Thomas Johnson

An outstanding, all-around team effort catapulted No. 7 Dulaney to its second regional championship in four years as the host Lions defeated Thomas Johnson, 3-1, to win the 4A North title yesterday. Four players had at least six kills, led by junior Ally Stangenberg with 13, and senior captain Maria DiPietro set the tone on defense with 31 digs and only five errors. "This was the best team victory we've had all year," said coach Cary Lyon, whose team advanced to the state semifinals with the win. The Lions (17-1)

FREDERICK -- Visiting North Carroll's Steve Suter is one of the area's best players, but Thomas Johnson has one of the state's best football traditions.So while North Carroll's second-team All-Metro might have been the best player on the field last night, the five-time defending league champs, playing at home, had more depth to win both teams' Central Maryland Conference opener, 31-14.The win was Thomas Johnson's third after a season-opening 7-0 loss to Middletown, including a 14-6 victory over defending Class 3A state champ Friendly, from Prince George's County.

It should not have been this difficult. But the Calvert Hall Cardinals are making a habit of taking the most arduous path to victory this season.Twice yesterday, the Cardinals failed to hold three-run leads. And late in the game, they had to go to their stopper, right-hander Brent Gossman.But then Seamus Corcoran singled home the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth to give third-ranked Calvert Hall a 7-6 win over Thomas Johnson at Redwood Field in Loch Raven.The Patriots, who came into the game with a 2-6 record, forced the extra inning on Jared Putnam's bases-empty home run in the top of the seventh.

Even Bernie Walter, the quintessential perfectionist, had trouble finding something wrong with top-ranked Arundel's season opener in Gambrills yesterday.Returning All-Metro right-hander Andy Kostic spun a three-hitter with a career-high 12 strikeouts as the Wildcats opened with an 8-0 victory over Thomas Johnson of Frederick."The most [strikeouts] I had in a game last year was seven or eight," said Kostic. "I wasn't a strikeout pitcher last year, but maybe I will be this year because I have even better command of my three pitches [fastball, curve and change]

Class 4ANo. 10 Lake Clifton (19-5)vs. Sherwood (18-8)When: 9 p.m. todayWhere: U. of Maryland, Cole Field HouseOutlook: Second-year coach Herman Harried's Lake Clifton is in the state semifinals for the first time since the Lakers won a title with Shawnta Rogers (now at George Washington) in 1995. Sherwood, coached by Mel Laughner for the 27th year, is in its seventh playoff appearance but first in 12 years. Coming off last weekend's win over Gaithersburg, last season's Class 4A state champ, the Warriors are in quest of Laughner's second state title (he also won in '79)

Summer school had been in session scarcely a week at Thomas Johnson Elementary when one beginning reader turned in a list of 30 books she had finished.Another third-grade girl, who struggles to read, is trying to catch up to her peers. She might not close the gap during the summer session, but she will be closer because of it, said reading teacher Maria Zozulak.Summer schools and summer reading camps are not unique in Baltimore -- many have been launched in recent years amid the push for increased reading instruction.

COLLEGE PARK -- It's tough to beat a team that is playing near-perfect ball.When your opponent scores on its first seven trips up the floor, and one of its best players makes all nine of his field goals in the first half, the chances are good that you're in for a long evening.That was the situation facing 20th-ranked Aberdeen (21-6) against Frederick's Thomas Johnson in yesterday's 101-60 Class 3A state semifinal blowout at Cole Field House.Thomas Johnson sophomore Marcus West scored 24 points on 11-for-13 field goal shooting in only two-thirds of the action.

Centennial and Howard were on different ends of one-sided Maryland Scholastic Hockey League Tier II playoff games yesterday afternoon.Pat Schaeffer had three goals and three assists and Greg Letzkus added two goals to power Centennial past Thomas Johnson, 8-4, in Frederick. The Eagles (8-3) will play top-seeded Archbishop Curley, which had a first-round bye, tomorrow at 3: 20 p.m. at the Gardens Ice House in Laurel.Howard had a slow start against Bowie and paid for it. The Lions trailed 3-0 after the first period and lost, 7-2, at the Gardens Ice House.

FREDERICK -- For Westminster's boys, yesterday was a day of records at the Central Maryland Conference championship meet at Frederick High School.Despite breaking three meet marks, however, it was also a day for finishing second.Westminster excelled in the middle and long distance events, but host Frederick outscored the defending champions, 72-36, in the field events en route to a 132-119 victory.Thomas Johnson was third (108), followed by Urbana (71), South Carroll (44), Linganore (43), Liberty (25)

Francis Scott Key (2-4) at Walkersville (5-1)When: 7 tonightOutlook: The Eagles ended a two-game losing skid last week with a 22-18 win against winless South Hagerstown. Quarterback Russell Tyler and running back Brendan MacDaniel accounted for two touchdowns. Tyler also ran for another, and MacDaniel converted a two-point try. Key's offense most likely will have to do more if the Eagles are to knock off the heavyweight Lions, who are undefeated in the Monocacy Valley Athletic League. Halfback Chad DeWees, a transfer from Catoctin, recorded three touchdowns on a reception, fumble return and interception return to help Walkersville pound Brunswick, 30-17, last week.

The top-ranked Loyola cross country team left no doubt at Saturday's Bull Run Invitational at Hereford, putting five runners in the top 25 and cruising to victory over a tough field in the Elite division. Matt Jablonski led the Dons with his fourth-place finish. Matt Erford (10th), Brendan Tizard (18th), Pat Finley (21st) and John Lobo (23rd) were the other Loyola runners who helped the Dons finish with 72 points, beating Virginia's Colonial Forge (118). No. 3 River Hill (119) and No. 2 Calvert Hall (130)

0.00 ERA for Patapsco pitcher Eric Ryan, who is 2-0 with 16 strikeouts in 16 innings. 7 Girls on the McDonogh track team, which won Saturday's Pikesville Track Classic with 68 points over second-place Thomas Johnson (61). 13.8 Percentage from the field Seton Keough's girls basketball team held Riverdale Baptist to in the second half of the Gators' 44-42 victory in the ESPN RISE National High School Invitational title game.

Top-ranked McDonogh brought only seven girls to Saturday's Pikesville Track Classic, but the Eagles still managed to pull out a tough victory. Despite holding out three of their top athletes, the Eagles used the talents of Kristen Brown and six teammates to finish with 68 points, beating Thomas Johnson (61), No. 7 Catonsville (58.5) and No. 3 Western (55) in the 40-team meet at Pikesville. "We only brought a handful here, but we did well," said Alrick Munroe, McDonogh's co-coach with Jeff Sanborn.

COLLEGE PARK - There was no time to be intimidated or awestruck when No. 4 Towson took the court in last night's Class 3A state championship against top-ranked Centennial, the most dominant volleyball program in the state. The Generals pushed the Eagles, but in the end, Centennial was too strong and pulled out a 26-24, 25-18, 25-21 victory to claim the title at the University of Maryland's Ritchie Coliseum. It was the 14th time Centennial has reached the state final, and the Eagles have never lost in any of those matches.

FOOTBALL No. 3 Loyola @No. 10 Edmondson When: Saturday, 1 p.m. Outlook: Loyola opened its season in style Sunday, as senior quarterback Leon Kinnard threw three touchdown passes to lead his team to a 42-0 win over Gonzaga (D.C.) on the road. The Dons should get a stiffer test this week against Edmondson, which opened its season Friday with a 16-7 win over Friendly of Prince George's County. Junior QB Jerry Lovelocke threw for 134 yards and a touchdown for the Red Storm, which finished 9-3 a year ago. The Sun's pick: Loyola Football Thomas Johnson@ No. 7 Mount St. Joseph When: Saturday, 1 p.m. Outlook: After last weekend's season-opening 14-0 win over Archbishop Spalding in a game that was tougher than expected, the Gaels will face a Thomas Johnson team that won 10 games and advanced to the Class 4A state semifinals a year ago, and put up 35 points in Friday's win over Northeast.

Yesterday was a good day to be a member of the Palmieri family. Caitlyn Palmieri's seeing-eye single drove in Amanda Hedgepeth in the bottom of the eighth inning to give No. 7 Arundel (14-5) a 1-0 victory over Leonardtown in a Class 4A East regional softball quarterfinal. Angel Palmieri, Caitlyn's twin sister, advanced Hedgepeth to third with a sacrifice bunt. Winning pitcher Kayla Martinez struck out 14 without a walk. No. 5 Franklin 5, Hereford 4 -- Emily King singled home Nicole Snee in the bottom of the seventh as the Indians (20-0)

The weathered, well-thumbed dictionary, its pages stained from decades of perusal, was so old that its definition for "computer" was "one who computes; a reckoner; a calculator." In 1956, when the Webster's edition was published, that made perfect sense. But in the forlorn library at Thomas Johnson Elementary School in South Baltimore, the age of that obsolete book and hundreds like it are a pressing issue for teachers trying to instill in their young charges a sense of the world as it is now. So the school's administrators happily accepted yesterday a donation of about 1,500 books, some as up-to-date as you can get, as well as about 50 pounds of art supplies, from a Girl Scouts troop and the Trudy and Joe Kaufman School Library Swap Foundation, set up a year ago by a Baltimore couple to help struggling public-school libraries.

No. 10 Perry Hall shut out five opponents this season, but its defense had no answer for Thomas Johnson's formidable running game last night in the Class 4A North regional final. The host Patriots of Frederick County rushed for 266 yards on 33 carries and cruised to a 35-3 victory over the Gators. Perry Hall (10-2) had success moving the ball between the 20-yard lines but could not find the end zone and fell short in the regional final for the second straight season. "Thomas Johnson is a good football team and they know how to run the ball real well," said Perry Hall coach Bob Hruz, who took over the team after Nick Arminio was asked to step down at midseason.

Football Class 4A North regional final Thomas Johnson (9-2) @No. 10 Perry Hall (10-1) When -- Friday, 7 p.m. Outlook -- Both teams are coming off exciting semifinal wins, with the host Gators outlasting a good North Carroll team, 28-21. Thomas Johnson defeated Linganore, 21-19, on Jake Nichols' 22-yard field goal with eight seconds left. The Patriots will play in their first regional final since 1997. The Gators lost to Sherwood in last year's regional final. Class 3A North regional final Catonsville (8-3)

An outstanding, all-around team effort catapulted No. 7 Dulaney to its second regional championship in four years as the host Lions defeated Thomas Johnson, 3-1, to win the 4A North title yesterday. Four players had at least six kills, led by junior Ally Stangenberg with 13, and senior captain Maria DiPietro set the tone on defense with 31 digs and only five errors. "This was the best team victory we've had all year," said coach Cary Lyon, whose team advanced to the state semifinals with the win. The Lions (17-1)