North County

LAST WEEK'S ISSUE: -- Eight Anne Arundel County public schools were locked down for several hours April 18 after a man wanted on attempted murder charges showed up at a high school in women's clothing and asked to see a female student, authorities said. The man, thought by police to be Antonio Moore, 20, of Brooklyn Park drew the suspicion of the resource officer stationed at North County High School in Ferndale, who left the man to find the girl. The girl told him that she was not expecting a visitor.

North County High School will dedicate its new $6.5 million gymnasium Saturday in an event designed to bring students and generations of alumni together. Former principals of Andover, Brooklyn Park and North County high schools will join current school and administration officials at the 11:30 a.m. ribbon-cutting in the gym, which was completed in June. Attendees can look at memorabilia from Andover and Brooklyn Park, the two schools that merged to form North County in 1990. Also on display will be trophies and memorabilia that North County has acquired since it opened.

67 Five-under-par score by Arundel's Lauren Smith to win the Anne Arundel County golf championship at Eisenhower last Wednesday. Smith's score bested that of boys winner Matt Hardie of Broadneck by eight strokes. 97 Yards on a touchdown pass from Broadneck's Kyle Colleran to J.J. Hicks in a 34-6 victory at Chesapeake on Friday. The distance matches the county record for a run from scrimmage by North County's Vernon Dawson in 1990, and breaks the record of 94 yards for the longest touchdown pass in the county, set by North County quarterback Eric Howard and receiver Damon Martin in 1991.

Elisabeth Rice took a deep breath and held it as she waited for the judges to decide. As head coach of the Long Reach High School varsity cheerleading squad, she knew how hard the girls had practiced for this moment. A top-three finish in the Fall Cheerleading Championships would mean the six days of practice per week were paying off. The team had finished third at an invitational competition the week before, but it had not placed in the fall county championships during the six years that Rice had been coach.

High school basketball fans no longer will be turned away from a stuffy, overcrowded gym at North County High School in Glen Burnie. The school's new $5.45 million gym, which opened to students last week, has plenty of room and enables the school to host tournaments and other sporting events. The 1,600-seat gym is a big improvement over the unair-conditioned one where students have had to practice, play and watch games since North County High opened in 1990 in the former Lindale Middle School.

A flawless effort was needed to capture Archbishop Spalding's third Cavalier Classic yesterday at Randazzo Park.North County had one.The No. 3 Knights enjoyed shutout wins over No. 12 Seton Keough and No. 8 Mount de Sales to earn top honors in the strong 10-team field.Each team played two games with best overall record the first tie-breaker and runs allowed the second.Three other teams -- No. 2 Northeast, No. 5 Severna Park and Institute of Notre Dame -- all went 2-0 for the day, but none could match the two shutouts North County posted.

Archbishop Spalding (3-3) at Archbishop Curley (1-5)When: 3: 30 todayOutlook: After their tough three-point loss at John Carroll last week, the Cavs need to get back on track against the struggling Friars, whom they beat, 31-6, in '98. Spalding's Darren "Batman" Johnson became the county's first 1,000-yard rusher this season and takes 1,050 into the game.No. 14 Severna Park (5-1) at North County (6-0)When: 7: 15 tonightOutlook: The visiting Falcons are in a must-win situation to guarantee postseason play after losing, 21-17, to Annapolis last week.

Top-ranked North County scratched across an unearned run in the fourth and Kellie Evans limited Severna Park to two hits as the Knights defeated No. 3 Severna Park, 1-0, yesterday in Ferndale.Evans, a senior, had all her pitches working yesterday, relying on a fastball with good location but using an occasional slow change to keep the Severna Park batters guessing.She struck out three and had plenty of defensive support. She also scored the game's only run after singling in the fourth inning.

Two Anne Arundel County baseball coaches are closing in on 100 career wins.North County's Don Usewick has 99 wins, and Chesapeake's Jim Simms stands at 95. They are perched to become the 11th and 12th coaches in county baseball history to win 100.North County (3-4) was the somewhat surprise winner of the Pop Warner Tournament at Chesapeake on Easter weekend before dropping a 15-8 decision to No. 12-ranked Old Mill (5-2) Wednesday.Usewick is in his ninth season at the Ferndale school and is 85-78.

Kevin Andrew Ebersole, an outstanding scholar-athlete at North County High School in Anne Arundel County, died Monday of cancer at home in Brooklyn Park. He was 19.Described by teachers as a particularly gifted student, Mr. Ebersole twice made perfect scores on the math portion of the SAT and graduated fourth in his class last year, intending to study engineering at the University of Maryland.Shortly after graduation, he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma and spent the past year at home.Equal to his academic prowess, according to his teachers, was a proclivity to volunteer for jobs around school.

Severna Park senior right fielder Tom McCarthy had never hit a home run in his entire baseball career, going all the way back to his Little League days. So Thursday's 2 1/2 -hour weather delay before the Anne Arundel County baseball championship against visiting North County was seemingly nothing, instead proving to be worth the wait. McCarthy's three-run shot in the bottom of the fourth inning was the biggest of four home runs the No. 3 Falcons relied on to come away with a 7-5 win over the No. 10 Knights and the program's eighth county championship.

No. 1 North County, perfect for five weeks, lost its second game in two days Tuesday, as No. 4 Severna Park capitalized on five errors to beat the Knights, 7-4. "We took advantage of missed plays in the field," said Severna Park coach Jim McCandless, whose team improved to 13-1 and took the lead among Anne Arundel County teams. "We have the capacity to make big innings when opposing teams give us extra chances at the plate." Severna Park shortstop Kyle Convissar, a junior, led the attack.

softball No. 1 Broadneck at No. 3 Chesapeake WHEN: : Monday, 4 p.m. OUTLOOK:: This has been the metro area's best rivalry game in recent years featuring two of the top pitchers in the state in Broadneck junior Kourtney Salvarola and Cougars' senior Lauren Gibson.Both teams bring potent lineups and strong defenses. Bruins' shortstop Ashley Thomas and Chesapeake senior second baseman Kelly Hickman also bring dangerous bats. THE BALTIMORE SUN'S PICK: : Chesapeake. baseball No. 3 North County at No. 7 Severna Park WHEN: : Monday, 4 p.m. OUTLOOK: : The Knights have a wealth of experience back from last year's team led by senior shortstop Nick Benges and a deep pitching staff.

Broadneck needed a victory at North County and a little help to have a chance at earning a spot in the regional playoffs. The Bruins picked up the win but not the help. William Mays alertly recovered a third-quarter fumble in the end zone, and Ryan Kroll and Derrick McGee combined to stop a North County two-point conversion try with 28.9 seconds left to clinch a 7-6 victory last night. The Bruins needed Northeast to beat Meade and for Severna Park to lose to have any chance of passing the Falcons, who held a slim lead over Broadneck for the Class 4A East region's final playoff spot.

Last season, the Archbishop Spalding girls soccer team appeared primed to defend its 2006 Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference championship with a senior-laden team that pushed the program over the top. A late bad hop played big in a 1-0 upset loss to McDonogh in the semifinals, abruptly ending the Cavaliers' season. Led by senior forward Erica Page and a stingy defense that finished with 14 shutouts, the Cavaliers made amends this season with a 2-0 win over McDonogh in Sunday's championship game.

It was seven-plus minutes the North County football team will look back on when it comes to its 2008 season. And the tough decision at the end turned out not to be that tough at all. The No. 8 Knights (6-1) put together a memorable 14-play, 77-yard drive in the fourth quarter of their 22-21 win over previously undefeated and then-No. 4 Old Mill on Friday. After senior running back Dino Stevens scored from 1 yard out to cut the Patriots' lead to 21-20 with 5:09 to play, there was no question the Knights would go for two points and the lead.

When North County pulled within a point against No. 4 Old Mill midway through the fourth quarter last night, coach Gary Liddick decided to gamble. Instead of trying for an extra point, Liddick put the ball in the hands of Anne Arundel County's top running back, Dino Stevens, who barreled through the host Patriots' line for the two-point conversion and the lead. The No. 13 Knights then were able to contain Old Mill the rest of the way and held on for a 22-21 victory. "I asked the kids, 'Can we do this?

For Chesapeake boys soccer coach Chris Collins, a good measuring stick to the team's success this season - 8-0 going into the week - can be found in how much voice he has had left after a win. Last season, the Cougars finished .500 with an entirely new back line, and Collins was often found yelling on the sideline to help the group stay organized. This season, the same four starters - sweeper Eric Townsend, stopper Nick Mattox and marking backs Josh Klaiss and Jared Fohs - are all back and putting last year's experience to good use. Going into Tuesday's game against North County, the No. 12 Cougars have surrendered only five goals, with goalie Kody Herd recording four shutouts.

Eastern Tech nips Calvert Hall Joey Jones scored with 27.6 seconds left to lift the No. 6 Mavericks to a 14-13 win in OT. VARSITY, PGS 9-11 * No. 1 River Hill 63 Mt. Hebron 0 * No. 2 Loyola 41 Curley 0 * No. 3 Dunbar 50 Lake Clifton 6 * No. 14 J'towne 28 Elkton 0 * No. 15 Poly 38 Mervo 14 * North County 28 Meade 20 * City 27 Patterson 6 * Edmondson 56 Carver 8 * John Carroll 13 Severn 10

FOOTBALL Meade @ North County WHEN:: Tomorrow, 6:30 p.m. OUTLOOK:: Both teams are looking to get back on track after suffering their first losses of the season last week. The visiting Mustangs went down, 26-12, to undefeated Old Mill on Friday, while North County suffered a 50-34 setback to Class 4A state runner-up Arundel. Look for a lot of points, with the Mustangs led by senior QB Raymond Cotton, and the Knights countering with a balanced attack led by QB Travis Delizio, RB Dino Stevens and WR Josh Pfisterer.