Albert Einstein High School | Archive | March, 2009

By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.com

It’s always been a game of catch up between Montgomery County girls lacrosse and the rest of Maryland.

In the 4A/3A Severna Park has won the last two championships and Dulaney won the previous two. In the 3A/2A, Winters Mill ended Mount Hebron’s seven-year title stretch last season. In the 2A/1A, Glenelg and Century have battled back and forth and Hereford took the first three titles.

In all, Montgomery County has never won a state championship and never even reached the finals.

This year’s best shot seems to be Quince Orchard and Wootton.

Quince Orchard returns nine seniors and just about every impact player from last year’s roster that fell to Urbana in the 4A/3A North semifinals, ending the season at 12-2.

“I am looking for my seniors to pave the way for us,” Coach Skye Saltsman said. “We have nine returning seniors that have a lot of spirit and heart.”

The Cougars return Alissa Peterson, Brooke Lee and Maddie King to the middle. Peterson is one of the county’s top players after scoring 78 goals and adding 15 assists last year for a staggering 93 points.

Kristina Anderson (8 goals, 24 assists) comes back on attack and Julie Starnes returns on defense. Starnes will need to work with a young but aggressive defense, especially sophomore defender Mimi Niktash. Junior goalie Alicia Bradley will take over full duties after starting six games last year.

Wootton was the county’s top team last season, going undefeated in area play and 14-1 overall. The Patriots reached the 4A/3A state semifinals last year where the Patriots lost to Catonsville, 11-6.

They lose leader Julie Klatzkin, who is now playing at Cornell, and big time scorer Liza Kaplan. But the Patriots still return plenty of firepower with middies Molly Berman and Abby Engleman.

Caroline Stapleton, Kara Vetrano and Ericka Burns lead the defense and Michelle Bastani will be between the pipes.

“We’re looking forward to a good season and working on our transition and possession of the ball,” Coach Anne Marie Steppling said.

ALSO LOOKING STRONG

Damascus has yet to win a region crown in program history, but the Hornets are perennially one of the county’s top teams under Coach Jodi Hathaway, who is entering her 10th season.

The Hornets were 11-3 last season before falling to Middletown, 14-13, in the 3A/2A West region semifinals. They return 13 seniors and juniors and expect to be somewhat small this season.

Senior Emily Rachel leads in goal and she has senior Laura Shea in front of her. Expect senior attacker Chelsea Feeney and junior middies Katie Campbell and Emily Balmer to pace the offense.

GETTING THEIR FEET WET

There’s a host of new coaches around the county.

Coach E.J. Maloney takes over at Gaithersburg after coaching previously at Seneca Valley and St. John’s in the WCAC. Maloney plans on tapping the Trojans’ junior varsity as he will start just one senior and six or seven sophomores.

Kelly Baisey and Katie Krauss are three-year starters at attacking and defending wing, respectively. The senior is defender Naziha Umitlti and watch out for sophomore center Laura Peterson.

Paint Branch Coach Danielle Prietz is another first-year coach. She has a core of five seniors with three at midfield and two on defense, including goalie Louise Marchina.

Coach Michelle Lewis takes over at Magruder after previously coaching at Gaithersburg. Lewis inherits a team that went 2-11 last season and is in a bit of a rebuilding year. Megan Mornini and Jessie Wayne lead the attack.

Nikki Ma is the new head coach at Richard Montgomery. She returns senior attacker Amy Knoblach, senior Tori Palomares. Senior Nicole O’Connor returns to the midfield along with sophomore Sophie Koubek.

Christen Pena-Ariet steps up to coach a Churchill squad that went 8-7 last season, including playoff wins over Whitman and Sherwood and an overtime loss to Blake. The Bulldogs bring back senior center Angela Biociocchi, junior wing Zoe Kabelac and senior goalie Lizzy Naegeli.

AROUND THE COUNTY

Kennedy lost its top scorers from last year, but the Cavaliers have new talent up from the first year of junior varsity that Coach Tami Goldstein is happy about. Kennedy went 3-9 last year and will be led by senior Chelsea Emery on defense, senior Emily Laughren in goal and senior Abby Farrar on attack.

Seneca Valley is hoping to turn some heads after a 3-9 season. The Eagles have senior attacker Molly Gillespie and senior Kendall Shelton on defense. Look out for sophomore center Tiffany Wilson.

Wheaton loses seven seniors but has 20 girls on each varsity and junior varsity, which second-year Coach Lauren Mincher – along with the rest of the county – hopes pays dividends in building lacrosse in the area. Wheaton returns second-leading scorer Gaby Soriano, who notched 16 goals last season for the 3-9 Knights.

“Our numbers are great,” Mincher said. “We have a lot of determination and speed. Once we develop our skills we are a team to be reckoned with.”

Rockville girls lacrosse Coach Tamika Jancewicz and her players are pumped and prepared for an excellent season after going 6-8 last year. With the leadership of captains, Molly Cary, Leanne Taylor and Caitlin Rochon, the ladies are ready to make a comeback this season.

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By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.com

It’s the same story in boys lacrosse this season.

Wootton is at the front of the pack. But can the Patriots finally emerge to the front of the entire 4A? Can a Montgomery County team end Wootton’s run?

A year after junior varsity lacrosse started in Montgomery County, the Patriots and other teams from around the county are starting to see the dividends. And while it may still take a few years to consistently challenge the Baltimore bullies, it’s not far off in coaches’ opinions.

“There’s definitely hunger there,” Wootton Coach Colin Thomson said.  “To get so close and not be there…”

Wootton is the three-time regional champion who in 2007 became the first Montgomery County team in county history to reach the state finals. Last year the Patriots were undefeated in the county and gave Baltimore’s Dulaney – the eventual state champion – a run for its money in the state semifinals before losing 9-6.

“Each year is a new year though,” Thomson said. “You hope you can repeat back to that same level.”

Wootton lost three major contributors from last year in defensemen Tommy Whitlock and Brendan Ray and attackman Jordan Montesano. But the pipeline continues to keep the Patriots well-stocked.

Five starters return overall and they are all super-talented.

Goalie Yanni Rindler was one of the top goalies in the county last year in his first year starting between the pipes. Rindler backed up another fantastic Wootton goalie, Steven Silverburg, before that.

“He makes some incredible saves where you’re like, ‘Whoh,’” Thomson said. “We’re very lucky to have Yanni in net.”

In front of Rindler is three-year starting defenseman Matt Canter. At midfield is Mark Jutkowitz, who has been named to the Tewaaraton Trophy Watch List, and Mike Cresham. On attack is Jeff Zifrony, who notched 32 goals last year.

“We’ve got some good players back,” Thomson said. “One thing I told them is its going to come down to how we gel as a unit.”

Thomson said his team has certainly benefited from the experience of playing at the state level. And the other good thing for the Patriots is that after losing in the state tournament three straight seasons, the team certainly isn’t lacking hunger.

B-CC LOOKS TO CHALLENGE AGAIN

If there’s one team looking to knock off Wootton, it’s Bethesda-Chevy Chase. The only county losses Bethesda-Chevy Chase suffered last year was Wootton – the final time coming in the 4A/3A West region final.

The Barons went 14-3 and beat Whitman, Churchill and Walter Johnson all for the first time last season, which was a huge accomplishment for the budding program. And this year, Bethesda-Chevy Chase is poised to perhaps do more damage.

Senior captains Augustin Vita and Chris Pappalardo lock down the midfield and provide a dangerous scoring threat. Seniors John Tschiderer and Thomas Krogh are also back on attack, giving the Barons plenty of firepower.

The defense will be where B-CC will have to improve over the course of the season. Brendan Casey will lead a young unit and All-American goalie Jon Goldberg graduated, paving the way for a goalie battle.

Bethesda-Chevy Chase also has three new coaches, including varsity assistant coaches Kip Turner and James Hsiao.

ALSO IN THE HUNT

Churchill is always a solid team that seems to give Wootton a challenge. The Bulldogs should have a very strong defense with three starters returning – senior Scott Manela, junior Jake Dockser and junior Ben Gloger – and also goalie Griffin Farha, who is already committed to LeHigh.

Pair that with the return of last year’s leading scorer Matt Risk and the Bulldogs could have a chance to improve on its 11-4 mark and loss to B-CC in the region semifinals last year.

Poolesville should be one of the county’s top threats. The 1A Falcons are looking to atone for a home loss to Century in the playoffs last season, capping off a 9-3 season in which they won the division. Team leader Dylan Haas returns to the midfield and face-off circle along with senior Andrew Gardner. Jon Bostin is back on defense.

Walter Johnson had quite a freshman last year as well in Daniel Cohen,
who notched 49 goals and 42 assists to lead the Wildcats to a 10-4
record. Cohen returns with midfielder Andrew Goldstein (21 goals, 8
assists) and standout goalie Jon Silverman (3.8 GAA).

Whitman lost a lot from last year’s 8-6 team, including much of the
offense. Pat Slawta will help offset some of that up top and Louis
Hennet and Michael Harding are back in the midfield and defense,
respectively.

Quince Orchard is coming off a solid season at 8-7 and graduates eight of its 10 starters, meaning the Cougars will be young this season. But last year then-freshman Eric Simon was young and he scored 41 goals and had nine assists. Pair that with Sam King and the Cougars have a formidable scoring threat.

AROUND THE COUNTY

Seneca Valley is a young team with just three seniors, but Coach Mike
Ricucci feels his team knows the game well. The Eagles went 6-8 last
year, losing to Damascus in the region semifinals. They return senior
attackman Kyle Borsody, senior middy Matt Klopfer and sophomore LSM
Nickos Leondaridis-Mena, notably.

Northwood lost 18 seniors from last season’s 0-13 team but Coach David Edlow feels his team is headed in the right direction with a young and more athletic squad led my midfielder Soren Klaverkamp.

Clarksburg would have high hopes after a 7-7 season last year and with the return of many of its top players. Problem is, they’re injured. The Coyotes are starting the season with five returning three-year starters injured.

Paint Branch was 7-6 last year and much younger with three returning seniors and eight sophomores. The Panthers do, however, have its two leading scorers back in Shawn Logan (28 goals, 17 assists) and Bradley Tse (27 goals, 19 assists) back. Midfielder Patrick Kind and defenseman David Nguyen have looked solid in the preseason.

Watkins Mill, who went 3-13 last year, brings back talent, especially on offense. Senior midfielder Brian Ratliff and senior attackman Will Ludgate combined for 42 goals and eight assists during last season. The Wolverines did lose Tommy Drury to DeMatha via transfer, however.

Kennedy is certainly an example of a team benefiting from the addition of junior varsity. Coach David Heiney-Gonzalez had more than 65 student-athletes try out this season, most in program history. He is hoping that transfers into a deeper team that can offset the losses of leading scorers Alex Yewdell (40 goals, 8 assists) and Vinay Dhanaraj (19 goals, 7 assists).

Richard Montgomery is hoping to get above .500 for the first time after
going 4-8 last year. The Rockets are young with only three seniors and
two freshman, but return their two leading scorers from last season –
juniors Richard Muha and Max Barnes. Three-year starter Scott Davidson
returns to the defense.

Coach Kurt Kohler takes over at Rockville, inheriting a team that went 3-10 last season. He returns Kevin O’Brien and Vinny Curl on defense and Ben Withnell and Matt Carroll on attack.

“We’re looking to improve on last year’s performance through tough defense and controlling the tempo of the game,” Kohler said.

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By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.com

Sherwood Coach Pat Flanagan has been coaching in Montgomery County for 33 years.

And all the while, she’s been waiting and waiting for the county to catch up to the rest of the state.

“Outside of Montgomery County, we’re definitely several steps back,” Flanagan said. “I don’t know how long it’s going to take.”

Flanagan yet again bore the brunt of softball’s predominance in Anne Arundel County. After getting through the tough 4A West, Sherwood beat Eleanor Roosevelt in the state semifinals, setting up a meeting with Chesapeake.

Sherwood lost 7-0. And to make matters worse, they didn’t get a single hit.

Overall, it’s been a decade since a Montgomery County team – Gaithersburg — has last won a state title.

“You don’t see pitching and hitting like that here on a consistent basis like they do,” Flanagan said. “And you have to match their intensity and desire and I think we fall short this year.”

This season, the Warriors return star pitcher Erin McMakin and one of the best shortstops in the county, Taylor Stockinger. Add right fielder Jessie Karp to the mix and you have all of Sherwood’s seniors.

The Warriors, who went 18-3 last season, have just five returning starters – junior catcher Shayna Popkin and junior second baseman Kat Correa fill out the returners. Sherwood may have a freshman at first base, sophomore in the outfield and junior at third base.

“It’s a matter of everyone getting used to playing the person they’ve not played beside before,” Flanagan. “[This preseason] we’ve look good and looked awful.”

Flanagan’s biggest fear is that her girls will take the state finals appearance for granted. To site an example of what can happen, she told her team that the year after going to the 1986 state finals, the team was around .500.

It’s hard to see that happening again considering Flanagan couldn’t think of a time when her Warriors lost more than three games during a regular season. But if they needed it, the Warriors got another kick in the pants when they went to Anne Arundel County this preseason to face Broadneck. Sherwood lost, 5-0.

“This team could be in the tank if you’re not ready to play every game,” Flanagan said, adding that McMakin and Stockinger have already had led some discussions with the team. “Erin and Taylor, they’ll play every game like their pants are on fire.”

DAMASCUS LOADED AGAIN

The Hornets are perhaps the county’s other best shot at a state title.

“Our team goal, as it always is, is to return to the state tournament with a good showing,” Coach Barb King said.

Damascus went 17-3 last year and reached the 3A state semifinals, where they lost to Northern (Calvert). They graduated just four players – although that included hard-hitting Amanda Ray and Amanda Nagy – but return 11 from last year’s roster and seven starters.

Leading the pack is defending Player of the Year shortstop Taylor Wyatt, who hit .556.  Last year, center fielder Stephanie Hudlow hit for a .479 average, Allie Part hit .333 and catcher Katie Denell hit .324, so there’s plenty of hitting returning.

Part will continue as the Hornets’ pitcher but will be sharing pitching duties with Covenant Life transfer Megan Alexander.

LITTLE BUT GOOD

It hasn’t taken Clarksburg long to establish itself as a 2A softball power in the area and the Coyotes plan on building on that this season.

The Coyotes went 17-2 last year, losing to Century 2-1 in the regional semifinals. This year’s team is young — there is only one starting senior — but experienced with seven of nine starters returning from last year’s team. Most of the girls have been on the team since their freshman year.

The starting senior is very talented catcher Erin Youngblood, who hit .516 with 22 RBI last season.

“We are hoping to continue building our program into one of the best in the area,” Coach Larry Hurd Jr. said.

Poolesville loses its two top players – and two of the top players in the region – in Rachel Stream and catcher Allison Gost. But the Falcons bring back eight players with varsity experience and six seniors from last year’s team that went 15-4 and lost in the 1A West region quarterfinals to Mountain Ridge.

Shortstop Megan Foy and Jackie Winning batted .485 and .357 respectively last season, each knocking in 21 RBIs. However, a pair of freshman will share pitching duties in Magen Harris and Patti Maloney.

NEAR THE FRONT OF THE CLASS

Wootton won the division for the third time in program history last season and first time since 1989, going 14-5 in the process. The Patriots lost a one-run game to Sherwood in the regional semifinals. The Patriots bring back leading RBI machine Sara Biron and three-year catcher Alex Shamburek. Andi Garnher takes over on the mound after striking out 67 batters in seven starts last year.

“The team goal is to win the region,” Coach Alton Lightsey said.

Blair had a whole new set of starters last year and still went 12-8 by winning seven of its last nine games. The Blazers also lost three games, 3-2, in extra innings. So they were very close to being in the upper echelon.

This year, Blair hopes to take that step this season behind first baseman Rachel Nicholson, pitcher Eve Brown – who will start about 75 percent of the game this season after splitting duty last year – and sophomore catcher Emily Haislip. Sophomore Blake Morgan will lead off and play shortstop.

Richard Montgomery should be one of the county’s strongest teams after going 14-5 last season. That’s largely because junior Kristen Hutchinson toes the rubber again after going 13-5 with 171 strikeouts and a 2.09 ERA last year.

The Rockets will need to find hitting after graduating Jocelyn Pickering and Jill Eckhart, but return a strong infield with 2B Kelsey Boyd, SS Christina Fuqua and 3B Shelby Riley.

AROUND THE HORN

Northwest is looking to build on its 9-7 record from last season. The Jaguars return super sophomore Emily Forst behind the plate, who hit .500 with 25 RBI and a slugging percentage of .788. Hanna Yi, who hit .310, comes back at second base.

Junior pitcher Ayanna Hilton will take over for graduated three-year pitcher Kate Franklin. Junior Steph Lescheck will take over at shortstop with a strong arm and dependable glove. The Jaguars are young, however, with six sophomores.

Einstein is hoping to build on its playoff win from last season. The team returns leader Sarah Chan, who can play shortstop, catcher or pitcher. Emily Bragg comes back to anchor second base for the Titans, who went 5-11 last season.

Churchill is a young team coming off a 4-12 season. Returning are senior catcher Jacque Vito, senior first baseman Lauren Siudzinski and sophomore SS/3B Maddie Ulanow.

Paint Branch is young but talented with shortstop Emma Schultz leading the way after hitting .460 last season. Lyssie Parkhurst and Kate McLaughlin effectively split pitching duties last year and look to again. The Panthers went 11-7 last season and lost to Urbana in the 3A West region semifinals.

Walter Johnson graduated 10 seniors from last year’s squad that went 3-13. Among those who left were Tiana Hakimzadeh, centerfielder, now at American University; Maraya Pratt, left fielder, now at Maryland; Katherine O’Konsky, 1st basemen/pitcher, now at McGill. But look out for freshman pitcher Bethany Buel.

Coach Maigan Campbell takes over at Bethesda-Chevy Chase following a 9-9 season. She returns talent, especially senior first baseman/pitcher Emily Becker.

“I am very much looking forward to being the coach this year,” Campbell said. “I’m very passionate about the sport and love the intense competition and game that comes along with it. All these ladies have something great to offer this team and I’m anxious to see what happens.”

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By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.com

Sherwood baseball Coach Billy Goodman thought his team had a good chance of winning the 4A Maryland state title in 2007 — his team was undefeated heading into the playoffs and could mash the ball from the plate. But that year, Sherwood fell in the state final.

Last season, Goodman entered the year with a rag-tag group of players that on paper would have been beaten by several Montgomery County teams. Yet this time, the Warriors got hot at the end of the year and won the state title.

So entering this season, it’s anybody’s guess as to what can happen not only with Sherwood, but with anybody around the county – especially in the 4A.

“It is a strong region with eight or more teams who could win it — QO, Wootton, Sherwood, Magruder, Blake, Richard Montgomery, Walter Johnson, Gaithersburg and us,” Whitman Coach Joe Cassidy said. “Also Northwest has a ton of talent coming back. So it is wide open this year.”

Sherwood enters the season with a much younger and less-experienced roster than last season. Only three positional starters – 1B Gary Mullings, OF Tommy Barksdale and OF Adam Ginsburg – return this season.

“Last year I knew what my pieces were. They might not be big-time guys, but I knew who was where the first day. This year, I’m still penciling guys in places,” Goodman said. “They’re still green behind the ears. A lot of the guys aren’t prime-time players.”

But a trio of strong pitchers come back to the Warriors. Starters Teddy Fletcher and Will Bowie return to the hill both with plenty of experience from last year and both throwing hard. Nate Toll, a 6-foot-4 reliever, also returns top pitcher Kyle Schindel as well as Brandon Metro.

“They’re going to have to hold people down. We don’t have any big sticks,” Goodman said. “Bowie and Fletcher can dominate. We’ll just play one-run games, boring baseball.”

Goodman said some members of his team have the aura that they can’t be beaten after winning last year’s title, but he expects them to be humbled quickly, especially because Ginsburg, who is perhaps the Warriors best threat at the plate, is leaving for Italy for three weeks as part of a Rock and Roll school production.

“We may struggle early but I think we can be there in the end,” Goodman said. “We’re not going to fool anybody because of last year. If they’re going to get me, they’re going to get me. But if we go down, we’ll go down fighting.”

NORTHWEST IS PENCILED IN

The team Goodman is perhaps most concerned with is Northwest, who he called the dark horse of the county.

Coach Matt Noble has an experienced team returning after going 7-10 last season and falling to Gaithersburg in the second round – a team that may have its starting lineup more solidified than most other teams.

Senior pitcher and first baseman Dominique Vattouone is perhaps the Jaguars’ top threat. He batted .304 with 13 RBI last season and despite going 0-5 on the mound last year against the county’s top teams, he is looking impressive after a solid American Legion season.

Vattouone’s battery mate John Krahling returns behind the plate after hitting .421 with 15 RBI last season. Sophomore Jeffrey Ta, who batted .400 with just two strikeouts all last season, returns at second base. Excellent defensive shortstop Alex Pyser and Poolesville transfer Nick Loftus round out what should be a standout infield.

“We have a solid group of returning players that should finally move us into the top half of the 4A West region for the first time since moving up from 3A, where we were a consistent Top 3 team,” Noble said.

BLAKE BATS ARE BIG

The Bengals went 14-4 last year and return six of its seven infielder-outfielders. Five of the six starters batted over .300 last season on a team that averaged .325.

Leading the way is Preseason All-State 3B/P Tommy Cunningham, who hit .492 with 25 RBI, 2 home runs and a .763 slugging percentage. Shortstop Jake Lorber and second baseman Taylor Miller have sure gloves and are adept at getting on base and swiping bags.

The biggest question mark will be the Bengals’ pitching as Anthony Hanagan (1.55 ERA) and Ryan Rehman (1.44 ERA) both graduated. Six players will vie for pitching spots, including seniors Collin Keegan and Jimmy Smith.

QUINCE ORCHARD RETURNS STRONG

The Cougars went 13-5 last season, losing to eventual state champion Sherwood 4-3 in eight innings in the second round of the 4A West region playoffs.

But Quince Orchard returns nine seniors this season, including captain Mike Ryan, who led the team in wins and RBIs last season and was named to the Preseason All-State team. Tyler Ewing and Anthony Howard are two strong seniors and 2B Frank Barkanic and 3B Greg Price are two juniors to look out for.

“We have a nice mix of seniors, juniors, and some sophomores and freshman fighting for starting spots this year,” Coach Jason Gasaway said. “Our success will be centered around pitching and defense, which will be helped by an improved offense from last year.

AROUND THE HORN

Last year’s favorite, Gaithersburg, has a new Head Coach in Jeffrey Rabberman, who was an assistant coach to athletic director Jason Woodward last season. The Trojans lose perhaps the area’s best player from last year in pitcher Kevin Brady, who is now at Clemson, and eight starters overall. Heavy hitter Nick Vergelli is also gone.

It’s a very young team with five sophomores that has plenty of talent but little varsity experience. The Trojans, who went 20-2 last season, should have deep pitching with Kory Smigocki and Nick Riley and be solid defensively, however.

Churchill has high expectations with seven returning starters and sophomore Bullis transfer Nathaniel Russ. Third baseman Alex Goodman brings the biggest bat along with shortstop Bryce Shemer. The Bulldogs went 5-11 last season.

Whitman went 14-7 last season before losing to Gaithersburg in the region semis. The Vikings lost half of their starting infield but their top three pitchers — Danny Williams, Reid Kellam and Ethan Thompson – all come back.

Seneca Valley Coach Terry Changuris feels his team’s hitting should be improved and its pitching and defense strong this season, adding up to what could be another year like last season’s or better. The Screaming Eagles won the 3A West, reaching the state semifinals for the first time in program history, before falling to eventual state champion La Plata. Pitcher Tyler Klitsch, P/1B Brian Black and C Russell Main are the team’s top returners.

Wootton, who went 15-2 last season, lost two of its top players but returns plenty of talent as well. Evan Poppas and catcher/quarterback Mike Mooney should headline the batting order and pitcher Scot Bergman is one of the county’s top hurlers.

Clarksburg is looking to make a run in the 2A West this season with seven returning starters from last year’s 11-6 squad. Senior and sophomore brothers Brendan and Brody Milligan lead the way. Brendan is a three-year starting pitcher who went 2-1 with a 2.76 ERA last season and Brody, the younger of the two, batted .452 with 18 RBI as a freshman last season. Senior catcher Josh Creighton also brings the lumber.

Blair could be another 4A player coming off a 10-11 season. The Blazers return Brady Ettinger, who led the team with a .388 batting average last year, and catcher Alex Egber, whose defensive prowess has him being scouted by Stanford. Blair did take three tough losses from last year’s team, however.

Paint Branch may be an underdog this season after graduating five starters, but the Panthers have good team chemistry and Frankie Poulos returning. Poulos put up monster stats last season, hitting .420 with 25 RBI and 3 home runs. He went 3-1 with a 3.33 ERA on the mound.

Coach Bill Wright, who previously headed Bethesda-Chevy Chase, takes over at Richard Montgomery. He went to the state finals twice while at B-CC.

Watkins Mill went 2-15 last year but has a “Worst to First” motto this season with 12 seniors, four juniors and two sophomores back. Keegan Aaron and John Escobar lead the way for the Wolverines this season.

Magruder was 10-7 last season but loses its top three players. Senior SS Brad Blum, P/2B Drew Culver, P Josh Kohn, P Matt Luber and OF Adam Mower are the top returners.

Springbrook is coming off a 3-16 season with a team that didn’t have any major departures. Senior outfielder Charles Brown leads the Blue Devils  after hitting .333 last season.

Kennedy is almost a completely new team after graduating eight seniors from last year’s 8-8 team. Juniors Noah Gray and Kyle Kozuszek will head the rotation.

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All boys’ basketball regional quarterfinal games involving Montgomery County high schools have been cancelled for today, Monday, March 2, 2009.

The games will be rescheduled for Tuesday, March 3, as indicated below.

Please also note that there have been no changes to the girls’ schedule for Tuesday, March 3.  All girls’ regional quarterfinal games on Tuesday will be played at 7:00 pm as originally scheduled.

The games listed below with a 5:00 pm start time indicates schools in which the boys’ and girls’ teams both have games, but at different locations (all girls’ games are at 7:00 pm).  Games with a 5:15 pm start are games in which both the boys’ and girls’ team of the host school play at the host site, the boys’ game preceeding the girls’ game.

4A  Churchill at Quince Orchard         5:00 pm
4A  Northwest at Richard Montgomery     5:00 pm
4A  Sherwood at Blake                   5:15 pm
4A  Walter Johnson at Springbrook       7:00 pm

3A  Tuscarora at BCC                    5:15 pm
3A  Wheaton at Seneca Valley            5:15 pm
3A  Frederick at Paint Branch           5:15 pm
3A  Kennedy at Urbana                   5:30 pm

2A  Northwood at Rockville              5:00 pm

1A  Smithsburg at Poolesville           7:00 pm

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