Severna Park

Draw possession and their own patient offense proved equally effective as No. 8 Severna Park held No. 11 Catonsville to its lowest offensive output of the season en route to a 15-10 victory at Franklin in the Class 4A-3A state semifinals. The defending champion Falcons (17-2) advance to the state final for the 13th time and will go after their 11th title Tuesday or Wednesday night at UMBC against the winner of Saturday's semifinal between Westminster and Churchill. The Falcons defeated Westminster, 14-7, in last year's championship.

After losing to perennial powerhouse Severna Park in last year's Class 4A/3A state championship game, the Westminster girls' lacrosse team had waited for the chance to play the Falcons again. The Owls arrived at UMBC Stadium Wednesday night, but had to hold off for another day when lightning storms forced the postponement of the scheduled meeting between last year's state finalists. But an extra day to prepare for the rematch didn't matter, as Severna Park took an early six-goal lead and cruised to its second consecutive championship victory over the Owls, 13-6, on Thursday at UMBC Stadium.

Severna Park's John Sakalis has been invited to the USA Junior Olympic Final 100 Player Development Camp in Lake Placid for 19-and-under ice hockey.The Severna Park High junior is the only Anne Arundel County ice hockey player to qualify."

This championship was for Tracy Vander Kolk. The sophomore on the Severna Park girls lacrosse team died of undisclosed reasons May 10. Even though her teammates have been in mourning, the Falcons still managed to advance through the state playoffs, finding strength from one another and the support of the Anne Arundel community. Their resilience culminated in Thursday night's Class 4A-3A state championship game at UMBC, where No. 8 Severna Park knocked off Westminster, 13-6.

The third quarter of the Class 4A-3A East region boys lacrosse semifinal on Monday proved to be a microcosm of the South River boys lacrosse's perfect season. The No. 8 Seahawks, being pushed with a one goal advantage at the half, proved stingy at the defensive end and resourceful on offense against Anne Arundel County rival Severna Park. With John Carr scoring two of his four goals and goalie Nick Marcelino making saves on three straight Severna Park possessions in the pivotal stretch, the Seahawks took charge with three straight goals and went on to advance with a 10-7 win against the No. 13 Falcons in Edgewater . South River, Anne Arundel County and District V champions, improved to 17-0 on the season and will host the winner of the Arundel-Chesapeake-AA semifinal in Wednesday's region title game.

Capt. Patrick Michael Jacobsen, who was superintendent of the Coast Guard yard in Curtis Bay, died Wednesday of cardiac arrest at home in Severna Park. He was 69. Captain Jacobsen spent 27 years in the Coast Guard and retired in 1979. In 1986, he went to work as a systems analyst for the Maryland legislature for eight years. In 1977, he attended the National War College in McLean, Va., studying military strategies in the Middle East. Born and raised in Manistee, Mich., he graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn.

Severna Park baseball coach Jim McCandless, who guided the Falcons to three state championships in his 12 seasons coaching his alma mater, died Tuesday. He was 43. The state's medical examiner confirmed to The Baltimore Sun on Thursday that McCandless' death was ruled a suicide. "Jimmy meant everything to our program," said Wayne Mook, Severna Park's athletic director. "He ran a first-rate baseball program. He was always a first-class individual who made sure his players always did things the right way. " McCandless was also general manager of the Greater Severna Park Athletic Association, a youth sports organization that commonly goes by the name the Green Hornets.

Severna Park boys soccer coach Roy Dunshee has resigned from his position to take a coaching job at Amherst College, the school announced in a press release. Coaches interested in the vacancy are asked to contact athletic director Wayne Mook at 410-544-7462 or wmook@aacps.org. Only teachers or NFHS credentialed coaches will be considered.  

Josh Alcombright Severna Park Alcombright truly got the most out of the Falcons as a team this season, as they won the Anne Arundel County and Class 4A East region titles before taking second in the state. Severna Park was the consummate team. Sam Pershall led the way, but the Falcons stuck together throughout the season. Alcombright was pleasantly surprised at his team's consistency throughout the lineup, saying that played a big role in the team's success.

A 29-year-old woman and a 40-year-old man, suffering life threatening injuries from the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning, were found in a car Saturday at 11:45 p.m. in Severna Park, according to Anne Arundel County fire department officials. The man and woman, whose names were not released, were taken to the hyperbaric unit at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, according to Lt. Cliff Kooser, a spokesman for the department. The car was found with its engine runnung in a garage next to a house in the 700 block of Monmouth Avenue.

Boys lacrosse No. School   Record   Prev.   1. Calvert Hall  16-2  1  2. Loyola  16-4  2  3. Boys' Latin  14-7  4  4. Gilman  12-4  3  5. McDonogh  9-8  5  6. Severn  15-7   6  7. Hereford  18-1  7  8. South River  ...

Draw possession and their own patient offense proved equally effective as No. 8 Severna Park held No. 11 Catonsville to its lowest offensive output of the season en route to a 15-10 victory at Franklin in the Class 4A-3A state semifinals. The defending champion Falcons (17-2) advance to the state final for the 13th time and will go after their 11th title Tuesday or Wednesday night at UMBC against the winner of Saturday's semifinal between Westminster and Churchill. The Falcons defeated Westminster, 14-7, in last year's championship.

The third quarter of the Class 4A-3A East region boys lacrosse semifinal on Monday proved to be a microcosm of the South River boys lacrosse's perfect season. The No. 8 Seahawks, being pushed with a one goal advantage at the half, proved stingy at the defensive end and resourceful on offense against Anne Arundel County rival Severna Park. With John Carr scoring two of his four goals and goalie Nick Marcelino making saves on three straight Severna Park possessions in the pivotal stretch, the Seahawks took charge with three straight goals and went on to advance with a 10-7 win against the No. 13 Falcons in Edgewater . South River, Anne Arundel County and District V champions, improved to 17-0 on the season and will host the winner of the Arundel-Chesapeake-AA semifinal in Wednesday's region title game.

Johns Hopkins ethics classes for the Secret Service? You've got to be kidding! Any child who ever attended Sunday school knows that what the agents did was stupid and wrong ("Ethics classes for Secret Service," May 1). The authorities aren't mad at the agents, they're mad because it reflects badly on them. Whenever there's a screw-up, the bureaucratic solution is to throw money at it. We all know what happened. Let's not throw away money to try to deflect criticism. David Ingalls, Severna Park

South River attackman Ben Chisolm had to deal with a Severna Park defenseman bumping against his back or standing almost face-to-face with him for most of a key Anne Arundel County matchup in Edgewater on Tuesday. The 15th-ranked Falcons were hoping to slow down South River's high-powered attack by taking Chisolm out of the game. The 10th-ranked Seahawks, however, had enough depth as Jon Carr responded with three goals and two assists in the 7-2 victory to remain undefeated. South River clinched the regular season title and finish conference play Friday against Annapolis before taking on the Howard County champion in the District V championship next week.

A Severna Park woman was sentenced Tuesday to just over three years in prison after pleading guilty to a mortgage scam involving $4.7 million in fraudulent loans, the Maryland U.S. attorney's office said. Mary Anne Dean, 60, brokered loans in a scheme pitched to homeowners trying to avoid foreclosure, according to her plea agreement. The homeowners were told they could sell to investors, stay on as renters, and then buy back their homes after getting their finances in order. Dean, who ran a mortgage brokerage firm called Sunset Mortgage Co. from her home, submitted falsified mortgage applications to secure the loans for the "investors" — relatives and acquaintances of a co-defendant, Charles Donaldson of Bowie.

The Houston Astros reassigned right-handed pitcher Josh Banks (Severna Park) to minor league camp. Banks, 27, who had been invited to major league camp as a nonroster player, has appeared in 26 big league games, including eight starts, with the Toronto Blue Jays and San Diego Padres, with whom he was 1-1 with a 7.15 ERA last year. MLS: D.C. United signed Academy midfielder-forward Andy Najar to a Generation adidas contract to join the first team. Najar, 17, a native of Honduras, is the second player to sign with the first team directly from United's Academy.

For much of the past two decades, second-ranked Severna Park has been the measuring stick for girls lacrosse teams in Anne Arundel County. However, third-ranked Broadneck has traditionally played the Falcons as tough as any team in the state. In Friday night's game between the two unbeaten teams, visiting Broadneck stayed within striking distance for most of the game, but simply could not overtake the Falcons, who pulled out the 14-12 victory. Sarah Lloyd had six goals for Severna Park.

In Anne Arundel County girls lacrosse, the regular-season champion wins the county title, so there's not always much excitement on the final day of league competition. This season, however, there will be. No. 7 South River's 11-9 victory over No. 8 Severna Park on Tuesday set up a winner-take-all season finale between the Seahawks and No. 12 Annapolis at South River on Friday at 5 p.m. The victor not only takes the county title but also earns a berth in Tuesday's District V championship against the Howard County champion.