Jason Smith

Francis Scott Key was going up against an awful lot of tradition yesterday morning, not to mention a Brunswick team that already had beaten the Eagles twice in the regular season.The third-seeded Railroaders already had set a state mark with their third straight state title last year and were aiming for an unprecedented fifth consecutive region title entering the Class 1A, Region II final at Dundalk Community College.In the bottom of the third, they showed why they have won three straight state titles.

Jason Smith of Hampstead has been around racing most of his life. Last year when his uncle offered him a car to race, the 19-year-old didn't hesitate to accept. There was one catch: The car was in bad shape and he would have to do all the work.Still Smith wanted to race and even though he didn't know anything about cars, he was up to the challenge."I was always interested in giving it a try," said Smith. "I finally got the opportunity and jumped at the chance to see if we could. I got a couple of friends together to try it out. None of us are mechanics."

Two teams headed in opposite directions met last night in Cape St. Claire, and No. 14 Broadneck (7-3) routed Northeast, 63-46, in county boys basketball.It was the third straight win for the Bruins after the holiday break and second in a row at home. Broadneck beat Severna Park, 66-40, last Friday, and took two at home this week with Chesapeake the first victim on Tuesday, 56-50."Coming off our loss to Annapolis (64-53), those were games we had to win and we've played well," said winning coach Ken Kazmarek.

It was unanimous in the Charm City Classic opener last night at Loyola College.Both coaches agreed that Jason Smith was the difference as No. 7 Broadneck (12-1) defeated No. 16 Cardinal Gibbons, 66-60. Down by 10 to start the final period (43-33), Gibbons (14-7) made a run late but Smith answered the challenge.Smith scored 31 points, including 7-for-10 from the line in the final two minutes and had five assists and six rebounds for the Bruins."Clearly, Jason Smith was the difference," said Gibbons coach Bryan Moorhouse.

Broadneck shot 56 percent from the field (19-for-34) and made 10 of 11 free-throw attempts and forced high-scoring Annapolis into a half-court game to produce a 51-48 upset in Annapolis last night.The methodical No. 11 Bruins (6-1) couldn't miss while the No. 10 run-and-gun Panthers (7-2) failed from the floor and line and had their six-game winning streak snapped.Coming into the game averaging 94.5 points, the Panthers made only 19 of 53 shots (36 percent) from the field and just nine of 22 free-throw attempts were good.

St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson did not practice for the second straight day while recovering from lower back spasms, but the team remains confident he'll play Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. Guard Richie Incognito , fullback Mike Karney ( neck) and offensive tackle Jason Smith also did not practice Thursday. Smith has not been cleared to return from a mild concussion, and Incognito has been all but ruled out for a fourth straight game with a foot injury.

Never ever take points off the board. It's a lesson Broadneck football coach Jeff Herrick has learned through experience, and it paid off last night in a 22-20 win for his Bruins (5-2) over Northeast (2-5).Broadneck's passing combo of Sean Ryan (16-for-22, 216 yards, three touchdowns) to Jason Smith (10 receptions, 143 yards, two touchdowns) continued their assault on the school record book with Smith breaking the school record for points scored (78) in a season with two touchdowns. And junior Jacob Schaeffer booted a 20-yard field goal for the margin of victory.

Glen Burnie's boys basketball team might not have had as good a night from the foul line as Broadneck did, but the Gophers converted free throws when it was absolutely necessary.Vernon Osborne's front-end conversion of a one-and-one with five seconds left in regulation sent his team into overtime, where the Gophers outscored the 16th-ranked Bruins 12-8, earning No. 19 Glen Burnie a 68-64 Anne Arundel County triumph.The Gophers shot just 55 percent (11-for-20) from the foul line in the game overall.

A year ago, diminutive Kevin Healy was a third-string quarterback watching 6-foot-7 Sean Ryan rewrite the Broadneck record book.As Ryan masterfully directed the Bruins' run-and-shoot offense with more than 2,000 yards passing, Healy took notes.Ryan has graduated and is pitching in the Texas Rangers' minor-league system.Last night in Cape St. Claire, Healy produced the same results as Ryan, completing 16 of 26 for 256 yards, two touchdowns and running for another as the Class 3A Bruins opened with a 20-0 victory over 4A Old Mill.

To say free throws played a big part in last night's Class 4A, Region IV semifinal would be an understatement.Top-seeded Meade -- which hit only four of 13 free throws during the first three quarters -- would go on to hit 16 of its final 21 foul-shot attempts -- putting the Mustangs into tomorrow night's final with a hard-fought 66-62 conquest of a hard-charging Broadneck squad."