North Harford

When C. Milton Wright and North Harford met in girls lacrosse Thursday night, both sides expected a close game. None of their previous seven meetings had been decided by more than four goals. Three of the last five were one-goal games. Early on, No. 3 C. Milton Wright appeared ready to buck that trend by running up a seven-goal lead, but the Mustangs needed that advantage to hold off the visiting Hawks for a 12-10 victory that clinched the Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference Chesapeake Division championship.

Kevin Mooney was an All-Metro first-team performer last season, and his 0.77 ERA was striking. But this season was something else. The right-hander pitched a perfect game in the Class 3A state semifinals, taking the Hawks to the state final for the first time in team history. "It seemed the more important the game, the more focused he became," North Harford coach Tim Lattimore said. "He saved his best for last, but all season he was so determined. Nerves never got to him. " Mooney went 9-1, bringing his varsity win total to 24, and he struck out 114 batters to reach 301 for his career.

Roll the dice, go for it, take a chance. Any of these cliches fits the gamble that North Harford coach Ken Brinkman took in Friday night's game at Fallston. Brandon Bayer ran for a 4-yard touchdown with 47 seconds left to pull the Hawks within one point of Fallston. But Brinkman wasn't thinking about ties and overtime. He wanted to go for the win and quickly asked his team. They agreed with their coach, and Bayer ran for the two-point conversion that gave No. 12 North Harford a dramatic 36-35 victory over Fallston in an Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference game.

Cody Turner stayed busy on both sides of the ball Friday night and helped North Harford remain unbeaten. Turner, the quarterback for No. 10 North Harford, ran for two touchdowns. As a safety, he intercepted three passes. Brandon Bayer also helped by rushing for 186 yards and two touchdowns. as the Hawks held off host Havre de Grace, 29-20, in an Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference game. The victory gave North Harford (8-0, 5-0) first place in the UCBAC's Chesapeake Division.

The North Harford Hawks, last year's Class 3A field hockey state runner-up, came up a goal short in their bid to make a second straight championship game appearance as they lost, 2-1, to the Westminster Owls in the state semifinal round Monday evening. The Hawks earned their spot in the semifinals by beating top-seeded Hereford, 2-1, last Wednesday in the Class 3A North title game. Westminster took top honors in the 3A West bracket, beating Urbana, 2-1, in the regional final. Monday's state tournament match was back and forth through the first half, with Westminster earning three penalty corners, while North Harford was awarded two before the break, but neither side could find the opposing net. The best opportunity of the opening half for the Hawks came seven minutes into the game, when Emily Eline ripped a shot from 10 yards out following a penalty corner, but her attempt went wide by a foot.

Senior defenseman Brock Hurley sees something unique with the North Harford boys lacrosse team this season. The Hawks have 15 seniors - and many played together long before high school. It's a bond that Hurley believes can lead to a special season for North Harford. In his second year on varsity at close defense, Hurley is a team captain and responsible for shutting down the opponent's top attackman. Hurley maintains a 3.75 grade point average and plans to study environmental science while playing for Stevenson next year.

North Harford spent lots of time in the Bel Air circle during Tuesday night's game. The Hawks pressured the host Bobcats throughout the early minutes and pushed even more early in the second half. But Bel Air repeatedly cleared the ball away from goalie Rachelle Ciulla and out of trouble. Ciulla made a few big plays herself, and all of that helped Abby Dempsey's first-half goal stand up as Bel Air edged No. 6 North Harford, 1-0, in an Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference game.

The North Harford Hawks entered Friday's home-court battle with Fallston having lost their previous three regular season games, but managed to correct the skid by topping the visiting Cougars, 85-74. Joppatowne and Patterson Mill also won Friday night in boys basketball. Heading into the halftime break in Pylesville, North Harford held a 37-30 advantage. North Harford hit all but five of its free throws, going 24-for-29 from the charity stripe. Leading the way for the winning side was Rodney Barnett, who put up 31 points, and was 7-for-9 from the field.

When North Harford pitcher Kevin Mooney opened his eyes Wednesday morning, the first thing he thought was that the Hawks were going to the Class 3A state championship game. "Right away I thought of that," Mooney, the team's senior captain, said. "Then I remembered -- the perfect game. It was just starting to sink in, and I smiled and thought, 'Wow!'" The fact Mooney slept at all Tuesday night might be almost as amazing as the fact he threw his first perfect game, and it came in the 3A state semifinal against North Hagerstown , a game the No. 1 Hawks won, 4-0. Now he gets to try to do it again at 7 p.m. Saturday at Ripken Stadium in the championship game against J.