Overtime

THE U.S. SENATE was right to call a timeout on the Department of Labor's revisions to overtime law. Announced by Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao in March, the rules would change which jobs qualify for overtime, expanding extra pay for some lower-paid workers and eliminating it for some higher-paid ones. It is unclear, though, how many workers would be affected, and many of those who labor under these laws are rightly worried. About 11.6 million workers earned overtime pay in 2000, according to the Labor Department.

Overtime was the right time for Sean Soyars of Arundel.Soyars scored six of Arundel's nine points in overtime as the No. 17 Wildcats rallied from a seven-point fourth-quarter deficit to score an 86-79 overtime victory over host Poly in the season opener for both yesterday.The 6-foot-6 center scored 11 of his 17 points in the second half. His clutch shooting began with 53 seconds left in the fourth quarter with a bank shot that sliced unranked Poly's lead to 75-74.Clinton Young (14 points)

This one will give Westminster basketball coach Dave Byers nightmares for a long time.The Owls squandered one opportunity after another last night against a highly-touted and unbeaten Montgomery Blair team and eventually lost, 48-45, in overtime at Westminster.Westminster (4-4) had the Blazers (8-0) on the ropes several times in the fourth quarter and in overtime but could not come up with the one big play needed to knock out the visitors.Those missed chances allowed Blair to win the game with three free throws in the final 41 seconds of overtime, breaking a 45-45 tie.In fairness to the Blazers, they were playing without their scoring and rebounding leader, 6-foot-6 senior Khalid Shakhur, who was out with back spasms.

I certainly hope School Board President Neil Duke isn't implying that schools CEO Andrés Alonso is the only school department employee whose work "takes place both after hours and in troubled parts of the city," and thus requires security ("Overtime costing schools millions," March 2). I am a teacher in the city, and several times a week I am asked by my female colleagues at our Southwest Baltimore school to walk them to their cars in an unpatrolled, poorly lit parking lot after having stayed in the building until well past sundown working.

Sacred Heart (7-4, 5-0 Northeast Conference) scored the final three goals, including two in overtime, to win, 9-7, over visiting Mount St. Mary's (4-6, 2-2). Ashley Johnson had two goals for the Mount. Cori Horelik had three, including the tying goal with 10:59 left in regulation. Division III games: Brandy Noel scored five goals to become Hood's top career goal scorer as the visiting Blazers (3-8) won a come-from-behind 16-14 decision over Shepherd (2-8)

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.

South River goalie Naomi Johnson made two strong saves in overtime, and Taylor Bresnahan scored her second goal of the night to clinch a 2-1 victory over rival Severna Park on Wednesday. The win was No. 2 Seahawks' second of the season against the No. 6 Falcons, and it completed a 10-0 season in Anne Arundel County competition for South River (12-1-1), which wrapped up the county title Monday with a 5-0 victory over Arundel. "Overtime was pretty stressful," said Johnson, who finished with 10 saves.

Most every opposing coach who has come up against No. 3 Lake Clifton this season will likely say the same thing - the Lakers' standout senior point guard, Josh Selby, will get his points. He got his share Tuesday night, scoring 45, but it was No. 6 Edmondson that left Morgan State with the program's first Baltimore City championship. With balanced scoring and a never-quit approach that the team has shown all season, the Red Storm outlasted the defending champion Lakers, 58-56, in overtime.

Arundel's Clarissa Kirsch-Downs wasn't exactly sure how the ball found its way to her in the middle of South River's crowded penalty area in the second overtime of Monday night's girls soccer showdown. But once it was there, she knew exactly what to do next. The junior midfielder one-timed a shot from 14 yards that found the left corner - the goal coming in the game's 93rd minute - giving the No. 5 Wildcats a thrilling 1-0 win over No. 4 South River to preserve the team's perfect season and assure a share of the Anne Arundel County championship.

Marriotts Ridge senior Zoe Stukenberg showed there was one key to the No. 8 Mustangs' 13-12 girls lacrosse win over archrival Mount Hebron that lasted into the fourth overtime: Don't quit. Stukenberg, an All-Metro midfielder headed to Maryland, scored not only the game-winning goal with 1:13 left in the fourth overtime period, but she also scored the tying goal with 1:02 left in regulation and assisted Jenna Kerr's buzzer-beating goal to tie the game at 12 in the first overtime. "We were dragging," Stukenberg said.