Category: Sports

CCBC Essex Men’s Soccer to Play for National Title Tonight


–photo courtesy of NJCAA-

CCBC Essex Men’s soccer will play tonight for the national championship against Pima Community College at 5 p.m. in Wichita, Kan.

According to CCBC Essex Athletics Facebook page, the Knights defeated St. Charles Community College 2-1 on Friday night after Sam Diaz scored the game winning game with header in the 70th minute off a rebound.

The semifinal game was scoreless at halftime and CCBC Essex trailed 1-0 in the second half until Kota Tsuchisawa tied the game on a rebound goal in the 67th minute. Kazuma Ishizuka had the assist.

Knight goal Brenden LeMaster had four saves in the win.

Dundalk Football Comes Back From 15 to 0 to Defeat Urbana

Owls in the State Semifinals


-photo courtesy of Dundalk High School Football Facebook page-

The Dundalk Owls have advanced to the state semifinals in the 4A/3A region after rallying back to defeat Urbana 20 to 15.

According to the Dundalk HS Athletics Twitter page, the Owls were trailing 15 to 0 with 6:52 left in the third quarter as Urbana scored on two long touchdown passes.

Dundalk got back into the game as the defense recovered a fumble at the Urbana 43 yard-line that set up the Owl’s first touchdown of the game.

Dundalk was able to get another touchdown in the game but still trailed 15 to 14 after they failed to convert the 2-point conversion.

Marcus Nicholson helped Dundalk take control of the game as he scored the Go-Ahead touchdown as he caught a 45-yard touchdown catch on 4th & 5 with 3:21 left in the fourth.

The Owls sealed the victory when their defense stopped Urbana on fourth down with 1:20 left in the game.

The team remains undefeated and is one win away from their first state title game since 2015.

According to MPSSAA website, Dundalk is set to play Arundel next Friday night and that game should be played at Dundalk High at 7 p.m.

CCBC Essex Men’s Soccer Advances in Playoff


-photo by Rocco Geppi-

CCBC Essex Men’s Soccer advances to the next round of the NJCAA Division II Men’s Soccer tournament after defeating Heartland Community College of Illinois 1 to 0 in Wichita, Kan.

The Knight won after Ethan Stewart scored a goal in the 86th minute. Andy Portillo had the assist.

CCBC Essex will next play against Carl Sandburg College in the Round of Eight Wednesday at noon.

Dundalk Advances to Football State Quarterfinals

Kenwood, Parkville, Sparrows Point & Perry Hall’s Seasons End


– photo courtesy of Dundalk Football-

The Dundalk Owls are in the football state quarterfinals as they defeated Kenwood 35 to 0 last night. The Owls were only up 7-0 at halftime. Then Dundalk took control of Kenwood in the second half.

According to Dundalk HS Athletics Twitter page, Owl Quarterback Calvin Stokes had a touchdown run and threw a touchdown to Antonio Brown. Running back Jordan Fiorenza also had a touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Dundalk football released a statement after the game.

“Final here at the nest! Hard fought win. Respect to a hard nosed Kenwood team,” said the team statement

Dundalk will now play next week in the 4A/3A quarterfinals. Their opponent has not been announced as MPSSAA does reseeding for the quarterfinals. It does appear that Dundalk should be ranked high enough to receive another home game for next week.

The Owls are the only local football team to advance as four other area schools has their seasons ended last night.

In addition to Kenwood losing, Parkville lost at Broadneck 45 to 0. Perry Hall lost to Mervo 42 to 3. Sparrows Point dream season came to an end as the Pointers lost 38 to 30 against Largo.

Kenwood, SPoint, Parkville & Perry Hall Advance in Playoffs


-photo courtesy of Perry Hall High Athletic-Boosters-Club-

Here are first round scores for the MPSSAA football playoffs. Parkville, Kenwood, Perry Hall and Sparrows Point won and advanced. Dundalk had a bye and Eastern Tech, Patapsco & Chesapeake’s seasons came to an end.

4A East Region
5 Glen Burnie at 4 Parkville 34 5 Glen Burnie 14
The Knights will travel to Broadneck next week in the second round.

4A/3A North Region

4.Kenwood 38 5. Catonsville 3
Kenwood hosted and won its first playoff game in school history. They will play at 1. Dundalk next week.

3.Perry Hall 49 6. Woodlawn 8
The Gators will play at Mervo next week.

3A North
4. Manchester Valley 41 5. Patapsco 12
The Patriots season came to an end when they were dfeated by Manchester Valley out of Carroll County. Patapsco finishes 6-4 on the year.

2A North
1 Milford Mill 42 8. Eastern Tech 0
The Mavericks were looking for their first win of the year, but their season ended at Milford Mill

4 Hereford 28 5. Overlea0
The Falcons lost a close 7-0 game on Oct. 1 at Hereford, but were no match for the Bulls in the rematch

Class 2A/1A
4. Fairmount Heights 305. Chesapeake 0
The Bayhawks season came to an end with a 30-0 at Fairmount High out of Prince George’s County on Saturday.

2. Sparrows Point 48 7. Central 0
The Pointers dream season continues as they defeated Central 48-0 at home they will host a second round playoff game against the winner of Largo and Carver (Baltimore City).

CCBC Essex Men’s Soccer Wins Regional Title

Knights to play in national tournament in Wichita, Kan


-Article by Devon Douglas & photo by Rocco Geppi-

CCBC Essex Men’s Soccer defeated the Howard Dragons 3-0 on Saturday to capture their 10th consecutive NJCAA Region 20 title and second straight NJCAA Mid-Atlantic Division II championship.

With the victory, the No. 1 ranked Knights earned an automatic bid to the NJCAA Division II Men’s Soccer Championships tournament in Wichita, Kan. The tournament will run November 15-21.

Sophomore midfielder Andy Portillo (Laurel, Md.) scored the first goal of the match in the 49th minute after he dribbled past a few Howard players and drove the ball perfectly into the top right corner from the left side of the field, 20 yards out.

Portillo has been one of the Knights target men this season and is the team’s third leading goal scorer with nine goals.

Portillo’s goal gave the Knights (16-1) the momentum they needed, as they were finding chance after chance on goal.

Howard had trouble winning the ball from the Knights and growing frustrations led to fouls.

Just seven minutes after the Knight’s first goal, sophomore midfielder Sam Mejia (Riverdale, Md.) scored on a free kick from 25 yards out, also placing the ball in the top right corner.

Sophomore forward Sam Diaz (Lanham, Md.) capped the Knight’s scoring in the 77th minute on an assist from freshman forward Michael Adekanmbi (Bowie, Md.)

Sophomore goalkeeper Brenden LeMaster (Bowie, Md.) displayed a good performance for the Knights, as he saw more action this game with five shots coming his way.

It seems when these two programs meet, the match narrative is intensity and the result is decided late in the match.

Earlier this season, the Knights defeated the Dragons 2-1 in overtime after sophomore defender Kota Tsuchisawa (Yaita, Japan) won the game by way of a 97th minute golden goal.

This matchup was more of the same in the first half, as both teams found opportunities on goal and displayed good defensive shape.

However, in the second half the Knights found a way to expose Howard and take complete control of the match.

Ethan Stewart (Fairfax, Va.), Mejia, Portillo, Toga Katsuma (Honshu, Japan) and LeMaster all earned All-Region 20 Division II Tournament Team honors.

The Knights now have two weeks to prepare for the national championship tournament.

With added depth this season, CCBC Essex looks to improve over the spring season’s national runner-up finish and earn their first national championship since 1974.

All Local Schools Start Football Playoffs on Friday


-photo courtesy of Parkville-HS-Athletic-Boosters-Club-

The high school football playoffs begin this weekend and for the first time all MPSSAA high schools have qualified for the playoffs, including all nine public schools in eastern Baltimore County from 9-0 Dundalk to 0-9 Eastern Tech. Here is a look at the regions with local schools.

4A East Region
5 Glen Burnie at 4 Parkville
The Knights finished 5-4 on the year and have a first round home playoff game against Glen Burnie. If they win, they will travel to Broadneck next week.

4A/3A North Region
1. Dundalk – Bye
5. Catonsville at 4.Kenwood
6. Woodlawn at 3.Perry Hall

There are many familiar teams in this region. Dundalk is number 1 at 9-0 and has a first round bye. The Owls have the chance to win the state title. Kenwood will play Catonsville in the first round Friday at 7 p.m. The winner is at Dundalk next week. Perry Hall is number 3 in this region and will also host a first round playoff game against Woodlawn on Friday at 7 p.m. If the Gators win, they win play at Mervo next week.

3A North
5. Patapsco at 4. Manchester Valley
The Patriots will play in their first playoff game since 2003 but they have to travel to Carroll County on Friday at 7 p.m. If they can pull off the upset, they will play at two-time defending state champion Franklin next week.

2A North
8. Eastern Tech at 1 Milford Mill
One of the downsides of allowing every team to make the playoffs is a winless team such as Eastern Tech is going up against a state champion contender in Milford Mill. Let’s hope this game does not get ugly.

5. Overlea at 4 Hereford
The Falcons lost 7-0 on Oct. 1 at Hereford. They get the Bulls in a rematch this Friday night. Overlea had a mid-season slide where they lost 6 out of 7 but they enter this game with a two-game win streak. Hereford is also hot going into this game as they have won six in a row after starting off 0-3. The 7-0 win over the Falcons started their winning streak. The winner will play at Milford Mill next week (unless Eastern Tech pulls off a major upset).

Class 2A/1A
5. Chesapeake at 4. Fairmount Heights
The Bayhawks looked like they were on the verge of a winless season at 0-3 but first year coach Chris Acab’s team upset Patapsco 14-13 and finished 3-2 down the stretch. They play in Prince George’s County on Friday. The winner plays at Baltimore City powerhouse Dunbar next week.

7. Central at 2. Sparrows Point
Of all the great football stories in eastern Baltimore County, Sparrows Point’s 7-2 record has to be the best story. The Pointers won seven in a row in the middle of the season. They will host Central High out of Prince George’s County on Friday. If Sparrows Point wins, they will host a second round playoff game against the winner of Largo and Carver (Baltimore City).

Baltimore Ravens Take Over Perry Hall

Parkville Beats Perry Hall 13-7 at Ravens Showdown


-photo by Mary Boehl (East Balt Co reader)-

The Perry Hall-Parkville football game usually has a special atmosphere with a rivalry game but this year’s game had more excitement as the game was selected as part of the Ravens RISE High School Football Showdown game tonight for Baltimore County.

The game had a visit from the Baltimore Marching Ravens, Raven cheerleaders and Raven mascot Poe.

There was also an appearance from Raven star wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown.

Both Perry Hall and Parkville athletic departments received $1,500 each from the Baltimore Ravens.

On the field, Parkville defeated Perry Hall 13-7.

Local Athletes Help CCBC Essex in Cross Country


Article by Emily Vetri of CCBC Essex

Knights cross country traveled Oct. 2 to its fourth meet of the season, the Don Cathcart Invitational, hosted by Salisbury University, as both teams featured runners shattering their personal best times.

“Both the men and women had big personal bests today and ran great races on the super flat and fast course” said head coach Noah Hutton.

Freshman Madison Magaha (Patapsco) led the ladies with a time of 27:49 in the women’s 6K, finishing #7 overall. This moved her into the seventh fastest time at Essex for the women’s side.

Natalia Johnson (Sparrows Point) ran a swift 31:04 in the women’s 6K, moving her to the 14th fastest time at Essex.

Both Magaha and Johnson ran the first 5K of the race faster than any other 5K time this year, with Johnson (Sparrows Point) cutting almost two minutes off her 5K best.

On the men’s side, freshman Braden Berkey (Loch Raven) led the men with the third fastest freshman time and the sixth fastest 8K time in school history, finishing at 29:30.

Berkey now sits within 25 seconds of the third fastest 8K time at Essex.

Sam Smith (Eastern Tech) ran a 30:53 in the 8K, shattering his personal best by nearly two and a half minutes. He has moved up to the 13th fastest 8K in school history.

Patrick Bennett (Patapsco) ran a 35:04 and knocked eight seconds off his personal best. With this time Bennett moved up to the 20th in school history.

Isaiah Halley (Overlea) dropped 40 seconds off his personal best with 35:09 in the 8K.

“Hopefully the fast times will help to build confidence and provide extra energy to finish the season strong” Hutton said.

Both men’s and women’s cross country will finish out the regular season at the Hood Invitational on October 16th, before heading to the Region 20 and Maryland JUCO Championships at the end of the month.

COVID Vaccine Needed for BCPS Athletes


Beginning Wednesday, November 24, 2021, BCPS will require proof of full COVID-19 vaccination for any high school student participating in BCPS winter and spring sports for the 2021-22 school year. 

Students who are unwilling to be vaccinated, or present documentation verifying a medical or religious exemption as to why they cannot be vaccinated, may participate in mandatory weekly COVID-19 testing. 

Testing will be offered at no cost to the student athlete at their school on a regularly scheduled basis that is either during the school day or practice time. Tests involve a brief self-swab inside the tip of the nose and use PCR technology to detect the COVID virus.

If a student fails to get vaccinated or participate in the mandatory weekly COVID testing process, they will lose their eligibility and be unable to participate or until the requirements are met