Oakland Mills

Daivon Tapscott scored 13 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:41 left in the fourth quarter, to help lead Oakland Mills on Thursday to a season-opening victory over visiting Centennial, 53-48. Dajuan Dent added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Scorpions, who outscored Centennial 16-8 over the final eight minutes. Omari Ringgold led the way with a game-high 18 points for the Eagles. "It was the first game, and it was definitely sloppy, but I was proud of the kids for not panicking when [the Eagles]

Tavi Thomas ended the Oakland Mills dream of a perfect season Thursday night. Thomas drilled a 3-pointer with nine seconds left that gave visiting Calvert a come-from-behind 69-67 victory over No. 6 Oakland Mills in the Class 2A South region championship. Oakland Mills entered the game as the only unbeaten public school team left in the state - for boys - and the Scorpions finished with a 24-1 record. Oakland Mills was trying to make the state final four for the first time in 12 years, and a state championship would have meant the Scorpions did it with a perfect record.

Missed opportunities will haunt Oakland Mills. The No. 14 Scorpions trailed No. 6 Glenelg until midway through the fourth quarter, when the two teams traded narrow leads. Oakland Mills, looking to beat the Gladiators for the first time in over a year, went ahead 37-36 with two minutes to play but couldn't hold on to its advantage. The Scorpions helped in their own downfall. In the final two minutes of play, they lost the ball on four turnovers, including steals by Glenelg's Sam Heisig, Mary Kittleman and Danielle Burris.

Junior Beth Blasi assisted on the first goal and scored the next two, as No. 4 Fallston (2-0) whipped visiting Oakland Mills (1-1) in girls soccer yesterday, 3-0.

The eternal truths found in Shakespeare help explain why theater companies often like to give his plays a contemporary setting. Audiences at The Other Barn in Oakland Mills will take it in stride that the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company has taken a comedy written in the 1590s, "The Two Gentlemen of Verona," and moved it up in time to 1991. Although this sparely mounted production has a set that only amounts to a simple wood platform on the theater floor, the contemporary clothing on the characters makes them pass for circa 1990s young American adults; and there are enough guitar-strumming musical interludes to underscore the Gen X mood.

Howard High's boys basketball team beat five-time defending county champion Oakland Mills yesterday for the first time since 1988.The 55-48 victory ended Oakland Mills' streak of eight straight wins against Howard, and kept the Lions unbeaten in league competition at 2-0. Howard's overall record is 5-5."This was the biggest win for Howard in a long time," Lions first-year coach Kevin Broadus said. "In Howard County basketball, everyone wants to beat the Mill."Led by Javier Michaux (18 points, 15 rebounds)

Tradition was tossed out the window at the Howard County Cross Country Championships yesterday at Howard Community College.The course was new. The winning boys team, Wilde Lake, hadn't won a county title since 1972. The winning girls team, Oakland Mills, had never won a county title.Favorite Greg Curtis, from traditional power Oakland Mills, won the boys race by 24 seconds with teammate Steve Petro finishing second. But Oakland Mills placed third, seven points behind second-place Centennial and 22 points behind Wilde Lake.

Oakland Mills gymnastics coach Bonnie Taylor hopes her team never experiences another bizarre afternoon like yesterday.The fact that the Scorpions are expected to challenge for a county title this season but lost to four-time defending county champion Atholton by a substantial 128.1-113.5 margin didn't upset Taylor too much.After all, it was just the season's first meet. The way her team lost was disconcerting, however. It just wasn't her team's day.One of visiting Oakland Mills' top three gymnasts, April Page, sprained her ankle during warm-ups and couldn't compete.

The Oakland Mills boys and the Glenelg girls combined to sweep the regional indoor track and field championships yesterday.Oakland Mills and Glenelg got plenty of help from several places to score victories in the Class 2A-1A Region II championships at the Fifth Regiment Armory.Glenelg took an early lead and slowly pulled away, finishing with 103 points, easily outdistancing second-place Towson (71). Hammond, thanks to 40 points on four first-place finishes from Kisha Jett, was third with 66 points.