Mount Carmel

The boysPlayer of the YearSteve Althoff, Curley, Senior, Defender: With Althoff in the lineup, the Friars reached their second straight MIAA A Conference title game, this time avenging a loss of a year ago by dethroning league rival McDonogh. Althoff (6 feet, 185 pounds), who earned All-Metro honors last season, scored three goals and had an assist while anchoring the Friars to 13 shutouts after a school-record 17 last year. His knack was for splintering the opposition's attack with a sure foot and often with booming kicks.

Across two decades, the quick-witted Roman Catholic priest grew to be a close friend and confidant of Carolyn and Tom Szekalski of Perry Hall.The Rev. Robert L. Hartnett baptized their two grandchildren, brought their nephew and his wife together in marriage and presided over a pair of family funerals.Then he made them millionaires.Hartnett, pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church in Essex, has bought the Szekalskis a Maryland Classic Lotto subscription for Christmas every year since 1989.

Santino Quaranta and his cousin, Brandon Quaranta, both scored as No. 3 Curley overcame a 1-0 deficit for its school-record 18th win, 2-1, over Calvert Hall in yesterday's Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference semifinal at Curley.The Friars (18-1-3) secured career win No. 175 for Curley coach Pep Perrella (175-46-18), and his final victory on Curley's home field. Perrella, 47, will retire after Saturday's 2: 30 p.m. title game against defending champ McDonogh, a 3-0 winner over Loyola, at Calvert Hall's stadium.

IT'S ANOTHER spring-fling outdoor weekend in Pasadena this weekend.The Riviera Community Improvement Association will have its second Family Day tomorrow at the community park at Dale and Greenway roads. A day of activities starts with a flea market at 8 a.m. Kids' games and exhibits from local community groups begin at 10 a.m.Riviera Beach Volunteer Fire Company will demonstrate a car rescue, and the Sheriff's Department, the local Power Squadron, Meals on Wheels and Pets on Wheels, 4-H and Adopt-a-Greyhound will have exhibits, association President Lee Archibald said.

Like Hereford's Todd Leitzel and Matt Curtis, McDonogh's Pat Bydume and Eric Hamilton are impact players for their football teams. So are Patterson's Tony Smithson, Randallstown's Archie Trader and Gilman's Nick Nocar.Not only are they usually among the swiftest and toughest players on the field, but they almost always produce despite styles of play that sometimes border on reckless.Oh, and one other thing: None of them stands taller than 5-foot-8."I'm so proud of Nick, but the way he plays makes me nervous sometimes," said his mother, Terry Nocar, whose younger son, Aaron Nocar, is a 6-foot junior.

As the defending regular-season champion and last season's league tournament runner-up, St. Mary's has taken for granted just one of its Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Associated B Conference rivals this spring.Since an 11-0 loss at the hands of Boys' Latin earlier this season, St. Mary's has been all business. The visiting Saints (12-1, 8-1 league) were so again yesterday, routing league rival Mount Carmel, 14-0, at Martindale Park."The one time we didn't come ready to play, we got blown out pretty good," said catcher Mike Mullen, referring to the shutout defeat to Boys' Latin.

They raise them tough in Mount Carmel, Pa., a small town with one of the winningest high school football teams in the country."All of the guys play football," says Frank Conches, who now lives in Shrewsbury, Pa., "and anyone who plays football for Mount Carmel is usually a success later in life."So maybe it was a natural progression for Conches to tackle the toughest challenge of all -- the triathlon.A triathlete runs 26 miles, bikes 20 miles and swims 1 1/2 miles."I've always done other athletic stuff," says Conches, who was a running back, kickoff returner, punt returner and safety in high school, and a sprinter in college.

ON FEB. 28, 1993, 76 agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) assaulted Mount Carmel, the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, firing MP-5 machine guns continuously and throwing percussion grenades -- just to execute an arrest-and-search warrant.The agents had been trained in military assault tactics by Green Berets at Fort Hood, Texas. Although the BATF's lengthy search warrant had not mentioned drugs, the agency nevertheless reported a drug connection -- a methamphetamine lab -- so it could receive free advice, training and equipment from the Pentagon.

With sleeping bags, afghans and Winnie the Pooh pillows, the third-graders at Our Lady of Mount Carmel School snuggled in for a day of reading. Regular classes were called off and uniforms weren't required -- just an ample supply of books and a healthy curiosity about the people who write them.The youngsters in Middle River were among hundreds of students in Maryland and thousands around the world participating Friday in the fifth annual Read In, a low-tech/high-tech celebration of reading started by a California teacher.

Player of the YearLisa Chapman, Centennial, senior, setter: The setter for three straight state championship teams, Chapman has established herself as one of the best. "She makes a bad pass look good," said Centennial coach Mike Bossom. "She makes everything look so easy. She never panics." The Eagles graduated seven players from last year's 20-0 team, and Chapman had to lead a young and inexperienced team. "This year she really helped keep the team together and focused," Bossom said. "They were able to work though difficult situations because of her experience and calm leadership on the court."

It's time to pile into the car, head to a farm and pick out a Christmas tree. There are an abundance of places near Baltimore to find the perfect pine, fir or spruce - some organic, some already cut and some you can cut yourself. Some places also offer seasonal food, crafts and tractor rides. A few spots are offering discounts, matching last year's prices or posting coupons on their Web sites. Here's a partial list, researched by Rebecca Hyler, a features producer at baltimoresun.com, with help from the Maryland Department of Agriculture (mda.

The good news was that the first half of yesterday's girls lacrosse game between No. 6 Broadneck and No. 11 South River was evenly matched. The bad news - for South River, anyway - was that there was another half to play. The visiting Bruins (5-1) used a 6-0 second-half run to pull away for a 16-11 victory. Karri Ellen Johnson led the charge with five goals. Lindsay Mitchell had three goals and three assists. Stephanie Peterson, Ali Mattingly, Brooke Griffin and Shannon Carta each scored two goals for the Seahawks (6-1)

Boys Basketball Player of the Year Troy Franklin Mount Carmel Franklin can shoot from long range, drive the lane and play great defense. It's his quickness, though, that truly makes him a special player. "We've played a lot of great teams and I think he's one of the quickest players, if not the quickest player, in the area with the ball," Mount Carmel coach Tom Rose said. That quickness often exposed opposing defenses. Franklin averaged 17.9 points, 5.5 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 3.6 steals this season for the Cougars.

Key School's boys basketball team has come a long way since going winless five years ago in its inaugural season in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association C Conference. On Sunday, the Obezags (gazebo spelled backward; there is a gazebo at the front of the school grounds) won the conference championship game over Saints Peter & Paul of Easton, 51-42, at Towson University's Towson Center. It was the first varsity championship in any sport for the Obezags. Senior guard Fahmy El Said led Key (13-11)

The starting five for the Mount Carmel boys basketball team knows what it's like to be on the winning and losing end of a Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference championship game. The five are all seniors, and they were instrumental two years ago in the Cougars' run to the title. Last season, they fell to St. Mary's in the championship game. Yesterday afternoon at the Towson Center, the five - Troy Franklin, Dwayne Wheeler, Stanford McNair, Rummell King and Marc Anthony Franks - exacted the revenge they waited a year to get, as they defeated the Saints, 58-50, for the "B" crown.

Junior guard Nick Groce's layup with 0.2 of a second left gave defending champion and host St. Mary's a 41-39 Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference semifinal victory over Archbishop Curley last night. Groce (eight points, four assists) had tied the score at 39 on a free throw with 46 seconds left. Curley (19-8) worked for the last shot but turned the ball over with 14 seconds left. "I knew I was just in a zone and they were counting on me to put up the bucket," said Groce, who also was fouled on the play but missed the free throw.

The Mount Carmel boys basketball team knew what was at stake when it took on Archbishop Curley last week. "I think it was a big game because we were playing Curley and our guys really wanted to avenge that loss," said Mount Carmel coach Tom Rose, whose team lost to Curley earlier in the season for its only league defeat. "The second thing was it was for first place in our division, which has really been a goal for us all year." No. 5 Mount Carmel (22-3) clinched the No. 1 seed in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference North Division and a first-round bye in the tournament with the 69-56 win. The Cougars have a 14-1 record in league play.

The Fallston girls won a fourth consecutive team title in the Harford County swimming championships last night at Magnolia Middle School. The Cougars finished with 289 points, beating C. Milton Wright (240) and Bel Air (225). The boys will swim their round tonight at 5:45 at Magnolia Middle. Emily Wagner was Fallston's only two-event winner. She captured the 100-yard breaststroke and the 200 individual medley. Bel Air's Julie Loiland was the night's only other swimmer to win more than one event.

Top-ranked Mount St. Joseph escaped Essex with a 68-57 victory over No. 7 Mount Carmel last night. The host Cougars (20-3) gave the Gaels (20-2) all they could handle. Mount Carmel had a 45-35 lead with 1:45 left in the third period, but the Gaels went on a 10-0 run, which extended into the final period, to tie it at 45. Mount St. Joseph took a 49-47 lead with 5:39 left in the game. Mount Carmel took a 51-49 lead with 4:23 remaining on a basket by guard Troy Franklin, who scored a team-high 21 points.

Boys basketball No. 1 Mount St. Joseph at No. 7 Mount Carmel Today, 7 p.m. Outlook This game pits the two best teams from the MIAA conferences. Mount St. Joseph of the A Conference is led by center Henry Sims and sophomore guard Eric Atkins. Mount Carmel guard Troy Franklin drives hard to the basket. The Cougars lead the B Conference. THE SUN'S PICK: MOUNT ST. JOSEPH Girls basketball Riverdale Baptist at No. 1 Seton Keough Monday, 5:30 p.m. GIRLS BASKETBALL RIVERDALE BAPTIST AT NO. 1 SETON KEOUGH MONDAY, 5:30 P.M. Outlook The Crusaders, from Upper Marlboro, already have beaten No. 2 St. Frances twice and No. 3 Arundel, but they likely will have a harder time with the Gators and their tough defense.