By Jon Buzby
MaxPreps.com
More than 50 Maryland high school football players signed letters of intent on Feb. 4, the first day athletes could make commitments to college programs official to play at colleges next year.
Leading the list are MaxPreps All-Americans Tavon Austin of Baltimore Dunbar, all-purpose star Michael Campanaro of River Hill and Our Lady of Good Counsel running back/linebacker Jelani Jenkins.
Austin, who signed with West Virginia, set state records for touchdowns (123), rushing yards (7,460) and total offense (9,258).
Headed to Wake Forest, Campanaro was a two-way star for River Hill, rushing for 1,849 yards and 29 touchdowns as a senior and picking off three passes from the defensive secondary.
Jenkins held out on his decision until Feb. 4 and elected Urban Meyer’s Florida Gators. Jenkins earned first team All-American honors from MaxPreps after leading Good Counsel to an 11-1 record and racking up 101 tackles.
Peter Athens, Huntingtown - Towson
Tavon Austin, Dunbar - West Virginia
Alex Blake, Friendly - Towson
Ryan Bonheyo, Maryland School for the Deaf - Towson
Courtney Bridget, Dunbar – Nevada-Las Vegas
Antonio Brown, Dunbar - Morgan State
Michael Campanaro, River Hill - Wake Forest
Nygee Carmichael, Gwynn Park - Towson
Tom Chroniger, DeMatha - Towson
Raymond Cotton, Meade - Mississippi
Brandon Copeland, Gilman - Penn
Leron Eaddy, River Hill - Central Michigan
John Evans, Mount St. Joseph – Virginia Military
Arnold Farmer, Poly - Towson
Sean Farr, Dunbar - Louisville
Carl Fleming, Franklin - Pittsburgh
Brandon Floyd, Loyola - Georgetown
Ellis Foster, City - Rhode Island
Eric Franklin, Archbishop Curley - Maryland
Kevin Fulton, Milford Mill - North Carolina A&T
Terence Garvin, Loyola - West Virginia
B.J. Greening, Calvert - Towson
Bubba Harris, Mercersburg Academy (Pa.) - North Carolina Central
Randall Harris, DuVal - Towson
Beau Haworth, Archbishop Spalding - Navy
Matt Heacock, Loyola - Wagner
Drew Hoppes, Loyola - Gettysburg
Jelani Jenkins, Our Lady of Good Counsel - Florida
Charles Johnson, Poly - Towson
Stephen Johnson, City - Shippensburg (Pa.)
Leon Kinnard, Loyola - Connecticut
Alec Lemon, Arundel - Syracuse
Matt Lentz, Loyola - Bryant (R.I.)
David Mackall, Edmondson - Maryland
Danny March, Wilde Lake - Shepherd
Horace Miller, Dunbar - Louisville
Davon Muse, Dunbar - Central Michigan
Gary Onuekwusi, Dunbar - Temple
Jake Peery, Archbishop Curley - Lehigh
Joe Petrides, Archbishop Curley - Akron
Eric Pike, DuVal - Towson
Caleb Porzel, Our Lady of Good Counsel - Maryland
Dwayne Price, Friendly - Towson
Malek Redd, River Hill - Central Michigan
Renard Robinson, Mount St. Joseph - James Madison
Ron Rose, Hereford – West Virginia Tech
Thomas Ruley, Parkville - Lehigh
John Scheve, Boys' Latin - Dartmouth
Doug Shaw, Loyola - Towson
William Speight, Gwynn Park - Towson
Dave Stinebaugh, Perry Hall - Maryland
Blake Thompson, Cardinal Gibbons - Elon
Trevor Turner, Meade - Rhode Island
Anthony Waters, Dunbar - Howard
Tim Willman, Reservoir - Connecticut
More Football: Harrison takes over at Wilde Lake
The Wilde Lake football sidelines have only ever been patrolled by one man and one man only – Doug DuVall.
Last week, Mike Harrison, a person very familiar with the football tradition at the school, was hired as DuVall’s successor.
Harrison, 45, played for DuVall during his high school days and has also been involved in many of the Wildecats’ state titles as an assistant coach, a position he has held since 1987.
Harrison served as both the offensive and defensive coordinator during his tenure as DuVall’s right-hand man, so the transition to head coach is one both the former, and new, coach are very comfortable with.
"He's the only choice," DuVall told the Baltimore Sun. "He's the man for the job."
"I played for Doug and worked as his assistant," Harrison told the Baltimore Sun. "I don't have plans for any grand changes. I learned my football from Doug."
Harrison, Lake's former athletic director and currently a math teacher at the school, was named the Assistant Coach of the Year by the Baltimore Touchdown Club in 2007.
Boys Basketball: Atholton stays in top spot
The Atholton boys basketball team used a tenacious defensive effort to supplement their steady offensive output and cruised to a 60-52 win over Long Reach on Friday night.
Unlike the last time the teams met, when Atholton had to rally from a 12-point deficit late in the fourth quarter for a come-from-behind win, the Raiders took an early first quarter lead and never trailed in this one, upping their league-leading record to 14-1.
Matt Robinson sparked the Raiders with 13 points, but it was his six steals that led a strong defensive effort that proved to be the difference in the game.
“We know as long as we played defense, they couldn’t score enough to come back and, eventually, our offense was going to get going,” Robinson told the Columbia Flyer. “A lot of the time it’s a steal that breaks it open for us. We get a fast break lay-up and then everything else starts falling.”
Shane Brown and Conner Cortes each chipped in with 11 points for the Raiders.
Long Reach (10-5) was led by Taz Thomas (20 points), Julius Fambro (12 points, 11 rebounds) and Mario Lloyde (8 points, 14 rebounds).
Volleyball: Shook enters Hall of Fame
In a sport traditionally dominated be female coaches, longtime Centennial girls volleyball coach Bill Shook will become just the fourth male enshrined into the Howard County Women’s Athletics Hall of Fame.
During his 10 years as the school’s head coach, Shook’s daunting 174-25 record was equaled only by his impressive seven county and four state titles.
And while his success at Centennial in the 1980s and 1990s was unprecedented at the time, he is also credited for the Howard County school’s overall volleyball success (25 state titles in total).
Soon after his coaching career began, Shook wanted to generate interest in the sport so he started the Columbia Volleyball Club. Since its formation, the club has served as a feeder for the county’s high school volleyball programs, providing countless exceptional players who have left an indelible mark on the sport.
"That's the huge impact that Bill had," Jeannine McCrumb, former Mt. Hebron volleyball coach, told the Columbia Flyer. "He didn't start it just for his [own school’s] players. It grew and other schools could take advantage of it as well. It got kids playing more than just a high school season."
Shook, 47, also coached the school’s tennis teams to eight county titles, finishing his career with a 127-13 record.
Jon Buzby is the Maryland correspondent for MaxPreps.com.
