News and notes from around the state

By Sheldon Shealer

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DUE TO COMPUTER DIFFICULTIES, I'VE HAD TO REBUILD A LOT OF THIS WEB SITE. PLEASE BE PATIENT IF LINKS DO NOT PROPERLY HIT. EVERYTHING SHOULD BE UPDATED BY AUG. 15.

July 16: The Cumberland Times is reporting in Tuesday editions that Tim Kane is stepping down as head coach at Allegany High School, just months after leading the program to a state title. Details are forthcoming, check the Cumberland Times web site Tuesday. Kane went 40-16 after five years as head coach. The Campers went 11-2 last season, winning the Class 1A state title. Allegany is one of two schools to win state titles under three different head coaches.

June 24: Not much has been made about it, but Edmondson appears to be the third Maryland high school to shake its Indian-related mascot in the past year. The Redskins will become the Red Storm starting this fall. Incidentally, coach Pete Pompey said the school might not have enough funds for new uniforms, so Edmondson might still wear home jerseys with the word "Redskins." Poolesville received a lot of press when it went through a change from the Indians to the Falcons. Potomac has changed from the Braves to the Wolverines.

June 18: Two of Baltimore's storied schools are on the way out. Northern-Balt. is history, effective immediately. The current Northern students will be split among two new schools -- which will share the Northern building -- starting this fall. The schools have not been named. Southern is on the way out, as well. There is no incoming freshman class for Southern, and when the current students pass through the building that will be the end of the 60-year-old school. Southern is being replaced by Digital Harbor High, which opens this year in Southern's building. A fourth school in northern Baltimore also will open this fall, but it will only have ninth- and 10th-graders. The transition would be smooth, except for the Northern split. The football schedules were complete, but now changes will be made since Northern is expected to be replaced by two varsity programs. Principals at the two new northern schools should be named this week and decisions regarding fall athletics will be soon to follow.

June 8: Although 7-on-7 passing league is a loose interpretation of the full-fledged version of football, the perennial state powers showed their best at the Frederick Passing Jamboree at Frederick High School. DeMatha defeated Gaithersburg in the championship game after both were bracket champions. DeMatha advanced from the Black Bracket, beating Sherwood in the title game. In the semifinals, DeMatha defeated Suitland and Sherwood defeated Dunbar (D.C.). In the Gold Bracket, Gaithersburg topped Paint Branch for the title. In the semifinals, Gaithersburg defeated High Point and Paint Brancj defeated Wilde Lake. In all, 32 teams took part in the event. DeMatha was won the title the past three years.

June 7: OK, back to the grind ... plenty of news and notes that have gone unreported. First, the Super 44 -- make that the Super 45! -- will be played June 22 at Centreville High School in Virginia. The game was rumored at several sites, but now it's set. We think! The name change has to do with the fact name "Super 44" is owned by the group that previously ran the event. They have backed out, so a slight name change was needed to avoid legal problems. ... Secondly, former Lansdowne coach Ted Bell was named AD at Parkville. Jeff Mueller, Bell's JV coach last year at Lansdowne, will take over the varsity program. ... Still unsure of the wereabouts of two of the state's top returning receivers. George Smith of Joppatowne transfered to Caesar Rodney (Del.), but it is rumored he might return to Joppatowne. Antowan Bell of Overlea likely will not return to the Baltimore County school, as well. He will will show up somewhere in the Baltimore metro area, and the leading options could be a school in Anne Arundel County, one in Harford County or a private school in Baltimore. Stay Tuned!

May 19: Student Sports Inc. story on Elite 100.

April 26: It's back to the drawing board for the Maryland football state coaches in regards to playoff expansion. A proposal to expand the playoffs was pulled off the table Friday at the Board of Control meeting by the football committee, in hopes of developing a new plan that would better satisfy all parties. The proposal that would have been presented supported a nine-game schedule that would allow the state to double the playoff field -- from eight to 16 in each classification. Non-playoff teams would be assigned a 10th game to complete their season. The aim is to have a new plan for the December Board of Control meeting. A more indepth story will be in Saturday editions of The Baltimore Sun.

April 15: The Super 44 roster is expected to be released today, however, I will be out of town on business. The Super 44 roster will be posted upon my return Tuesday evening. To see the roster Monday night, check Mark Thomas' site at www.mdvarsity.com.

March 18: Frederick junior Chris Malamet, a 6-4, 265-pound tight end/lineman, verbally committed to West Virginia University.

March 13: Members of the Central Maryland Conference made formal application to the Monocacy Valley Athletic League, and MVAL ADs voted to accept the new members, clearing the way for a merger of the two conferences. Action needed to be taken soon, if the conferences are to merge, because schedules for the 2003-2004 season will start to be constructed this spring.

Feb. 7: It's finally official -- Rick Conner is the new football coach at Linganore. There was a delay over the announcement since the previous coach contested the decision that opened the coaching position. Conner was the defensive coach at Urbana since the program started, helping elevate the Hawks into state prominence. Prior to that, he was an assistant at Thomas Johnson during the program's strong years in the early and mid-1990s. Conner spent three years as the head coach of Brunswick 1987 and 1989 -- taking the team to the playoffs his first year. Conner was added to the Linganore teaching staff this school year, although he remained an assistant at Urbana. Conner takes over a Linganore program that went 3-5 last year, only its second non-winning season since 1979.

Feb. 2: Reggie Holmes, an All-State linebacker from Bowie, confirmed today that he has verbally committed to the University of Maryland. It had been rumored for weeks that Holmes was going to accept the Terps' offer.

Feb. 1: Scott Chadwick, who guided Bowie to the Class 4A state title in 2001, informed his team that he accepted the head coaching job at Lackey High School, not far from where he lives. Chadwick, at 31 last fall, is believed to be the youngest coach to ever lead a team to a state title in Maryland.

Jan. 28: This day turned busy with the announced of verbals commitments by Ron Darden of Glen Burnie to Virginia and Brad Anderson of Urbana to Vanderbilt. In addition, the coaching staff for the Maryland side of the Super 44 was completed at the state coaches association meeting. Joining head coach Dan Makosy and the partial staff of Joe Doody, Tony Edwards and Dean Swink are Bob Windsor (Paint Branch), Ken Hovet (Oakland Mills), Brad Criss (Calvert) and Greg Trogden (Milford Mill). The four were voted by the general membership. Other news Monday night, the All-State Banquet has sold 280 tickets, well ahead of last year's pace. This week, the football committee's proposal to expand the playoffs goes to the executive committee on Thursday. If passed, this will be a major step toward expansion for the 2003 season.

Jan. 22: Two more DeMatha players have verbally committed -- DB Ernest Cole to UConn and LB Chris Ndubueze to William & Mary. The Stags now have nine players from this year's senior class committed to NCAA Division I-A or I-AA programs.

Jan. 20: Justin Barnes, who guided Oakland Mills to the Class 1A state final, verbally committed to James Madison on Sunday, according to his coach Ken Hovet. The 6-3, 215-pound linebacker was also offered by UMass, Hampton and Delaware State. Brandon Wells, a 5-10, 170-pound defensive back from 4A state champion, has committed to Kent State.

Jan. 16: As expected, St. John's at Prospect Hall formally announced John Ricca, the former St. John's (D.C.) coach, as the school's first football coach Wednesday afternoon. From the press conference: SJPH will play a split JV/varsity schedule this fall. The school's boys programs will make application to the MAC in May. Kevin Ricca, John's eldest son, and Pat Ward will be on the Vikings' staff. The team will have green jerseys and Notre Dame-like gold helmets. Ricca's youngest son, Keith, will transfer to SJPH in the fall and expects to play three sports. Keith is currently a freshman at St. John's (D.C.). SJPH AD Bruce Kelley said had not Ricca been available, the school might have delayed starting a football program until 2003, when much of the renovation is scheduled to take place. It appears the football team will play games at McCurdy Field, Mount St. Mary's or other Frederick locations. The 2002 team will be comprised mostly of freshmen and sophomores. SJPH's first action might be the Frederick Passing Jamboree in June, a 7-on-7 event that Ricca had attended while coaching St. John's (D.C.).

Jan. 16: This past weekend, the football committee passed the playoff expansion proposal and it now moves to the Board of Control for consideration in April. Sources say even if passed, it will not go into effect until the 2003 season. The quick rundown: The proposal is designed to double the playoff field to 16 in each classification while sticking to 13 weeks of play. In order to do this, every school will play a nine-game schedule for playoff consideration, but a 10th game also will be scheduled. The Week 10 games will be pre-determined based on the previous year's point standings. However, teams that qualify for the playoffs will simply have a postseason game in the slot that was supposed to be Week 10, while the other teams will have to reschedule Week 10 opponents after the announcement of the playoff pairings.

Jan. 15: St. John's at Prospect Hall has announced a press conference for Wednesday, Jan. 16 at 3 p.m. to name the school's first football head coach. A source confirmed that John Ricca, the former St. John's (D.C.) coach, will be chosen to lead the Vikings.

Jan. 14: Dan Makosy of Damascus has been selected to coach the Maryland team in the Super 44.

Jan. 10: Hassan Muhammad Sr., father of All-State football player Hassan Muhammad Jr., confirmed Thursday that his son will be leaving Cardinal Gibbons next week and will enroll at Meade, where he expects to be for his senior school year. The player started his career at Oakland Mills before transfering to Cardinal Gibbons for his sophomore and junior seasons. A change in coaching staff has prompted Muhammad to move again. It was rumored that he would end up at DeMatha, but that is no longer part of the plan.