Falcons

Matt Birk sat out his fifth straight practice, and coach John Harbaugh essentially ruled the Ravens center out of the team's preseason opener against the Atlanta Falcons next Thursday. “Matt is resting,” Harbaugh said Friday. “He had some back spasms, too. It's probably both me and Matt. Matt has had the back spasms, but I am going to probably slow him down a little bit more, especially this week, and then maybe next week after the game, we will get him back a little bit more.” Birk, the 36-year-old center who is in the midst of his 15th training camp in the NFL, is listed first on the team's depth chart, but had been plagued by health issues.

After losing to perennial powerhouse Severna Park in last year's Class 4A/3A state championship game, the Westminster girls' lacrosse team had waited for the chance to play the Falcons again. The Owls arrived at UMBC Stadium Wednesday night, but had to hold off for another day when lightning storms forced the postponement of the scheduled meeting between last year's state finalists. But an extra day to prepare for the rematch didn't matter, as Severna Park took an early six-goal lead and cruised to its second consecutive championship victory over the Owls, 13-6, on Thursday at UMBC Stadium.

This championship was for Tracy Vander Kolk. The sophomore on the Severna Park girls lacrosse team died of undisclosed reasons May 10. Even though her teammates have been in mourning, the Falcons still managed to advance through the state playoffs, finding strength from one another and the support of the Anne Arundel community. Their resilience culminated in Thursday night's Class 4A-3A state championship game at UMBC, where No. 8 Severna Park knocked off Westminster, 13-6.

For Fallston to win its second state girls lacrosse championship, the Cougars were going to have to get past two-time defending champion Winters Mill for the second time this season. Jenna Mosketti sparked the senior-laden Cougars to a quick three-goal lead and they held Winters Mill scoreless for nearly 23 minutes through the middle of the game to beat the Falcons, 13-9, for the state Class 2A-1A championship Tuesday night at UMBC. "I'm proud of our defense," said Fallston coach Mike McTeague, whose team also won a 2009 state title.

Draw possession and their own patient offense proved equally effective as No. 8 Severna Park held No. 11 Catonsville to its lowest offensive output of the season en route to a 15-10 victory at Franklin in the Class 4A-3A state semifinals. The defending champion Falcons (17-2) advance to the state final for the 13th time and will go after their 11th title Tuesday or Wednesday night at UMBC against the winner of Saturday's semifinal between Westminster and Churchill. The Falcons defeated Westminster, 14-7, in last year's championship.

Olivia Ravadge hit a sacrfice fly to left field and Alex Braun scored the winning run as visiting No. 15 Chesapeake-AA upset No. 1 Severna Park, 5-4, on Wednesday. The Cougars (10-5) trailed 4-0 before Danielle Myers and Deja Sutton homered in the three-run fourth inning. Chesapeake-AA tied the game in the sixth on a wild pitch. The Falcons fell to 12-2. No. 2 Eastern Tech 13, Sparrows Point 0: Winner Jordan Cargile pitched a five-inning four-hitter and struck out seven as the host Mavericks (14-2)

As part of Saturday's Milford Mill Alumni activities, Millers graduate Brian Jordan, who went on to become a two-sport professional athlete, will be running a baseball clinic, called Camp Jordan 2012 Baltimore. Registration, which cost $20 per child, has already hit capacity with 101 kids signed up between the ages of 5 and 13. "I want to make a huge impact on my hometown," Jordan said from the Brian Jordan Foundation offices in Atlanta, where he played for the Braves and Falcons.

Morgan Torggler knows girls lacrosse games last 50 minutes in high school. She also knows that her No. 7-ranked Severna Park team needed to be on point for all 50 of them to defeat No. 10 Broadneck, 8-7, in a pivotal Anne Arundel County game Friday night. Torggler's four goals keyed the No. 7 Falcons' (10-0) offense, but it was Severna Park's defense - and a key save by keeper Camille King with 1:31 left - that won the game for the home team. "That was sure stressful at the end," said Torggler, a junior.

The 2012 Cavalier Classic Softball Tournament featured a dominant performance by Archbishop Spalding freshman pitcher Ali Caulkins, a game-saving putout by Severna Park left fielder Claire Hanratty and a walk-off single by Howard sophomore Taylor McGrann. The 12-team tournament included eight squads that were part of last week's Baltimore Sun poll. In the end, Severna Park won both its games and a third tie-breaker against Northern-Calvert County and host Spalding to claim the championship.

Severna Park's girls lacrosse players celebrated just about as much after Thursday night's win over neighborhood rival Severn as they had after winning last year's state championship. In many ways, this victory was just as important. The No. 7 Falcons (4-0) held on for an 11-9 victory at the Anne Arundel Community College tournament, avenging last season's loss to Severn in the same event. After Ryan Bathras scored the game-winner with 4:36 to go and Morgan Torggler added her fourth goal of the game for a little insurance, goalie Camille King made a pair of big saves in the final two minutes to preserve the win. "This is just a big rivalry game for us," Torggler said.