South River

It has been a familiar scene the past two days at UMBC: lacrosse sticks flying everywhere, a mass celebration, then the traditional team photo with the state championship plaque proudly displayed. When it was the South River boys' turn, after a stunning, 10-8 comeback win over Westminster in the Class 4A-3A final, the sticks flew a bit higher, the celebratory pile came together quicker and the smiles were broader. The No. 8 Seahawks had more to enjoy than bringing home the program's second state championship Wednesday at rainy UMBC Stadium.

It has been a familiar scene the past two days at UMBC: lacrosse sticks flying everywhere, a mass celebration, then the traditional team photo with the state championship plaque proudly displayed. When it was the South River boys' turn, after a stunning, 10-8 comeback win over Westminster in the Class 4A-3A final, the sticks flew a bit higher, the celebratory pile came together quicker and the smiles were broader. The No. 8 Seahawks had more to enjoy than bringing home the program's second state championship Wednesday at rainy UMBC Stadium.

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.

South River High School senior Caitlin Byrnes says her parents have been stressing the importance of college since she was young, and though she listened to the message, she didn't think it applied to her. The Crofton resident would consider the family hardships — her father struggling through a myriad of illnesses since his childhood, her mother never fulfilling her dreams of going to college because of a disability — and she didn't see how...

The site has been changed for Tuesday night's District V boys and girls lacrosse championships between the Anne Arundel County champs and the Howard County champs. The games will be held at South River, which has teams in both title games, rather than at Old Mill as originally planned. In the girls game at 5 p.m., the No. 7 Seahawks will face No. 4 Marriotts Ridge. In the boys game at 7 p.m., the No. 10 Seahawks will meet defending champion and No. 9 Glenelg. South River athletic director Dave Klingel said the change was made to accommodate a handful of Seahawks girls who are taking Advanced Placement tests that day and would have been late for the game.

The beach at Glen Isle, located in the South River, was reopened by Anne Arundel County health officials for the 4th of July weekend. Officials with the county's department of health said Friday that samples show that bacteria are at acceptable levels for swimming, according to a statement from the agency. Swimming and other contact with the water was banned on June 13 due after high levels of bacteria were found in water samples, which could make people sick, officials said.

The make-up of the South River boys lacrosse roster -- eight seniors, four freshmen and the rest sophomores and juniors -- may give the appearance of a rebuilding season. But the No. 10 Seahawks never thought of it that way. Working hard, accepting roles, and simply wanting to be part of the team has led them to a 15-0 mark heading into the Class 4A-3A East region playoffs. Rebuilding season? Make it a special season.  After wrapping up the tightly-contested Anne Arundel County crown, the Seahawks defeated No. 9 Glenelg 14-9 on Tuesday to capture the District V championship.  Paul Noone, in his fifth season as head coach with a state title already on his resume from 2009, has watched his mostly young group of players improve and further develop into a top-notch team each day. With the postseason approaching, Noone joined us as this week's Coachspeak guest.

The senior goalie shined in the No. 3 Seahawks' 2-1 double overtime win over No. 4 Severna Park last Wednesday, registering 11 saves to help hand the Falcons their first loss of the season. Flanagan, a captain and two-year varsity starter, has yielded just five goals in 10 games to lead the Seahawks to a 9-1 record. With 67 saves, she has turned away 93 percent of the shots that have come her way. South River coach Katie Corcoran said Flanagan's biggest strengths in goal are her quickness, smart decisions and leadership in effectively directing her defense.

The Maryland-bound senior scored 16 goals and had eight assists in three games last week to lead the No. 3 Seahawks into the state Class 4A-3A final for only the second time in school history. Griffin had four goals and an assist in a 9-7 upset of then-unbeaten and No. 2 Severna Park. In the 13-12 win over No. 7 Broadneck, she had seven goals — two in overtime — and two assists. She polished off the week with five goals and five assists in a 15-7 win over Westminster. An All-Metro midfielder who was last fall's field hockey Player of the Year, Griffin had 96 goals and 43 assists heading into Tuesday's state final.

A balanced attack and sturdy play on defense led the No. 9 Hereford boys lacrosse team to an impressive 9-4 win over visiting South River in a game that showcased two defending state champions Monday night. Senior attackmen Rustin Bryant led the way offensively for the two-time defending Class 3A-2A state champ Bulls, scoring the game's first two goals on his way to a three-goal, one-assist performance. Freshman Joe Seider added two goals and an assist, with Vince DePaola and Jason Andrews both scoring twice as Hereford improved to 9-1 on the season.

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.

The make-up of the South River boys lacrosse roster -- eight seniors, four freshmen and the rest sophomores and juniors -- may give the appearance of a rebuilding season. But the No. 10 Seahawks never thought of it that way. Working hard, accepting roles, and simply wanting to be part of the team has led them to a 15-0 mark heading into the Class 4A-3A East region playoffs. Rebuilding season? Make it a special season.  After wrapping up the tightly-contested Anne Arundel County crown, the Seahawks defeated No. 9 Glenelg 14-9 on Tuesday to capture the District V championship.  Paul Noone, in his fifth season as head coach with a state title already on his resume from 2009, has watched his mostly young group of players improve and further develop into a top-notch team each day. With the postseason approaching, Noone joined us as this week's Coachspeak guest.

No. 4 Marriotts Ridge preserved its perfect season Tuesday night with a 16-12 victory over No. 7 South River in the District V girls lacrosse championship game at South River. South River's plan early in the game, which pits the Anne Arundel County champion against the Howard County champion, was to deny Zoe Stukenberg the ball. Junior defender Bella Pyne drew the task of face-guarding Stukenberg. The plan played into Marriotts Ridge's hands, though. With the high-scoring Stukenberg drawing the defensive attention, offensive opportunities opened for Taylor Hensh (five goals)

Boys lacrosse No. School Record Prev. 1. Calvert Hall 13-2 1 2. Loyola 14-3 2 3. Gilman 10-3 4 4. Boys' Latin 12-6 3 5. McDonogh 9-6 5 6. Severn 15-5 8 7. Hereford 14-1 7 8. St. Mary's 9-7 6 9. Glenelg 12-1 9 ...

The site has been changed for Tuesday night's District V boys and girls lacrosse championships between the Anne Arundel County champs and the Howard County champs. The games will be held at South River, which has teams in both title games, rather than at Old Mill as originally planned. In the girls game at 5 p.m., the No. 7 Seahawks will face No. 4 Marriotts Ridge. In the boys game at 7 p.m., the No. 10 Seahawks will meet defending champion and No. 9 Glenelg. South River athletic director Dave Klingel said the change was made to accommodate a handful of Seahawks girls who are taking Advanced Placement tests that day and would have been late for the game.

A defining moment of South River's season came with just under three minutes left in the first half of Friday's regular-season finale against No. 12 Annapolis. Each time the No. 7 Seawhawks appeared to be pulling away in the winner-take-all matchup for the Anne Arundel County title, Annapolis found a way to force itself back into the game. That all changed when Jacky Spalding and Kacie Longo each scored two goals in a 45-second span to give host South River a commanding lead it never relinquished.

The body of a man reported to have fallen off a barge about 12 days ago was found Monday morning at the mouth of the South River, Maryland Natural Resources Police said. Gregory S. Luckett, 49, of Pasadena, was found in the chilly waters near Mayo Beach about 11:30 a.m. Anne Arundel County police recovered the body. Luckett was reported missing about 4:05 p.m. Nov. 5 from a 25-foot barge. U.S. Coast Guard officials, joined by several other agencies, had searched for him through the night after they were told he fell into the water while returning from a work site.

Severna Park's girls lacrosse team got the shots it wanted early in Wednesday night's game against South River. The Falcons just didn't get the goals they wanted. South River goalie Kelsea Donnelly had a lot to do with that, stifling the No. 3 Falcons with half of her eight saves in the first 10 minutes, but it wasn't enough to stop the home team for good. The Falcons scored four times within about five minutes later in the half to spark a 12-9 victory in an Anne Arundel County league game.

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.

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.