Thomas Stone

The Milford Mill boys basketball team had a good early sign in Saturday's Class 3A state final against Thomas Stone when each of its starting five scored baskets in the game's first four minutes. It was that kind of collective effort -- coming at both ends -- that turned out to be the difference as the No. 5 Millers earned a sturdy 60-46 win over the Cougars from Charles County to claim the program's fourth state title and first since 1994. Senior guard Anthony Goode scored a game-high 13 points; senior forward Jimmy Hamilton added 10 and contained Thomas Stone's athletic front line; and Troy Branch finished with 11 as the Millers completed their 25-3 season on an impressive note.

The repeat All-Metro Player of the Year continued to dazzle with unmatched offensive skills, averaging 24points, five assists and three steals per game in leading the No. 2 Clippers (21-7) to their first state title.  After the Clippers lost in the Class 4A state championship game last season, Carr committed himself to bringing the team back to the title game - and leaving with a happier ending. Despite playing with foul trouble, the 5-foot-7 Carr scored a game-high 28 points and added eight assists as Patterson defeated Thomas Stone, 86-75, in the 3A final.  Carr, who has committed to Seton Hall, scored 25 or more points in nine games this season, including 47 in a regular-season win over Poly and 31 against then-No.

COLLEGE PARK - No. 14 Centennial's season came to an end Thursday afternoon at the Comcast Center with a 69-61 loss to Thomas Stone in the Class 3A state semifinals. Thomas Stone took a 23-22 lead at the halftime buzzer on a 3-pointer by junior guard Michael Briscoe (21 points, five assists), and pulled away for good in the third quarter. "Going into the locker room that was a lot of excitement, knowing we can get above this team," said Thomas Stone senior center Brelin Elliott, who finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.

COLLEGE PARK - In the opening minutes of Thursday's Class 3A state semifinal, there were some clear signs that the No. 3 Patterson boys basketball simply had too much for its Frederick County opponent Tuscarora to handle. The Clippers showed their quickness by creating steals, a blocked shot warned how tough it would be to get points inside and, while all the baskets didn't fall freely at the offensive end early, they seemed to be able to get the shots they wanted. Shortly after junior guard Aquille Carr scored his first points - a driving layup about midway through the first quarter - Patterson's offense started to match its defense, and the Clippers went on to take a comfortable 70-46 win over Tuscarora at Comcast Center.

LA PLATA -- Kate Hannas came out of a timeout and virtually took over the match with an assortment of kills, blocks and dumps to lead the Mount Hebron past Thomas Stone, 16-14, 15-2, 15-5, and into the state 3A championship game Saturday at Catonsville Community College at 5 p.m..Mount Hebron (17-2) will meet the winner of tonight's Thomas Johnson-Fallston 3A semifinal match for the title. That match was scheduled for La Plata High last night but was postponed until tonight because TJ could not travel due to bad weather in Frederick County.

LA PLATA -- If No. 1 Centennial sought a spark to boost them to their fourth straight state volleyball championship, the Eagles did not find it in last night's semifinal win over Thomas Stone.The Eagles (23-1) struggled through much of the match against a resilient, scrappy Thomas Stone team (14-6). Still, the Eagles had more than enough power to overwhelm Thomas Stone, 15-7, 15-9, 15-11, in last night's Class 3A semifinal match at La Plata High."We were a little overconfident because of last year," said Eagles senior Kelly West.

It was the inning that wouldn't end, within a game that looked as though it might last until dawn.Both starting pitchers got one out, then the hook. In all, 22 batters came to the plate, a six-run lead vanished and an hour passed. And that was just the beginning.Second seed Thomas Stone and No. 3 seed Broadneck combined for 12 runs, 10 hits and three errors in the first inning of last night's Class 3A state semifinals at Joe Cannon Stadium in Harmans.Finally, after more than three hours, Broadneck had outlasted the Cougars, getting some steady relief pitching from junior Domenic Borro and two-out RBIs by Jim Pavao, Dan Gerbasi and Marty Toskov in the eighth inning for a 10-9 victory.

For Centennial's corner-kick specialist, Eric Tischer, it was an encore performance.His corner kick yesterday at Old Mill High gave the top-ranked and unbeaten Eagles (14-0-2) their fourth state title with a 2-1 triumph over Thomas Stone in the Class 3A championship game.Tischer boomed a right-footed kick directly into the goal with 27 minutes, 12 seconds left to play.It was the second time this season he won a game with a corner. Earlier in the year, the Eagles beat Walt Whitman, 2-1, on an almost identical shot.

Northern of Calvert County (26-0) stretched its winning streak to 76 and captured a third consecutive 4A state volleyball title with a 15-11, 13-15, 15-9, 15-12 victory over Watkins Mill (18-2) last night at Catonsville Community College.Katy Coleman (19 kills), Allison Burroughs (nine kills) and Brandi Blevins (eight kills) combined to dominate play at the net for the Patriots, who finished 26-0.Class 1A final: Stephanie Stambaugh had 12 kills, Cindy Sheedy had 10 kills and Erin Ness dished out 21 assists as Francis Scott Key (18-1)

COLLEGE PARK - No. 14 Centennial's season came to an end Thursday afternoon at the Comcast Center with a 69-61 loss to Thomas Stone in the Class 3A state semifinals. Thomas Stone took a 23-22 lead at the halftime buzzer on a 3-pointer by junior guard Michael Briscoe (21 points, five assists), and pulled away for good in the third quarter. "Going into the locker room that was a lot of excitement, knowing we can get above this team," said Thomas Stone senior center Brelin Elliott, who finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.

The Milford Mill boys basketball team had a good early sign in Saturday's Class 3A state final against Thomas Stone when each of its starting five scored baskets in the game's first four minutes. It was that kind of collective effort - coming at both ends - that turned out to be the difference as the No. 5 Millers earned a sturdy 60-46 win over the Cougars from Charles County to claim the program's fourth state title and first since 1994. Senior guard Anthony Goode scored a game-high 13 points, senior forward Jimmy Hamilton added 10 and contained Thomas Stone's athletic front line, and Troy Branch finished with 11 as the Millers completed their 25-3 season on an impressive note.

It took a couple of minutes for the Milford Mill boys basketball team to settle into Thursday's Class 3A state semifinal against Stephen Decatur, but once they got comfortable it was apparent the No. 5 Millers had the goods to make a return trip to Comcast Center for Saturday's championship. Quicker and more athletic behind a strong inside performance from senior forward Jimmy Hamilton, the Millers gained an early advantage and had an answer for every challenge presented by their Worcester County opponent to come away with a 69-41 win. Hamilton scored 16 points and added 12 rebounds; Isaiah McCray, Anthony Goode and Troy Branch finished with nine points each; and the Millers (24-3)

Darryle Dennis scored 19 points to lead Snow Hill of Worcester County to its third state title with a 92-75 win over Prince George's County's Surrattsville in the Class 1A state championship game yesterday at Comcast Center in College Park. Surrattsville's Jamahl Brown led all scorers with 36 points. Snow Hill, which beat Dunbar in the semifinals, finished 26-0. The Eagles led Surrattsville (12-12) from early in the game and built a 23-point lead at one point. The Hornets were able to cut the lead to 14 points late in the third quarter, but could get no closer.

COLLEGE PARK --Parkville coach Rod Norris tells anyone who will listen how scrappy his young Knights are. Last night at the University of Maryland's Comcast Center, the Knights showed both how scrappy they were and how young they were. Parkville (18-7) rallied from 10 points down in the second half, eventually tying Charles County's Thomas Stone (24-2) with 3:10 left, but could not get over the hump and fell, 73-64, in a Maryland Class 4A semifinal. Junior Tom Cummings led the Knights with 16 points, while Brandon Carroll led Thomas Stone with 17 points and eight rebounds.

For the first time since the state baseball playoffs began in 1975, Anne Arundel County does not have a team in any of the four classes in the state semifinals. Perhaps the biggest surprise is the elimination of Arundel, which seemed headed to the program's 11th state title behind outstanding pitchers Tyler Hibbs, Eric Potter and Shawn Pleffner. It was the deepest staff coach Bernie Walter has had in years, and he said at midseason that he felt his infield was "maybe the best we have ever had."