Thomas Johnson

As the son of a former small college standout, nephew of a top assistant coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference and brother of a two-time Carroll County Player of the Year, Westminster's Kevin Carr was born to play basketball. His body, however, needed a little convincing. After spending most of his life as the smallest player on the court, Carr began a physician-supervised regiment of human growth hormones about a year ago. Now, after growing six inches in a matter of months, the sharp-shooting, 5-foot-10 point guard has raised his stature and his game, positioning himself for a chance to continue his career at the next level.

Class 4A[North] No. 4 Parkville vs. No. 1 Perry Hall No. 3 Sherwood vs. No. 2 Thomas Johnson [East] No. 4 South River vs. No. 1 Broadneck No. 3 Old Mill vs. No. 2 Arundel [West] No. 4 Gaithersburg vs. No. 1 Northwest No. 3 Damascus vs. No. 2 Quince Orchard [South] No. 4 Bowie/Crossland vs. No. 1 C.H. Flowers No. 3 Roosevelt vs. No. 2 Suitland Class 3A[North] No. 4 Mervo vs. No. 1 City No. 3 Towson vs. No. 2 Franklin. [East] No. 4 North Harford vs. No. 1 River Hill No. 3 Edgewood vs. No. 2 Severna Park [West]

The Thomas Johnson boys soccer team came to Broadneck last night for its Class 4A state semifinal game against the No. 7 Bruins with no secrets. The Patriots' strength all season was their dangerous set plays, and the trend continued last night. Senior midfielder Stephen Powell headed home a long throw from senior back Jason Koski in the 54th minute and John Langford tacked on a late goal to give the Frederick school a 2-0 win over the Bruins, who fell one game short of a second straight trip to the state championship game.

Annapolis pulled away from visiting City in the final period last night, coasting to a 63-47 victory for a 3-0 record that made Panthers coach John Brady the state's all-time winningest public school basketball coach with 593 career victories. Brady, who is 593-112 (.841) at the start of his 29th season at Annapolis, passed former Thomas Johnson coach Tom Dickman. Dickman, who is now coaching Hood College, was 592-135 (.814) in 29 seasons at Thomas Johnson. "It's been so much fun and gone so fast, it only seems like a hundred wins," said Brady, who ranks fifth in victories overall - private schools included - on the Maryland list that has former DeMatha coach Morgan Wootten at the top with a record of 1,274-192 (.869)

Century boys soccer coach Scott Smith said that his Knights are a different team than the one that struggled through the early weeks of this season. With the postseason scheduled to begin Friday, that could be bad news for teams in the Class 2A West region. Through Monday, Century (8-4-1) had won six straight games, five by shutout. Included in the stretch have been back-to-back 1-0 wins over county rivals Westminster and North Carroll. In fact, the team hasn't allowed a goal in nearly a month - a scenario Smith could not have envisioned after his team won just two of its first seven games.

For the Liberty volleyball team, it was a routine that had become part of the fabric of game day. After each victory, players would pick up their cell phones and call members of last year's squad, letting them know their streak was still intact. Last night, those calls never came. Visiting Thomas Johnson needed just 64 minutes to efficiently and resoundingly put an end to the longest winning streak in metro-area history. The Patriots took advantage of uncharacteristic mistakes by the No. 2 Lions to easily capture the first two games, then rallied from a late deficit in the third to cap off a stunning 25-17, 25-15, 26-24 victory.

Baltimore City Who Cardinal Gibbons at St. Paul's Sport, When Football, Friday, 3 p.m. Outlook This is a crucial Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference North Division game. Cardinal Gibbons has won four of its past five. Gibbons and St. Paul's are vying with Boys' Latin to win the North Division and earn a spot in the inaugural conference title game against the South Division champion on Nov. 11 at Towson University's Johnny Unitas Stadium. Baltimore County Who Eastern Tech at Overlea Sport, Time Football, Friday, 7 p.m. Outlook Two of the best teams in Baltimore County's 2A-1A League meet in a contest that not only could lead to determining the conference champion, but which also has Class 2A North regional playoff implications.

Joe Sanford's ride ended yesterday as visiting Thomas Johnson of Frederick ripped Sanford and Southwestern, 17-0, in the Class 4A North regional quarterfinals. Sanford rolled through Baltimore City play, throwing three no-hitters to tie the state single-season record, but he was rocked for 16 hits and the Sabers (11-4) were no-hit yesterday by three Patriots pitchers. "You can see the kind of schedule we play as opposed to what they play," Thomas Johnson coach Jim Foit said. The Patriots (11-10)

South River senior guard Stacy Hunt and the No. 3 Seahawks weren't bashful for a minute. In fact, they were a little brash. Clearly stating their offensive work in yesterday's Class 4A girls basketball state semifinal against Thomas Johnson would come from the outside, the Seahawks took effective aim on tomorrow's championship game with another win, this one by a 58-49 count at UMBC over the Patriots from Frederick County. Hunt finished with a game-high 27 points, the defense did its part by holding the Patriots' 20-point scorer, Nia Josiah, to zero in the first half, and the Seahawks (21-5)

MINDFUL THAT HER South River team had seen a 15-point lead over Thomas Johnson shrink to three, sophomore guard Ali Moreland stalked the area in front of the Seahawks' bench with her head down, a slight limp from a twisted left ankle and a grim look right off one of those guys atop Mount Rushmore. Just then, her father, Rick, made one of those goofy faces dads make to embarrass their teenage kids in public and remind them that even when you're trying to win a state championship, you have to remember to lighten up, to have a little fun, to smile.