Will it ever end?

By Sheldon Shealer

Seneca Valley was in the process of routing Thomas Stone for the Class 3A title in 1999 when a journalist turned to me and uttered, "Thirty-nine in a row ... it'll be a long time before we see that again." I nodded in agreement.

Seneca Valley's win streak grew to 41 in 2000 until the Screaming Eagles lost to Einstein. Forty-one games. It had been 25 years since a school in Maryland put together a streak that long. In this highly competitive age, 41 straight was thought to be as untouchable as Mark McGwire's 70 home runs.

Yet, just like McGwire's record had a short shelf life, Seneca Valley's run of 41 has been pushed aside by Urbana's surge to 42.

The Hawks, which were at an eye-catching 28-game win streak when Seneca Valley lost last year, put a 58-0 thrashing on South Carroll last Friday for consecutive victory No. 42. Billy Gaines, a senior captain who scored the first two touchdowns Friday, has been in the starting lineup for 29 of those games.

To put this streak in perspective, before Seneca Valley's 41 in a row, no public school team had gone undefeated for three straight years and none had put together more than 28 straight wins in the playoff era. Simply put, 42 in a row is amazing. However, to set the record straight, Urbana's current streak is not the state record, nor is it the MPSSAA record. While it is the longest win streak accomplished completely during the playoff era, Urbana's run actually is the third longest in state history, outdone only by Howard's 47 (1971-1975) and City College's 54 (1934-1941).

City College is an MPSSAA member, but the MPSSAA did not exist at that time of City's win streak. Athletics were governed by a different organization prior to the MPSSAA coming into being in 1947. City's streak is considered the state record, but even if you wish not to include that as a legitimate MPSSAA mark, then that honor falls to Howard. Howard, an MPSSAA member, strung together 47 straight wins which started three years before the state playoffs were instituted and ended with a state final loss in 1975.

There is little argument, however, that both the Urbana and Seneca Valley win streaks are more impressive than the longer, older City and Howard runs. Although Howard did have a brush with the playoffs, its streak and City's streak were accomplished mostly against in-county or local schools. No playoff existed during City's run. Howard, meanwhile, won four playoff games -- a regional win in 1973, two wins for a state title in 1974 and a state semifinal win in 1975. Thanks to the current playoff system, Urbana and Seneca Valley have had to put their streaks on the line against some of the best teams in the state, always ending their seasons against three straight teams that went 8-2 or better in the regular season. SV and Urbana's streaks include nine postseason wins. Seneca Valley's run includes wins over Gaithersburg and Sherwood -- yes, local rivals, but also state powers in their own right. Urbana, meanwhile, started this season by turning back private school power Gilman. Granted they don't play many public schools, Gilman had not lost to a public school since 1996.

Urbana has five regular-season games remaining and with five straight wins will equal Howard's mark. A fourth straight perfect season would give the Hawks a staggering 50 wins in a row.

If that occurs, than the question begs to be asked, "Will it ever end?"

TOP PERFORMANCES

Matt Hostetler, River Hill, connected on 22-of-34 passes for 242 yards and a pair of TDs in the team's 33-28 loss to Glenelg. Chris Martin was on the receiving end of nine passes for 102 yards.

Ray Rochester, Richard Montgomery, rushed 20 times for 235 yards and three touchdowns. On defense, Rochester recorded 10 tackles and two sacks in RM's 35-6 victory over Wootton.

John Triplett, Elkton, rushed for 308 yards and five touchdowns in the Golden Elks' 51-6 victory over Rising un. Triplett has already topped 1,000 rushing yards this season.

IN CASE YOU WHERE WONDERING

Towson is 2-3 this year and both wins came in double overtime. The Generals knocked off Western Tech, 22-14, on Sept. 22 and defeated Owings Mills, 18-15, on Saturday. While there is no state record for overtimes played in a season, or overtime wins in a season, the state record for the longest overtime game belongs to another set of Baltimore County schools -- Overlea and Milford Mill, who had to go seven OT periods (first-and-goal from the 10) in 1981 before Overlea came away with a 12-6 victory.

STREAK BUSTERS

The longest losing streak in the state ended last week when Walter Johnson defeated Rockville, 30-13. WJ had lost 23 in a row. Now, Kenwood inherits the state's longest active losing streak with 17. ... Southern-AA edged Northeast-AA, 7-0, last week, ending Northeast's four-game win streak. While four straight doesn't sound significant, it was the longest win streak by the Eagles since the 1980s. ... Douglass-Balt. ended an 11-game losing streak with a 22-19 victory over Hickey. ... Paint Branch's five-game regular-season win streak ended in a 21-14 loss to Northwest. ... Quince Orchard halted a six-game slide with a 41-0 victory over Einstein. ... Thomas Johnson ended a six-game losing streak with a 39-14 victory over North Carroll, which gave first-year TJ coach Gary Liddick his first head coaching win. ... Sparrows Point's losing streak reached 10 games, but it stretches to 1999 and actually includes only seven games played. The other three were forfeits to end the '99 season when it was decided the program did not have enough players to finish out the season.

AROUND THE STATE (Week 5 Notes)

The Prince George's County Principals Association has decided that the county's public schools will participate in the state playoffs in all sports. The county's athletic directors had proposed eliminating playoffs for the county schools to offset athletic budget cuts. An official close to the situation said the proposal likely was made to draw media attention to the budget issue, knowing the principals would never support taking away postseason play for the student-athletes. The county will seek short-term solutions, like fund-raising and corporate sponsorship, to help offset the cuts. The county has also put together a committee to seek long-term solutions. ... C.M. Wright is making the most of league play. After going 0-3 and failing to score in three non-league games, the Mustangs have rolled off back-to-back wins with a total of 56 points to stay in a first-place tie in the Harford County League. ... Richard Montgomery surrendered its first touchdown of the season in last week's 35-6 win over Wootton. RM did not allow a point in its previous three games. RM was the last team in the state that had not allowed a score. ... Things are looking up for North and South. The two Hagerstown schools combined to start the year 1-5. North and South Hagerstown have both won its last two games, leaving South still in the 1A playoff race with a 3-2 mark. ... Maryland School for the Deaf might be the states most inconsistent program. In 1998, MSD went 1-8. With a sophomore-loaded team in 1999, the Orioles went 7-2. After a coaching change, last year's team went 2-6. This year, with mostly seniors in key roles and another new head coach, the Orioles are 4-0.

LOOKING AHEAD

Fairmont Heights at Gwynn Park, Friday. Gwynn Park puts a 13-game regular-season win streak on the line against 4-1 Fairmont Heights. Fairmont Heights might be P.G. County's best bet for a Class 2A playoff rep. All but one other of the county's 2A teams have at least two losses already in the combined 3A/2A League.

McDonogh at St. Mary's-AA, Saturday. No. 6 McDonogh visits St. Mary's in an MIAA cross-over game. Both teams are undefeated. McDonogh carries a 15-game undefeated streak into the meeting, while St. Mary's has won seven in a row.

Glenelg at Centennial, Saturday. Both teams are 5-0 and the winner has the inside track to a Howard County League title and a playoff berth.