakdale and Frederick, but a late-season loss to Liberty sunk Winters Mill's playoff hopes.

There was some panic around town after the Ravens' first-team offense and defense were soundly beaten by the Atlanta Falcons in the preseason opener a week ago, but I don't take much stock in preseason openers on the road. In fact, they remind me of the old roller derby games where the home teams usually won and the road teams lost. In these games, the home team is hyped and will play hard because they are playing in front of the home fans. Meanwhile, the visiting team is usually still in training camp mode, and that's where the Ravens were stuck.

After a rocky start against the Atlanta Falcons a week ago, the Ravens secondary gets a shot to make amends when wide receiver Calvin Johnson, quarterback Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions visit M&T Bank Stadium on Friday night. But heading into the second of four preseason games, cornerback Lardarius Webb cautioned against putting too much weight on an exhibition that has no impact on the regular season. “I'm looking to go against everybody. It's not just Megatron,” Webb said, referring to Johnson's nickname.

Few people could blame Omar Brown for feeling enormously better about his future in the NFL after the Ravens rookie free safety had an interception, two fumble recoveries and two tackles in Thursday night's 31-17 preseason victory over the Atlanta Falcons. But Brown, an undrafted rookie, said he is trying to prevent that from inflating his confidence. “It was a great start for me. I've taken all the praise, but I still keep a level head coming out here,” he said after Saturday's practice at the team's headquarters in Owings Mills.

By the end of the first quarter at the Georgia Dome on Thursday, the Ravens offense had no first downs and 9 total yards. Their starting defense had already allowed one touchdown and was on the verge of giving up another, and appeared powerless in trying to slow Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones who had a touchdown and more than 100 yards in less than 15 minutes. Even the special teams got into the disappointing act by allowing Dominique Franks to return a punt to the Ravens' 15-yard line.

John Harbaugh is well-renowned for keeping his cards close to the vest. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that the Ravens coach was coy about revealing his plan for the team's preseason opener against the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night.   “The game plan for Atlanta, we don't have one,” he said after Friday's practice at the team's training complex in Owings Mills. “We will not have one. The game plan will be to run our offense, defense and special teams - pretty basic - and evaluate guys and try to execute.

On Friday, Ravens coach John Harbaugh didn't sound optimistic that Matt Birk would be available for Thursday night's preseason opener at the Atlanta Falcons. But the 36-year-old center said Saturday that he is holding out hope that he might be able to play Thursday. “I hope I don't” miss the game, Birk said after the team's practice at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday. “We talked today, and although you can't predict the future, I hope I don't. My goal is to be out there.” Birk confirmed Harbaugh's diagnosis that back spasms have shelved him for the past six days.