Commitment List

Posted Sept. 4: Mark Banks tied a state record for passing touchdowns in a game with five in Bishop McNamara's 47-30 loss to Mount St. Joseph. Eight other players in Maryland have recorded five-TD passing games. Mount St. Joseph led 30-12 at halftime and 47-12 going into the fourth quarter. Yet, Banks threw three fourth-quarter TD passes to pull the score within 47-30.

Posted Aug. 24: The Washington Post and Baltimore Sun reported that J.T. Smart, who earned All-State honors last year as a junior at Glenelg High School, died as a result of injuries sustained in a car crash.

Posted Aug. 3: DeMatha is the only team from Maryland ranked in the Fox Fab 50 preseason poll. The Stags check in at No. 31. DeMatha, coming off a 10-1-1 season, is ranked No. 5 in the East region. Seneca Valley, riding a 39-game win streak and last year's state No. 1, is rated No. 11 in the East region.

Posted June 16/Updated June 26/July 3/Aug. 1: Make it eight for the Terps. WR Michael Evans of Paint Branch was the first to verbally commit to the University of Maryland. OL Raheem "Radio" Lewis of Suitland followed. DL Akil Patterson of Frederick, RB/DB Gerrick McPhearson of Howard, RB/DB Mario Merrills of Wilde Lake, Matt Powell of Oxon Hill, LB Maurice Smith of Westlake and DB Armar Watson of Suitland have added their names to the list of future Terps. DE Matthew Rice of Eleanor Roosevelt has committed to Penn State, DB Alex Green of Northwestern-PG has committed to Duke, and DL Kevin Hilton of Good Counsel has committed to Virginia Tech. LB Seth Mitchell of Gwynn Park, despite early reports, says he has not committed to Michigan State. Other Maryland prep players have fielded quite a few formal offers recently, here's a brief (and not complete) list of players getting serious looks and the interested schools: Western Tech DB Domonique Foxworth, DeMatha DB Dominique Stewart, DE/TE Arthur Orlebar (6-3, 245) by Georgia Tech, and RB Anthony Riley (5-7, 165) by Virginia Tech; and Westlake OL Randy Starks (6-4, 280), by everyone.

Posted May 18: Kreg Kephart, who spent 17 years as an assistant coach at Gaithersburg, has been selected to take over the program from retired coach John Harvill. Kephart played for Harvill in the early 1970s. Kephart becomes only the second varsity football coach at Gaithersburg. Harvill guided the program for the past 43 years.

Posted May 3: Dick Mantel, a longtime coach at Paint Branch High School in Montgomery County, died Wednesday after a battle with cancer, according to a family friend. Mantel, 59, had a career record of 84-87 and led the school to two playoff appearances - 1989 and 1991. He spent 17 seasons with the Paint Branch program.

Posted April 6: John Harvill, the long-time Gaithersburg coach, retired after 43 years, according to a story in The Washington Post. Harvill leaves with a career record of 312-97. He is the winningest high school football coach in Maryland history. He had only one losing season in 43 years at the Montgomery County school.

Posted March 10: Many thought the legendary coaching career of John Harvill came to an unceremonial end shortly after he watched his Gaithersburg team lose in the state final from a secluded area in the Byrd Stadium press box in November. But not so fast. Harvill said this week he might return for a 44th season at the Montgomery County school. He will make up his mind around the first of April, and make public his decision. Harvill has over 300 career victories and leads the state in the following National Federation-recognized coaching categories of wins, wins at one school, years coaching and years coaching at one school. Harvill was named Maryland AP Coach of the Year in 1992, the first time the honor was bestowed. Harvill appeared headed for a story-book ending, leading Gaithersburg into last year's Class 4A tournament as a favorite. However, Harvill was ejected in the state semifinals ó the first time in his 43-year career ó and was forced to sit out the state final. He was allowed to watch the game from the press box at Byrd Stadium, but could not have contact with his players or coaches. Gaithersburg lost to Eleanor Roosevelt, 41-13.

Posted March 3: Dave Summey is out at South River, and Joe Viola is in. Andy Carlstrom, a former Einstein assistant coach, is now in charge of the Walter Johnson program. Summey had a 21-year career in Anne Arundel County, nine years at South River, where he went 50-42. His career coaching record is 100-111.

Posted Feb. 28: Allegany leaving the Cumberland Valley Athletic League isn't news. It became official months ago, and it's not the first time the Campers have bolted from the CVAL. But for those around the state unfamiliar with the CVAL, here's a history lesson. This conference, one of the oldest in the state, has produced eight Maryland state champions and more than 40 state tournament teams in the past 25 years. At its height, the conference boundaries stretched from Westminster to Cumberland and south into West Virginia and Virginia. Fulton Walker, the Miami Dolphins return specialist in the early 1980s, Mark Manges, a four-time letterman at the University of Maryland, Greg Hare, who once graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, and James Jett, the Raiders' receiver and former Olympian, are among the players who came through the conference. When the league was formed in the 1930s, it brought together four schools that would each have a profound impact on high school football within their state boundaries -- Allegany, Fort Hill, Hagerstown and Martinsburg, W.Va. The CVAL remained a four-team league until 1956 when it expanded to include Frederick, Westminster and Handley, Va. A year later, Hagerstown split into two schools, and the CVAL became an eight-team conference. In the mid-1960s, the league hit its first rough spot, losing three schools. Yet, by the 1980s, it was once again a six-team conference. In back-to-back years (1986 and 1987), the CVAL produced three playoff teams -- almost unheard of in such a small conference. In 1986, the five-team league boasted a West Virginia state quarterfinalist and two Maryland runners-up. However, the 1987 season proved a turning point of this once-heavy Maryland conference. Gone were Frederick and Westminster, and North and South Hagerstown were soon to follow. By 1990, Allegany had left the league for the first time, and only four teams remained -- charter members Fort Hill and Martinsburg, along with Jefferson and Hedgesville of W.Va. When Allegany returned to the CVAL, the conference seemed on solid footing, and soon after Musselman, W.Va., joined. Now, with Allegany out again, all that remains from Maryland is Fort Hill, and rumor has it the Sentinels would bolt at the next possible chance. The CVAL is still punching out quality teams and players, but the league has outgrown Allegany. The Campers were once a Maryland 3A school. Now it's a 1A competing against a slew of West Virginia AAAs. Fort Hill, nearing 1A status, could find itself in a similar situation. If the goal at Cumberland schools is to win a state championship (or at least qualify for a playoff spot), the CVAL doesn't necessarily help those teams meet that objective. After all, 1A Allegany went 6-4 last year, all four losses to their West Virginia AAA rivals. 2A Fort Hill went 5-5 with a loss to Allegany and two to West Virginia AAA schools. For anyone who remembers the glory days of the CVAL, it has to be disheartening to watch this league slowly lose touch with Maryland.

Posted Feb. 16: Doug Fleetwood, who guided Cambridge-South Dorchester to most of its state-record 19 playoff appearances, recently resigned as head coach. He is taking a position as offensive coordinator at Salisbury State. Fleetwood will also step down as the District 8 representative on the football state tournament committee. Fleetwood had two terms as head coach of the Vikings, compiling a 21-year record of 190-50. CSD won three state titles (1979, 1995 and 1996) under Fleetwood. He was named Associated Press State Coach of the Year in 1996, following the school's only 13-0 season. The Vikings have made the state playoffs the last nine seasons, and the team's 100-20 record during the 1990s was bettered only by Seneca Valley and DeMatha.

Posted Feb. 2: Kevin Reilly, who had a seven-year career record of 51-22 with three playoff appearances at Aberdeen, stepped down as coach. Reilly guided the Harford County school to postseason appearances in 1994, 1996 and 1997. Aberdeen was 10-0 in the regular season in 1996. All three times, Aberdeen lost in the state quarterfinals, twice as a 2A school and most recently as a 3A program. Aberdeen went 3-7 this past season, Reilly's first sub-.600 season at the school.