Manchester

It was a split decision for Carroll's two remaining teams on Friday night in the state high school football playoffs. The top-seeded Westminster High School Owls rode the arm and legs of quarterback Deryk Kern to a resounding 62-28 win over second seed Sherwood High in the Class 4A North Region championship game at Ruby Field.  Yet after defeating Reginald Lewis in the first playoff game in school history last Saturday, Manchester Valley closed...

BALTIMORE - Midway through the fourth quarter of Saturday's Class 1A North Region playoff game, Manchester Valley's football squad came to the crossroads. A swarming Reginald Lewis defense and a couple of penalties had forced the Mavericks into a fourth down and 24 yards-to-go situation. No problem. Senior quarterback Dom Frank calmly dropped back and found wide receiver Zach Heron down the left sideline, just a step ahead of the Lewis defense. Frank threw a pinpoint pass that was hauled in by Heron for a 33-yard gain and a crucial first down.

Manchester Valley High School will host its fall musical production, "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," opening Thursday, Nov. 15, and running Friday and Saturday, Nov. 16 and 17, with performances at 7 p.m. each night. Tickets are available at the door at $8 for adults, and $5 for students and seniors. Manchester Valley High School is located at 3300 Maple Grove Road, Manchester. For more information, call 410-386-1673. The MVHS School Class of 2013 and the school's Fine Arts Department will host a special performance of the show, with a dinner preceding, for veterans and their spouses on Saturday, Nov. 17. Students have been asked to invite parents, grandparents and other family members who have served in the armed forces to be their guests for this evening of food and entertainment.

After Edmondson safety Laqwan Moody picked off a Douglass pass with 21 seconds to go to seal Saturday's 14-10 playoff victory for the Red Storm, he didn't want to say much about the win other than that it was "unfinished business. " For the No. 12 Red Storm, which reached the state semifinals last season, a state title to match the program's first crown in 2006 is the ultimate goal and they took a big step in that direction at Poly. They will host Dundalk in the Class 2A North region final next weekend after beating one of their toughest Baltimore City opponents for the second time this fall.

Trailing Reginald F. Lewis by a point late in Saturday's Class 1A North regional football playoffs, Manchester Valley coach Tony Shermeyer decided to take a big risk -- and the gamble paid off. On fourth-and-24 from their own 46-yard line, the Mavericks went for it and quarterback Dominick Frank, who had just run for 17 yards on third-and-41, completed a 33-yard pass to Zach Heron. Helped along by two Falcons penalties, the Mavericks scored three plays later on a 6-yard run. Kyle Armstrong's extra point gave Manchester Valley a 20-14 lead with 2:46 left that would hold up for the first football playoff win in school history.

In 2008, Tony Shermeyer was The Baltimore Sun's Football Coach of the Year after leading Century to the state semifinals in only his fourth season as head coach. The Knights also had their first winning season, 12-1, that fall. After that, Shermeyer left the Knights to start the program further north in Carroll County when Manchester Valley opened. Now in his fourth season with the Mavericks, he has guided them to their first berth in the regional playoffs and their first winning season.

As Manchester Valley closed out the team's 26-7 win over rival North Carroll on Friday night, the PA announcer thanked fans for their support during the season and congratulated the Mavericks on posting a winning record this year. But that winning season isn't over. The Mavericks' win over North Carroll in the annual "Battle of the Bypass" game, combined with Northwestern-Baltimore High School's loss to Reginald Lewis High School earlier on Friday, clinched the first-ever playoff spot for the four-year-old Maverick football program.

This story has been updated. In 2009, Manchester Valley High School fielded its first-ever football team - and went winless in 10 games. Three years later, the Mavericks posted their first-ever winning season - and their first run for a playoff appearance. And while football is a team game, no single player has been more important to the growth and success of the program than senior quarterback Dominick "Dom" Frank. A three-year starter at quarterback, Frank's passing and running skills have been the key to Manchester Valley's steady improvement.

The story behind the two bocce courts on Vince DePalmer's Manchester property is a slight variation on the familiar "Field of Dreams" theme. It's not so much a matter of, "build it and they will come," but rather "build it and maybe somebody will show up and teach us how to play. " "The main reason I did it was to learn how to play bocce myself, and try to teach others how. " said DePalmer, 77, a lifelong Manchester resident. That philosophy has paid off - DePalmer has hosted benefit bocce tournaments on his private court for the past three years that have raised thousands of dollars for the nearby Charlotte's Quest Nature Center.

Home Turf: 3300 Maple Grove Road, Manchester Head Coach: Tony Shermeyer 2011 Record: 5-5 overall, 4-3 county Tony Shermeyer built a standout Century High football program that, in 2008, achieved an undefeated regular season, won county and regional championships, and advanced to the Class 2A state semifinals. That was Shermeyer's final season at Century, as the Pennsylvania resident accepted the challenge to start a program from scratch at the new Manchester Valley High School.