Kenwood

Senior Razzaq Muhammad had a feeling Parkville was building toward a football season like this. "My sophomore year, we were 6-4 and didn't make the playoffs. Last year, we went 6-5 and made the playoffs for the first time in school history," said Muhammad. "At the end of each season, I kept telling myself, `Help is on the way.' Now we have a backfield and linemen who are on point. [Second-year] Coach [John] Marquette has just revived us." Muhammad's game-high 80 rushing yards and two scores, coupled with Russell Winborn's 71 yards and another touchdown keyed yesterday's 34-6 win over visiting Kenwood.

For the C. Milton Wright girls soccer team, the pivotal minute of yesterday's Class 4A North region semifinal at Kenwood, at the midway point of the second half, was a case of making something happen with pressure. For the host Bluebirds, it was plain old bad luck. A miscommunication in the back by Kenwood resulted in an own goal, and it turned out to be the only goal as the No. 7 Mustangs advanced to the region final with a 1-0 win. The Mustangs improve to 12-2 and will meet Sherwood for the region title, while the No. 5 Bluebirds see a fine season close out with a 11-2-2 mark.

When practices began in August, Kenwood football coach Fred Myers told his team to forget about the state playoffs.Kenwood, a 3A school, had dropped to the Baltimore County 2A-1A league last season to compete against schools with smaller enrollments after an 0-10 finish in 1990. The playoffs seemed unlikely because points needed to qualify are harder to accumulate playing against schools in a lower classification.Moreover, Myers said that even if the Bluebirds did qualify, they wouldn't go if it meant another Baltimore County team not making it.But after defeating Chesapeake-BC on Thursday, Myers rewarded his team with the news that it could go to the playoffs if it qualified.

When the Kenwood High football team convened for summer practice, the players learned they would not be destined for the regionals no matter how well they performed.The Bluebirds represent a Class 3A school playing a Baltimore County 2A schedule and therefore would probably not accumulate enough points to qualify for postseason play regardless of their record.Besides, coach Fred Myers vowed not to take another deserving team's spot because of the discrepancy."Everybody was down," said senior halfback Joe Cofield.

Kenwood freshman Ashley Singer, the leading scorer for the Bluebirds' girls soccer team, will have a magnetic resonance imaging taken today on her knee after injuring it in the team's 4-2 loss against Perry Hall Tuesday. Singer hurt the knee in the game's final minute and was taken away by ambulance with an X-ray taken that night. The striker has 12 goals and five assists.

Aberdeen's inside strength proved to be too much for Kenwood's outside attack, as the visiting Eagles (21-4) went on to claim the Class 3A North region title with an 86-66 victory yesterday.The game was the first meeting between the two schools and it proved more suspenseful than the final 20-point margin would indicate.The situation became most worrisome for Aberdeen in the second quarter.E.J. Henderson, the heart of Aberdeen's strong inside game, had sat down after collecting three fouls in the first five minutes of play.

By the time No. 15 Kenwood got accustomed to the atmosphere at Essex Community College last night, the Bluebirds already had fallen too far behind in their state Class 3A volleyball semifinal.Although they rallied in the third game, the Bluebirds had all but given away the first two games on poor passing and slow-moving receptions of serves.Thomas Johnson (17-2) came back from a 10-7 deficit in the third game to finish off the Bluebirds' remarkable season, 15-4, 15-4, 15-12.The Frederick team advances to the Class 3A state final at 5 p.m. Saturday at Catonsville Community College.

Kenwood, having more than reversed last year's 3-7 record, hoped to top off its regular season last night with the Baltimore County title that eluded it two years ago against eventual Class 2A state champ Patapsco.Different year, different opponent, but same result as Dulaney ousted Kenwood, 3-0, in the county championship by the exact same score of the Bluebirds' loss two years back.Tony Arditi scored the game-winning goal, his sixth of the season to go with four assists, with 15 minutes left in the first half, and teammates Pat Quinn and Jerry Duerbeck assisted each other's second-half goals.

Kenwood produced five individual champions at yesterday's Laker Varsity Invitational, but in the end it was a two-team race for the championship and the Bluebirds weren't a part of it.Instead, it was tournament host Boys' Latin that staved off the tournament's defending champion St. Mary's of Annapolis by a half-point for the team title.The Lakers, who conceded forfeits in three classes, produced three tournament champs -- Rob Arnold (103 pounds), Jason Leneau (152) and Erik Fitez (171).But it was the newfound success of some newcomers and underclassmen that had Boys' Latin coach Jim Currie shaking his head in amazement at his team's 155 1/2 -155 victory.