School Sports

This is part of a series of 2012 Maryland football commitment Q&As leading up to Signing Day on Feb. 1. All answers are provided by the featured player. Name : Kenneth Goins Jr. Birthdate : Jan. 25, 1994 Birthplace : Baltimore Hometown : Baltimore Height : 5-9 Weight : 215 Position : Running back Nickname : Kenny High School : Gilman Senior statistics : 290 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns. 15 sacks and 61 tackles.

More women must be encouraged to participate in Anne Arundel County school sports programs to help erase a 3-to-1 ratio of male to female coaches, according to a committee.The Gender Equity Committee is scheduled to give its report, and recommendations for changing school sports programs, to the eight-member county school board later today.The meeting, at school headquarters on Riva Road in Annapolis, is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m.; the equity report is scheduled to be presented at 1:50 p.m.In a written report distributed this week, the committee noted that all of the athletic directors at the county's 12 high schools are male, and that there are only two female assistant athletic directors.

The school board says a $1.5 million lawsuit filed against it by the county's first female high school football player will be "vigorously defended" and that chances of an out-of-court settlement are slim.In answers filed in Circuit Court last week to the Aug. 14 suit, the school board argues that Tawana Hammond and her mother, Peggy Hammond, failed to "state a claim upon which relief can be granted" and that the school board "denies liability" for Tawana Hammond's injuries."We are investigating the claim thoroughly, and we will vigorously defend this action," said William J. Kobokovich Jr., an attorney for the school board.

The scene plays out every day along the Beltway, Interstate 95 or some other major highway of choice: Two cars sit alongside the road, post-collision, with a tow truck preparing to take one away. And as drivers whir by, rubbernecking their heads to get a glimpse of the scene, two thoughts inevitably creep in, namely, "How did that happen?" and "Man, am I glad that's not me." These crashes, metaphorically speaking, of course, are happening more and more in high school sports, to the point where they'll happen too fast and too close to witness from a distance.

No penalties will be levied against 16 public school teams in last month's Lackey wrestling tournament despite their being in violation of state association rules by competing against home-schooled athletes representing Progressive Christian Academy of Temple Hills. The Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association mailed letters yesterday to each school detailing results of an investigation by executive director Ned Sparks and state wrestling chairman Duke Beattie. "It was an impossibility to shake out who knew or did what" and to determine whether schools from seven counties knowingly wrestled home-schoolers, said a source familiar with the investigation who requested anonymity.

Perhaps it's something in the Gatorade, but this was an exceptional fall for Howard County high school sports teams. River Hill High went undefeated (14-0) and won a state football championship, its second straight and fourth in six years.. In boys soccer, Reservoir High won its second state title in three years in its classification, while Marriotts Ridge won its fourth straight title in its division. In girls soccer, River Hill won its eighth state title. In field hockey, both Atholton and Glenelg won state titles in their respective divisions.

Elvis Dennah took away plenty of lessons as a junior when his Annapolis Area Christian team won the MIAA B Conference championship. But when the Eagles went 0-10 this fall, the Maryland-bound safety might've learned even more. “It was definitely tough, definitely a learning experience,” Dennah said. “Having an 0-10 season, it makes me not quit and keep fighting, all the way up to the last point. … [Going through a winless season] really shows you [the need to] keep fighting nonstop.

Women athletes in Baltimore don't get a fair shake from the city public schools. In his examination this week of the disparity between men's and women's athletic programs in city schools, The Evening Sun's Mike Klingaman found that in virtually every sport, girls' programs lag behind those of boys.The result is that girls' teams have to make do with second-rate uniforms, equipment and other essentials. Girls have fewer sports to choose from than boys at the same school -- or girls in county high schools.

Switching his commitment to Maryland from Boston College was “the most difficult decision” Andrew Isaacs said he's made in his life. He had a good relationship with the Eagles' coaching staff, thought the team was filled with “great guys,” and liked the fact that Chestnut Hill is less than two hours away from his Manchester, Conn., home. “That was one of the schools that stuck with me after my [ACL tear junior year],” Isaacs said. “A lot of schools don't want to recruit anyone injured.