Scorpions

Chris Naylor of Oakland Mills had a day to remember yesterday.Making his second varsity start, the 130-pound junior attackman scored six goals and had three assists to lead the Scorpions to an 18-12 victory over Glenelg. He previously had five goals and two assists the entire season.Well-known as an all-county wrestler, Naylor showed he can master two sports."I'm left-handed, and that gives me an advantage playing left attack," Naylor said.Glenelg (4-4, 2-1 league), tied for first place when the game began, jumped to a 6-4 lead in the second quarter.

Chad Barr of Oakland Mills is a team-oriented basketball player who leads by example, plays good defense and can shoot the lights out.That's a coach's dream any time, but especially during one of the most torrid basketball races in county history.Oakland Mills, with no returning starters, is trying to win its sixth straight county championship."Chad is a real steady type of player who gives our team stability," Scorpions coach Dave Appleby said. "He's conscientious, keeps his composure and has worked hard to get where he is."

Even though they are ranked No. 3 in the Baltimore area by The Sun, the Oakland Mills Scorpions (7-2 overall, 3-1 league) are struggling to make the Class 3A playoffs this year.That's what comes from playing in the toughest soccer region in the state, one that includes Centennial and Howard. Only the top four teams in a region make the playoffs, and the Scorpions have lost to Bowie and Howard.So, despite a 1-0 victory over No. 8 Atholton yesterday, Scorpions coach Don Shea was still sweating bullets in the second half.

Among the 85 wrestlers ranked last week by the Maryland State Wrestling Association, nearly half (41) were from the Baltimore area.There were 13 from the Maryland Scholastic Association, 10 from Baltimore County, nine from Anne Arundel County, four from Carroll County and three each from Harford and Howard counties.Howard County's ranked wrestlers are Wilde Lake's Mike Green (171, fifth) and Nate Casella (189, fourth) and Oakland Mills' Adam Seidman (145, sixth).After checking the Scorpions official records, Oakland Mills coach Steve Carnahan has found that Seidman (6-1, three pins)

Oakland Mills wrestling coach Brad Howell methodically divided his team's season into three parts this year. The Scorpions focused on sharpening skills with drill work, while limiting live wrestling in the early stages. Then they went for more conditioning in the second stage with the plan to be at their best, when it counts the most. "We didn't go super-hard, super-early, sacrificing a slow start for a strong end," Howell said. "We changed gears when we felt it was time to change gears and we've worked hard at peaking at the right time to have guys that are healthy and hungry."

Nothing seems capable of totally wrecking the locomotive-like power of Dan Ricker's Oakland Mills wrestling program, although occasionally some slight derailments occur.Such a derailment happened Saturday afternoon at Oakland Mills, where the Scorpions lost their opening dual meet to defending Class 3A Region IV champion McDonough of Charles County, 30-21.The Scorpions, undefeated (7-0) in last year's county dual-meet season, and winner of the county tournament by a mind-boggling record 239.5 total points, could easily have beaten the perennially tough Rams Saturday.

Oakland Mills coach Don Shea publicly predicted in August that the Scorpions boys soccer team would win a state title this season. And in the end, the team didn't let him down.Oakland Mills trounced Franklin, 6-0, Saturday at Old Mill High School to win its seventh state soccer title -- the most for any school.But when you're high man on the totem pole, nothing is quite as easy as it seems.The team was confident it would beat Franklin for the Class 3A title, its third in five years under Shea.

Oakland Mills coach Kim Rosado is expecting her team to improve upon last year's 3-12 record.How far the Scorpions climb in the county standings, however, will depend on their ability to sweep teams instead of splitting matches."

Oakland Mills won its first state title in girls soccer last fall, but much has changed in a year.The Scorpions graduated nine seniors from a team that finished 14-1-1 and No. 2 behind Centennial in The Baltimore Sun's Top 15 final poll. After going 5-1-1 in Howard County, the Scorpions finished third in the county race behind co-champs Centennial and Hammond.In addition to the new faces on the roster, the Scorpions also have a new head coach. Steve Matters, a former football coach who has club coaching experience, takes over for Nancy Shea.

On paper, Thursday's regular-season finale at Howard High School didn't mean much to Oakland Mills' girls basketball team. Win or lose, the Scorpions would end up no worse than tied for second place in the county standings. Win or lose, they would remain top-seeded in this week's Class 3A Region I playoffs.Didn't mean much? Try telling that to Oakland Mills guard Mia Dammen.Dammen showed why she is the Scorpions' main spark. Her season-high 32 points, eight rebounds, six assists, four steals, and 12-for-14foul shooting pushed Oakland Mills to a 66-54 victory.