Patriots

Old Mill lost star running back Josh Furman to a knee injury in the first quarter of Friday night's state championship game against Wise at M&T Bank Stadium, but backup Jason Clements stepped in to lead the Patriots to a 17-16 victory. Clements rushed 40 times for 164 yards and a touchdown as Old Mill captured its first state crown and the first for an Anne Arundel County team in 15 years. Joe McCargo's sack with 41 seconds remaining sealed the win for the Patriots, who played terrific defense in the fourth quarter.

Major Livingstone (Northwestern) scored the game-winner with two minutes left in the second overtime to lift the West over the East, 13-12, in the Baltimore City All-Star lacrosse game Wednesday at Mervo. William Gatling (Northwestern) scored his fourth goal with 24seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 12 and force overtime. Livingstone also finished with four goals. The West trailed 6-3 at the half. Baseball Class 2A state semifinals: Both games, Willamsport (13-9)

When the Ravens have the ball Ravens offense WR: 89 Clayton LT: 71 Gaither LG: 66 Grubbs C: 77 Birk RG: 73 Yanda RT: 74 Oher TE: 86 Heap QB: 5 Flacco FB: 33 L. McClain RB: 27 Rice WR: 85 Mason Patriots defense DE: 94 Warren NT: 75 Wilfork DE: 97 Green OLB: 95 Banta-Cain ILB: 51 Mayo ILB: 59 Guyton OLB: 96 Thomas LCB: 24 Wilhite ...

As one would expect, there was no shortage of reaction to and analysis of the news of Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs' Achilles tendon injury. Here's what other media outlets had to say about the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year and his team. * The Big Lead's Jason Lisk has compiled a list of players since 1970 who were All-Pro defenders, then went on to miss most of the next season and measured their teams' success in that season. The results aren't encouraging for Ravens fans: “Twenty-nine other players, via searches using the play finder at pro football reference , have been a first team all-pro on defense since the merger, and then missed ten or more of their team's games the following season.

When the Patriots received the opening kickoff Saturday against the Broncos, it might have caught some fans off-guard, since it marked just the second time in 17 games New England opened on offense. Going no-huddle on the first series seemed to catch the Broncos off-guard, and showed how efficiently the Patriots can play an up-tempo game. A team that had dug early holes the last three games of the regular season - deficits of 16-7 at Denver, 17-0 to Miami, and 21-0 to Buffalo - and talked for two weeks about getting off to a faster start needed just five plays and 1 minute, 51 seconds to set the tone with a touchdown.

Unlike previous years, there is no longer a mystique about playing New England in Foxborough, Mass., but the biggest concern is that Patriots coach Bill Belichick has had two weeks to prepare for the Ravens. Belichick is the best head coach in the NFL, possibly the best in league history. Besides the technical skill, he is a shrewd, calculating individual who can always find a way to beat the opposition. Can't you see him locking himself in his laboratory like a mad scientist searching for a way to knock off the Ravens (4-1)

Ravens run offense vs. Patriots run defense: Ray Rice had one of his four 100-yard games of the season against the Patriots on Oct. 4. He gashed them for 103 yards on 11 carries, which included a 50-yard gain. Strangely enough, New England is 3-1 this season when allowing a 100-yard rusher. The only loss came last Sunday, when Houston Texans rookie Arian Foster ran for 119 yards and two touchdowns against a Patriots defense missing its top two linemen (Vince Wilfork and Ty Warren)

The Ravens have just released a statement from John Harbaugh regarding comments he made during a radio interview Tuesday about the New England Patriots' championships being 'stained.' Following is the full statement: “While on the 98 Rock show this morning to talk about the run to honor O.J. Brigance and raise funds for ALS research, I answered a question about playing within the rules and referred to the perception that...

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh made some interesting comments about the New England Patriots, Spygate, and the Patriots' three Super Bowl titles during a Tuesday morning appearance on 98 Rock. Harbaugh, on the airwaves to promote the upcoming ALS charity run for O.J. Brigance, was asked by the 98 Rock morning show crew -- which I'm sure most of our Baltimore readers are familiar with -- about the New Orleans Saints and their recent bounty scandal, and also cheating in the NFL in general.

Monmouth scored 10 unanswered goals to defeat Mount St. Mary's, 11-3, in the Northeast Conference women's lacrosse championship game on Sunday in Fairfield, Conn. Lindsay Diaz (Dulaney), Hannah Gutcher (Mount de Sales) and Gabe Little (North Carroll) scored for the Mountaineers (9-10). Brigid McTavish (South Carroll) made 10 saves in the loss. Little, McTavish, and Meaghan Conlon (Liberty) were named to the All-Tournament team. Sam Lillo scored four goals for the Hawks, who won their fourth NEC championship.

The Navy women's lacrosse team spent the bulk of this season tearing through the overmatched and underwhelming Patriot League. On Sunday, the host Midshipmen put an exclamation point on perhaps their best season in school history, scoring the game's first five goals and cruising to an 18-11 win over Holy Cross to claim their third straight Patriot League tournament title. "We really put a punctuation on this season," Navy coach Cindy Timchal said. "It was a total team effort, and the credit [went to]

RJ Wickham was Navy's lone representative on the All-Patriot League first team, the conference announced Tuesday. The senior goalkeeper ranked first in the league in saves per game (11.3) and 11th in Division I in save percentage (.570). Wickham was a first-team selection in 2010. Sophomore attackman Tucker Hull and sophomore long-stick midfielder Pat Kiernan were selected to the second team. Hull, the Rookie of the Year last spring, finished with 23 goals and 24 assists and ranked third in the Patriot League in points per game (3.9)

The 108th meeting of a Maryland-Johns Hopkins series featured an appearance by a pair of NFL coaches. The Ravens' John Harbaugh and the New England Patriots' Bill Belichick stood on the sideline of the annual clash between the No. 10 Terps and the No. 5 Blue Jays at Homewood Field in Baltimore on Saturday night. Both coaches were positioned along the Johns Hopkins sideline. It's well known that Belichick and Blue Jays coach Dave Pietramala have become close friends. Pietramala attended the Patriots' win over the Ravens in January's AFC championship as the New England coach's guest.

After missing the Patriot League tournament for the first time since joining the league for the 2004 season, Navy's mission was simple and straightforward: begin a new tradition of qualifying for the tournament. The Midshipmen are one win away from accomplishing that goal. With a win over longtime rival and No. 17 Army on Saturday, No. 20 Navy (5-5 overall and 3-2 in the conference) will ensure itself of finishing in the top four and earning a spot in the tournament. It's a prize that the players are fully aware of, coach Rick Sowell said.