Gaels

The All-Metro first-team guard led the No. 2 Gaels (22-5) to three road victories last week, averaging 16 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists during that span. In a 74-41 win at Loyola, the senior hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter and five total to help Mount St. Joseph take charge from the start. He finished with 21 points, five rebounds and three assists in the win. On Wednesday, his strong defense played a big role in the Gaels' 63-46 win at McDonogh. He had 11 points, five rebounds and seven assists in the game.

After seeing the game dramatically change when visiting Mount St. Joseph dominated the third quarter, the St. Frances boys basketball team dug in and did what it does best in the final frame. The No. 1 Panthers hit clutch shots, got key defensive stops and, most importantly, leaned on their senior leadership when it was needed most to come away with a thrilling 58-57 win over the No. 2 Gaels. Senior guard Tevon Saddler scored a team-high 19 points and fellow senior guard Maurice White scored nine of his 16 points in the fourth quarter - including five in the final minute - to help the Panthers improve to 14-1 overall, 6-0 in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference and 5-0 in the Baltimore Catholic League.

Francis Joseph McNerney III, a graduate of Mount St. Joseph High School where he was known as the Fighting Gael mascot, died Dec. 21 at the University of Maryland Medical Center from complications related to a lung transplant. The Canton resident was 23. Affectionately known as "Frankie," Mr. McNerney, a twin, was born in Baltimore and raised in Northeast Baltimore and Catonsville, where he attended area Catholic schools. He graduated from Mount St. Joseph in 2008. Mr. McNerney was born with cystic fibrosis, which took a toll on his body over the years, including the loss of a lung as a teenager, though his sister Kelsey McNerney said it never broke his spirit.

Phil Booth gets the basketball at the top of the key and, in a flash, practice at Mount St. Joseph comes to a halt. The reason? Kameron Williams is poised in front of him, inches away. The floor is spread, and the Gaels' two star guards are set to go one-on-one. Gripping the ball with both hands, Booth swings it slowly, left to right, right to left, a human pendulum set to burst. A second later, he drives to the right with an explosive first step that shakes Williams, giving Booth a clear path to the basket for an easy layup.

It didn't take long for the first big upset in the Baltimore area in boys basketball. St. Vincent Pallotti, which finished as runner-up in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference last season, stunned A Conference powerhouse Mount St. Joseph, 79-73, in its opener Monday. The Panthers have a stong returning group from last year's team that fell to Gilman in the B title game and they went right to work, building a big lead and then holding off the Gaels for the win. Senior guards Marcus Scott (27 points)

Mount St. Joseph coach Blake Henry has been named Ravens' High School Football Coach of the Week after guiding the Gaels to an upset victory over Archbishop Spalding in Saturday's MIAA A Conference quarterfinals. The Gaels did not win an A Conference game during the regular season and entered the A Conference tournament as the No. 6 seed, but they beat the third-seeded Cavaliers, The Baltimore Sun's No. 10 team at the time, 19-13.  “We altered the offense a little bit from the first time we played them.

Mount St. Joseph didn't win a single Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference football game during the regular season, but running back Nevone McCrimmon made sure that trend didn't continue in the playoffs. Offensive linemen Patrick O'Connell, Shane Lowman, Jake Dahl, Nick Phelps and Matt Lindner blew holes in Archbishop Spalding's defense and McCrimmon ran 30 times for 176 yards and two touchdowns as the visiting Gaels upset the No. 10 Cavaliers, 19-13, Saturday night in an A Conference quarterfinal.

Backup quarterback Danny Cameron, son of Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, threw three touchdown passes and senior kicker Bennett Bradley converted a 19-yard field goal with 13 seconds remaining to rally host Loyola to a 31-28 victory over Mount St. Joseph on Saturday. With the victory, the Dons (5-4, 2-2 conference) earned the fourth seed in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference playoffs. They will host fifth-seeded McDonogh in the A Conference quarterfinals next weekend.

After losing big to top-ranked Gilman last week, Archbishop Spalding had something to prove. And the Cavaliers did. Zach Abey rushed for one touchdown and threw for another to lead host Spalding (4-3) to a 29-11 upset victory over No. 9 Mount St. Joseph on Friday. "We needed to prove to ourselves that we belong" in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference, coach Brian Propst said. "The team came together in the second quarter. And in the second half, we controlled the ball and the clock.