Springbrook

COLLEGE PARK -- Tyrian Ridges scored 28 points and Shakil Brew added 27, leading Springbrook of Montgomery County to a 87-71 victory over High Point of Prince George's County in a state 4A semifinal game at the University of Maryland last night.The Blue Devils (22-3) will meet Lake Clifton in the state 4A title game They lost to Southern-B, 68-58, in last year's state 4A finals.

John Carroll point guard Rodney Elliott has spent the past four years starring against local competition. For the next four years, the Baltimore Sun first-team All-Metro selection will stay close to home and attempt to do the same in the America East. "It's a great feeling. I'm glad I got it off my chest," said Elliott, who committed to UMBC on Tuesday. "I felt pressure the last two days that it was coming up on the [spring] signing period. I just wanted to get it off my chest. " Elliott, a co-captain and four-year varsity player, led the No. 7 Patriots with 16.6 points per game, also averaging 4.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals in his senior season.

SILVER SPRING - Marlon Evans returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, and visiting Wootton High (12-0) went on to a 20-7 upset of top-seeded Springbrook (11-1) in a state Class 4A semifinal matchup of two Montgomery County teams yesterday.Wootton will make its first-state title game appearance Saturday, when it meets Randallstown at Westminster High at 2 p.m.Springbrook tied the game on a 9-yard touchdown run by Leonard Green, and the game was tied at the half.But in the third period, Messay Hailemariam scooped up a fumble and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown to give Wootton the lead at 14-7, and Geoff Pearce added a 31-yard field goal to make it 17-7.

Franklin has signed to compete at Ohio State, and she'll help the Buckeyes with her versatility and athletic talent. The senior won state titles in the 300 meters and the 500 at the tough Class 4A championship meet, giving her seven individual state titles for her career (indoor and outdoor). Franklin used a furious kick to win the 500 in 1:14.46 despite trailing by at least 10 yards. She nipped Udeme Akpaete of Springbrook by one-tenth of a second. The only bad break came when Franklin had to run the 55 hurdles about 10 minutes after the 500, and that proved to be too much as she took sixth in the state.

COLLEGE PARK -- Top-seeded Springbrook hung on to post a 66-64 victory over No. 4 seed Glen Burnie in the state 4A semifinals last night at Cole Field House.The Gophers (20-5) of Terry Bogle, who was making his first trip to the final four in his 26 years as a head coach, staged an incredible second-half rally only to come up short.Senior point guard William Brown missed a shot in the paint in the final four seconds after Shawn Mahaney lit up in the second half.Mahaney, who led 4th-ranked Glen Burnie with a game-high 22 points (only two in the first half)

No. 3 Poly takes pride in its defense. Friday night it won the Engineers a championship. Host Poly used a mixture of defenses and a bucketful of toughness to win its 23rd consecutive game, defeating Springbrook, 31-23, in the Class 4A North region final. The Engineers will play the winner of Saturday's Gaithersburg-Northwest game in the Class 4A state semifinals Thursday at 5 p.m. at UMBC. To say that Poly's offense was having an off night would be kind. The Engineers (23-0)

The Whiz Kids.Destiny's Darlings.The Cardiac Kids.The Westminster Owls have lived up to all those names in an incredible season.Especially now, since the team is going to the University of Maryland to play in the state tournament after posting another one of its slightly incredible late-inning victories yesterday, defeating Springbrook, 5-4, in 10 innings on Steve Mays' triple to left center field that drove across R. D. Larkin from first base in the 4A...

Pat Chance had just seen her Old Mill girls basketball team win its biggest battle of the season.Now she was being asked to summarizeher feelings.A new battle arose."

After watching game films of Springbrook running back Leonard Green last week, Severna Park's football team got a real-life look at the 6-foot-1, 180-pound senior standout.And as the saying goes: There's nothing like the real thing.For despite their preparation, the eighth seeded Falcons (7-3) couldn't stop Green, who rushed for all five of his team's touchdowns and led Springbrook to a 34-3 victory.Of the top-seeded Blue Devils' 404 total yards, Green rushed for 234 and had 67 more on five pass receptions.

COLLEGE PARK -- Parkdale's decision to run with Annapolis ended in a high-scoring loss Dec. 6. It was a different story last night, as fourth-seeded Parkdale played more conservatively and knocked No. 1 and defending champion Annapolis from the state 4A tournament with a 62-60 victory.Irvin Church's free throws with six seconds to play boosted Parkdale into tomorrow's 9 p.m. final against third-seeded Springbrook (18-4) at Cole Field House. The Blue Devils were 72-67 winners over second-seeded Quince Orchard (18-5)

No. 3 Poly takes pride in its defense. Friday night it won the Engineers a championship. Host Poly used a mixture of defenses and a bucketful of toughness to win its 23rd consecutive game, defeating Springbrook, 31-23, in the Class 4A North region final. The Engineers will play the winner of Saturday's Gaithersburg-Northwest game in the Class 4A state semifinals Thursday at 5 p.m. at UMBC. To say that Poly's offense was having an off night would be kind. The Engineers (23-0)

Montgomery County's Springbrook used its experience in big games to erase an eight-point second-quarter deficit and defeat seventh-ranked Old Mill, 74-67, to win the Class 4A state championship at Comcast Center in College Park on Saturday night. Demetric Austin, Deshaunt Walker and Enerio Jones led Springbrook (25-1) with 15 points each, while Mike Holley paced the Patriots (21-4) with 25 points. The championship was the third straight for the Blue Devils, and their 61st win in their past 62 games.

Eleanor Roosevelt won its fifth consecutive state championship, matching a state record for girls basketball, with a 67-39 victory over Blake in the Class 4A final yesterday at UMBC's RAC Arena. Olivia Applewhite had 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Raiders of Prince George's County, who tied the mark set by Art St. Martin's Brooklyn Park program from 1985 to 1989. Roosevelt (25-1), which defeated No. 5 Arundel in the semifinals, finished the season with a 21-game winning streak.

It was the kind of goal C. Milton Wright's field hockey team plans to score sometime soon in a big game, but in last night's Class 4A state semifinal, it was Springbrook's turn. With 21:57 left in the second half, senior Jacquie King finished off a perfectly executed penalty corner to give the Blue Devils of Montgomery County a 1-0 win over the No. 15 Mustangs at South River High. Springbrook (14-2) will meet defending state champion and No. 3 South River in the title game at 7 p.m. Monday in College Park.

COLLEGE PARK - Looking for a win that would have meant a shot at its first state title, Woodlawn came up just short last night by missing a last-second shot and losing to Springbrook of Montgomery County, 59-58, in a Class 4A state semifinal at Comcast Center. The No. 4-ranked Warriors (22-4), making their first trip to the final four since 1989 and their fourth overall, entered the game with an 18-game winning streak, having beaten Lake Clifton by two points in the regional championship game on a buzzer-beater tip-in by Brandon Carr.

A disappointing second half that took place over the course of two rainy days at Wilde Lake put a damper on South River's field hockey season in just-like-that fashion yesterday. In a Class 4A state semifinal game - which began in Columbia on Wednesday and resumed yesterday became of inclement weather - Springbrook scored twice in two minutes and left with a 2-1 win over the No. 5 Seahawks. Tying the score at 1-1 a little more than a minute before play was stopped Wednesday afternoon with 22:10 remaining, the Blue Devils from Montgomery County got a goal by Kelly Shanahan after 34 seconds of play yesterday that held despite a steady attack from the Seahawks the rest of the way. South River closed out the season with a 15-2 mark.

With 5:30 left in the first half of yesterday's state Class 4A girls semifinal, Springbrook took a 14-13 lead over heavily favored Old Mill. The fans sitting behind the Blue Devils' bench erupted, sensing a shift in momentum and a possible upset.Then came a 14-0 run by Old Mill to close the half, and the excitement that was building among the contingent from Montgomery County soon faded.As did the Blue Devils.The top-seeded Patriots maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the game, posting a 56-39 victory over fourth-seed Springbrook to set up tomorrow's 3 p.m. final against second-seed Western at UMBC.

Lee Ann Leezer came off the Old Mill bench to score seven points in the final 2 minutes, 41 seconds, as the Patriots rallied to a 53-51 victory over Springbrook in the girls Class 4A state championship game yesterday at Catonsville Community College.Leezer made a three-point basket and four free throws -- including two with 27 seconds to go -- to lead No. 4 and second-seeded Old Mill (24-2) back from a 49-44 deficit.It almost wasn't enough. Old Mill's dream season nearly ended in a nightmare when Springbrook's Cindy Weisman almost made a desperation shot at the buzzer.

Perry Hall coach Brian Radcliffe wanted his team to enjoy its trip to last night's Class 4A state semifinal.And why not? The Gators had little reason to feel pressure. They were only 4-11 during the regular season but had fun in the region playoffs while knocking off Southern, Northern and Dulaney.But Springbrook pitcher Allison Lane took the joy out of the state semifinal, throwing a one-hitter and striking out nine as the Blue Devils blanked Perry Hall, 10-0, at Randazzo Park.Springbrook (21-2)