Raiders

The balance of power in Howard County football has shifted. No. 11 Atholton shut out No. 3 River Hill 14-0 Friday night in Clarksville, following up last October's 10-0 win that ended the Hawks' 48-game league winning streak. "Last year was kind of a cool thing, like 'Wow, we beat River Hill!' but this year we kind of expected it," Atholton quarterback Brian McMahon said. "A lot of us were saying in school today that we had a feeling that we would come out here and do something like this.

Free agency officially opened Friday, and the Eagles wasted no time making an enormous splash by signing cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. The five-year deal with the former Raider is worth a reported $60 million, including $25 million guaranteed. Asomugha, 30, a four-time All-Pro selection during eight years with the Raiders, was considered the top free agent available. Asomugha has recorded just three interceptions in the last four seasons, but opposing quarterbacks rarely challenge him. "He'll be a great addition to our cornerback corps," Eagles coach Andy Reid told NFL.com.

The HCYP Raiders 15-U Metro baseball team finished a successful 2011 season on a very high note by winning the ECTB Clash of Champions tournament July 16-17, in Allentown, PA. The Raiders went 5-0 in the tournament and won the championship game, 14-6. This was a 22-team tournament and the Raiders beat teams from Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey to advance to the championship game against the Delaware Sabres. Pitching leaders on the Raiders during the tournament were Michael Dorsch (Marriotts Ridge High School)

Early in May, Winters Mill senior Erin McMunn knew the defending state champion Falcons would make a run at another girls lacrosse title. After starting off 6-3, the No. 6 Falcons rebounded from a disheartening 10-goal loss to beat three strong opponents in four days. That turnaround sparked a nine-game winning streak that culminated Wednesday in their third state crown in four years. McMunn had three goals and two assists, and Madison Cyr had two goals and two assists as the Falcons defeated Loch Raven for a second straight year in the Class 2A-1A final at UMBC, earning a 13-2 win. The Falcons (15-3)

Reservoir's best baseball season in school history is now over. The Gators' 21-game unbeaten streak ended Friday afternoon against visiting Atholton, 7-4, in a 3A East regional semifinal. "It's a sad day and it stinks that we're not moving on, but we've got nothing to hang our heads about," Reservoir coach Adam Leader said. "I remember when I played and it was my last game, and I didn't want to go home. It still stings … but we've got a banner up in the school that's going to be up forever, and they can bring their grandchildren here to see it. " Reservoir won its first county and District V championships during the campaign, which included a 2-1 win over the Raiders on April 15. But it is the Raiders who will be traveling to top-seeded J.M. Bennett on Saturday to play for the regional championship at 1 p.m. J.M. Bennett earned the top seed over Reservoir on a coin flip.

As soon as the ball left his bat, Atholton's Kory Britton raised his hand in celebration as he trotted toward first base and watched the ball sail about 400 feet over the right-center-field fence. Britton had three of the No. 8 Raiders' 10 hits in a 7-0 victory against No. 9 Franklin in Tuesday's season opener. Atholton's Paul Beers pitched six innings, allowing just two hits and striking out eight. "I think we have a chance to be good, but you never know," Atholton coach Kevin Kelly said.

Atholton senior distance runner Connor Belson couldn't have asked for a better way to close out his last indoor track season last Wednesday . First and foremost, the Raiders came away with the Class 3A state championships, besting runner-up Linganore, 62-44. Second, he set personal indoor bests in placing fourth in the 1,600 meters (4 minutes, 29.40 seconds) and the 800 (2:03.57), contributing 10 valuable team points. Belson has two passions — running and music — and he's managed to do both extensively while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. Athletically, Belson has spent four years running cross country and two years each in indoor and outdoor track.

The top-ranked Atholton boys indoor track and field team used balance and depth to win the Howard County and region titles with little trouble. That same formula gave the Raiders the Class 3A state title Wednesday night. Coach Elbert Robinson's Raiders finished with 62 points to capture the championship in the meet at the Prince George's Sports & Learning Complex. Atholton easily beat out Linganore (44) and No. 6 Hereford (34). Brandon Hairston gave Atholton its only individual victory when he captured the 500 meters.

The No. 7 Atholton boys and Hammond's girls took different paths to similar rewards at Friday night's Howard County indoor track championships at the Prince George's Sports & Learning Complex. Atholton won five times and had little trouble defending its team title. The Raiders scored points in each of the 15 events and posted 119 points for an easy victory over No. 9 Reservoir (74). Hammond won just twice, but the Golden Bears posted a number of top-three finishes as they scored 93 points to hold off late-charging No. 3 River Hill (83)

This one was Maryland's final tuneup -- a chance to iron out the wrinkles of a somewhat underwhelming monthlong homestand against mainly nonconference opponents. To their credit, the Terps could easily have overlooked Colgate on Tuesday night, a team with only one win this season, with a showdown with No. 1 Duke looming Sunday. Instead, Maryland did exactly what it was supposed to do, engineering a thorough dismantling of the Raiders, 95-40, before an announced 12,814 at Comcast Center.