Thomas Johnson

Debbie Dove hit four clutch free throws in overtime as Thomas Johnson made seven of eight from the line and blanked host Liberty in the extra period to score a 50-40 victory in a Central Maryland Conference game last night.Thomas Johnson, which broke a five-game losing streak, held Liberty scoreless in the final 7:06 and hit its only shot -- a three-pointer -- from the field."You have to hit your free throws," said Thomas Johnson coach Chris Krivos. "We practice them every day."Patricia Mangan (11 points)

River Hill's season didn't start off that well at 2-2, but it certainly ended well -- with a 10-game winning streak culminating in the state Class 3A football championship Saturday night. In winning their third state title, 41-13 over Thomas Johnson at M&T Bank Stadium, the No. 5 Hawks relied on the two things that had gotten them this far, their running game and a stingy defense -- plus more than a little help from the Patriots. Thomas Johnson turned the ball over nine times in the game and twice on their first three plays.

North Carroll softball coach Rich Harvey isn't one to make excuses, but he could have come up with a couple to justify yesterday's 15-3 loss to visiting Thomas Johnson if he wanted to.The No. 15 Panthers were without their senior co-captains -- shortstop Christina Crouse and second baseman Kathleen Tunney -- and looked lost without them."

A Baltimore City firefighter received probation before judgment last week in a 2010 drunken-driving crash that left a woman and her son hospitalized. Christopher Kyle Johnson, 30, was placed on two years of supervised probation for a traffic violation, while five counts of second-degree assault charges were dropped. His attorney, Bruce Robinson, said Johnson had no previous arrests or offenses, and he did not have any points on his license. He participated in a 13-week outpatient alcohol treatment program, he said.

In the preseason Centennial coach Jim Hill said, "We're sort of an unknown commodity right now, so it is hard to say where we'll finish. Most people probably will discount us."Two games into the season, any team that discounts Centennial will be making a serious mistake.After defeating C. Milton Wright by two points in its opener, Centennial took a powerful Thomas Johnson squad to the wire yesterday before losing, 59-54.Centennial rallied in the second half after trailing by as many as 11 points in the first half.

Thomas Johnson pitcher Mike Anders allowed an average of four hits in his first nine games. But Dundalk swung the bat well against him, getting 11 hits.The problem was when the hits came -- or didn't come.Anders went the distance and struck out 11, and Fondtaine Weedon had two hits and two RBIs as fourth-seeded Thomas Johnson broke top-seeded and No. 5-ranked Dundalk's 16-game winning streak and ended its season with a 5-4 victory in a Class 3A state semifinal last night at Arundel High.Thomas Johnson will meet third-seeded Thomas Stone in the state title game Saturday at 7 p.m. at Joe Cannon Stadium.

FREDERICK -- The Lansdowne Vikings waited six innings yesterday for some relief from Thomas Johnson's stingy pitching. But once Patriots coach Jim Foit gave it to them, he took it right back.Foit pulled starter Mike Anders for Aaron Wheat to start the seventh inning, but Wheat threw six consecutive balls, so Foit put the right-hander back in.Anders, who had given up one run on six hits in his first stint, then retired the side in order to gain the win and the save in his team's 4-1 victory in the Class 3A state championship game at McCurdy Field.

This one might have been over the day Phil Williams moved to Frederick and enrolled at Thomas Johnson High three years ago.Williams, 6 feet 8, 265 pounds, was just too much of an intimidator for the much smaller Westminster Owls to overcome last night in a Central Maryland Conference basketball game at Thomas Johnson.The final score -- Thomas Johnson 87, Westminster 70 -- was no surprise.Williams, who has been given a full basketball scholarship to Penn State, not only took up a lot of space, but he also prompted the slender Owls' big man, 6-7 Russell DeMont, to foul out with less than two minutes gone in the third quarter.

Phil Williams, Thomas Johnson's 6-foot-8, 270-pound center who has signed with Penn State, scored the winning basket on a put-back layup with 28 seconds left, as the visiting Patriots turned back an inspired Centennial basketball team yesterday, 62-59.The Eagles (2-1) led nearly wire to wire against the highly regarded Patriots (3-0), who were averaging 102 points per game. They had beaten Oakland Mills, 87-65, on Monday.Thomas Johnson, which trailed 42-29 with 6:30 left in the third quarter, took its first lead, 58-57, on two free throws by 6-3 Jamaal West (12 points)

No one can blame pitcher Cailean Leith for Howard's loss yesterday.The No. 16 Lions (1-2) made seven errors in a six-inning darkness-shortened game against Thomas Johnson and it allowed the Patriots (3-1), Class 3A state finalists last season, to come away with a 9-7 victory at Howard.Five of the errors came during Thomas Johnson's six-run fifth inning that finally chased Leith from the mound in favor of Rusty Miller."Cailean pitched an outstanding game," Howard coach Matt Forsyth said. "Just terrific.

A Baltimore City firefighter is scheduled to stand trial Monday on charges that he hit another car while driving under the influence of alcohol, an off-duty crash that left a woman and her 10-year-old son hospitalized for several weeks this spring. Christopher Kyle Johnson, who will turn 30 on Christmas Day, was charged with five counts of second degree assault and charges related to causing injury while driving under the influence of alcohol. He has been on administrative duty since the April accident, pending the outcome of his trial.

TUESDAY GIRLS VOLLEYBALL STATE SEMIFINALS (at College Park) CLASS 4A Sherwood d. No. 10 Arundel, 25-16, 25-19, 25-22 Thomas Johnson d. C.H. Flowers, 25-11, 25-18, 25-11 BOYS BASKETBALL Arlington Baptist Invitational Chapelgate 62, C.R. Jesuit 42

With his team trailing by a goal in the final seconds in Friday night's Class 4A-3A state semifinals at Arundel, C. Milton Wright's Scott Showalter picked up a loose ball and fired a shot past Wootton goalie Bobby Riso as the final horn sounded. The referee, however, waved off the goal, saying the shot did not beat the clock, and the Patriots held on for an 11-10 victory. The scrappy play of C.Milton Wright helped pave the way for the strong playoff run, but the Mustangs fell just short of reaching the state finals for the first time in program history.

To Patterson linebacker Allister Jones, Friday night's regional playoff opener against Woodlawn was all about making defensive stops and building momentum. That strategy played to perfection early on. The visiting Clippers did not allow the Warriors a first down in the first quarter while revving up their own running game and taking advantage of Woodlawn's mistakes. The Clippers scored all of their points in the first 14 minutes of the game en route to a 37-0 victory in a Class 4A North regional semifinal.

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.

"Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good," said Thomas Johnson coach Ben Wright, describing his team's 25-22 win over No. 5 Oakland Mills yesterday.Thomas Johnson (2-1) turned three of Oakland Mills' five turnovers into scores, kicked a 32-yard field goal with 1.4 seconds left in the first half, and drew a big break when Oakland Mills was called for offensive pass interference in Thomas Johnson's end zone with 35 seconds left in the game.Oakland Mills' offensive line failed to open enough holes or to protect quarterback Irving Conwell for the second straight losing week and forced the Scorpions into a scrambling passing game.

The Westminster Owls knew they had a pretty good test on their hands last night after a determined Thomas Johnson team didn't scare from a patented Westminster run at the start of the third quarter.The Owls passed -- including an "A" in free-throw shooting down the stretch -- by coming away with a 63-57 win over the visiting Patriots.The No. 14 Owls (12-2) hit 7-for-8 free throws in the final minute to break a 56-56 tie.Senior guard Cassandra Conklin (15 points) hit two after Thomas Johnson coach Chris Krivos was called for a technical foul for arguing a three-second violation.

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.