Mount Hebron

Mount Hebron beat host Long Reach, 32-26, in overtime Friday in Howard County football. The Vikings' Malik Gilmore scored on a 2-yard quarterback sneak after recovering a Lightning fumble early in overtime. Mount Hebron led 20-7 at the half but was contained by Long Reach's defense in the second half and forced overtime after scoring on a 26-yard swing pass with two minutes left in the fourth quarter. No. 3 River Hill 49, Oakland Mills 0: The visiting Hawks (2-0) led 35-0 before halftime.

While visiting classes on the first day of school, new Howard County Superintendent Renee Foose had a pedometer strapped to her waist as part of a systemwide program for employees that emphasizes health. By midmorning, she had already logged tens of thousand of steps, canvassing hallways, classrooms, weight rooms, media centers and cafeterias of the system she took over in July. "This is like a kid waking up on Christmas morning. That's exciting," said Foose, who joined other local, state and elected officials in ushering in the first day of the academic calendar year for many jurisdictions.

As the high school volleyball season begins in the Baltimore area, local teams find themselves dealing with an unusual theme -- parity. In previous years, a few squads in the area were always better than the others. Things are different this season, however, with more girls playing club volleyball in the offseason. The talent level has risen dramatically, causing some traditional powers to take a step back and other schools to emerge. In Howard County, perennial contender Centennial -- winner of 14 state championships -- is still one of the best teams, but River Hill, the Class 3A runner-up last year, lost a lot of players.

Major League Lacrosse Bayhawks humble Rattlers on road, 13-7 The Chesapeake Bayhawks handed the Rochester Rattlers their first loss at home this season, winning, 13-7, Saturday night. The Bayhawks (8-2) never trailed and improved their record to a Major League Lacrosse-best 8-2, while the Rattlers, who are battling the Long Island Lizards for the final playoff spot, fell to 5-5. Bayhawks midfielder Michael Kimmel (Johns Hopkins) had a goal and four assists, and attackman Danny Glading added two goals and two assists.

Mount Hebron midfielder Samantha Brookhart spends 20 minutes of every practice honing her draw control skills and it paid off in a regional final rematch Wednesday night against the Vikings' biggest rival, defending state champion Marriotts Ridge. Brookhart won a handful of draws and her teammates won most of the rest to give the Vikings a huge edge in possession, fueling a 10-8 victory in the Class 3A-2A East girls lacrosse final that spoiled the No. 4 Mustangs unbeaten season.

On a blustery afternoon at Reservoir High on Thursday, unpredictable gusts of wind effected runners' times, and several high profile disqualifications altered the landscape of the meet. In the end, though, the strongest competitors, and teams, won. The Mount Hebron girls carried over their success from the indoor season, led by Michaela Wilkins' four victories. The Reservoir boys, led by Timmy Usher's wins in the 400 meters and 800 meters, took the title on their home track. Usher almost ended the meet with an exclamation point, anchoring the 4x400 relay that at first appeared to break a school record with its first place finish.

The brackets have been set for the IAAM A Conference girls lacrosse tournament which begins play Friday and culminates in the title game Sunday, May 13 at Stevenson University. Three-time defending champion McDonogh is the top seed and has a first-round bye along with second-seeded Bryn Mawr, third-seeded Maryvale and fourth-seeded Notre Dame Prep. The No. 1 Eagles, whose seniors aim to finish their careers 76-1, begin play on Tuesday vs. the winner of Friday's first-round game between Mount de Sales and Severn.

The senior shortstop led the No. 4 Lions (11-2) to three Howard County wins last week, including Friday's 6-0 victory over then-No.1 and previously undefeated Reservoir. In that game, Natoli went 2-for-3 with a home run, a double, four RBIs and two runs scored. Earlier in the week, she went 3-for-3 with three RBIs in a win against Wilde Lake and then 2-for-3 with two RBIs in a win against Mount Hebron, also making two fine defensive plays to help preserve a perfect game thrown by pitcher Samantha O'Connor.

Samantha O'Connor was perfect times two. She went five innings and struck out nine to register her second perfect game of the softball season as host No.7 Howard won, 10-0, over Mount Hebron on Thursday. Her first perfect game was a 15-0 win over Centennial on March 28. Taylor McGrann hit the go-ahead run to left field in the fifth inning to invoke the 10-run rule. No. 3 Seton Keough 10, Mercy 0: Winner Robi Zimmerman pitched a six-inning one-hitter and Bridget O'Malley hit a leadoff homer in the fourth inning for the host Gators (9-2)

St. Paul's girls lacrosse coach Brook Kuhl-McClelland has heard a lot of debate over the years about which has the better high school girls lacrosse, Maryland or New York. To settle those bragging rights on the field, she put together the Maryland-New York Challenge this weekend at St. Paul's. Saturday and Sunday, four of the top teams from Maryland will take on four from New York, including a No. 1 vs. No. 2 national showdown between McDonogh (8-0) and Garden City (6-0). McDonogh is ranked No. 1 this week in ESPN High School's Fab 50 while Garden City is ranked No. 2. Both teams boast winning streaks over 50 games - McDonogh, 59 and Garden City, 54. McDonogh's streak is the longest active girls lacrosse winning streak in the country.