By Jon Buzby
MaxPreps.com
Catonsville senior co-captain Emily Tyson was able to check off one of her team’s goals already this season.
The Comets traveled to Dulaney for their season opener and swept three games (25-22, 27-25, 25-12) to defeat the defending Baltimore County champions.
"At the start of the season, we set our goals as beating Dulaney, beating Towson and going to the states," Tyson told the Baltimore Sun. "One down, two to go."
The Comets followed their season-opening win with a victory in their home opener, 3-0 over Western Tech.
Tyson has the entire season to wait before she will have the opportunity to check off her team’s second goal of beating Towson. The teams don’t meet until the last game of the season on Oct. 23. But according to head coach Dorothy Gill, the team is well on its way.
"This was a total team effort – passing, setting and hitting," Gill told the Baltimore Sun. "We've set the bar high this year, and this was a big win for our team and our program. ... This feels real nice."
Football: Curley Runs Through St. Paul’s
Archbishop Curley running back Pat Diamond rushed for 130 yards and four touchdowns while his backfield-mate Terrence Dandridge added 210 yards to lead the Friars to a 47-34 win over St. Paul’s in a Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference game.
Not even the wet conditions could stop Curley’s running game as it amassed 527 yards.
"I was just trying to be patient and follow my blocks," Dandridge told the Baltimore Sun. "The wet conditions were perfect for the type of offense we run."
Curley upped its record to 3-0 and will host Archbishop Spalding (1-2) on Friday at 4 p.m. St. Paul’s (0-2) will look for its first win at Cardinal Gibbons (0-2), also on Friday at 4 p.m.
Spalding Christens Severn’s New Turf Field
Archbishop Spalding senior Nick Whittles rushed for a team-high 116 yards on Severn’s brand new turf field to lead the Cavaliers (1-2) to a 36-7 win over the Admirals (0-3, 0-2) in a MIAA B Conference game.
Whittles, Nick Kuhl, Joseph Blackwell and Taylor Schulden all scored touchdowns for Spalding in the win.
Severn receiver Alex Jones scored his team’s only touchdown on a 25-yard pass from quarterback Jon Gren.
Spalding will travel to undefeated Archbishop Curley (3-0, 3-0) next week in an important early-season showdown. Severn will look for its first win when it hosts Great Mills on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Roosevelt Edges Oxon Hill in 4A Action
Penalties totaling 107 yards and two lost fumbles were the only obstacles keeping the Raiders of Eleanor Roosevelt High School from blowing out the Oxon Hill Raiders in a Prince George’s County football contest.
The Raiders held a 477-278 advantage in total offense and picked up 10 more first downs than the Clippers, but in the end, just five points separated the two teams as the Raiders narrowly escaped with an important early-season win, 33-28, to boost their record to 2-0 to start the season.
“We've still got to limit the mental errors," first-year coach Tom Green told the Washington Post. "We have a lot of fight, and we keep playing hard, and that's a good thing, but we've got to eliminate some mental errors."
Roosevelt held a comfortable 27-6 lead heading into the fourth quarter, but Oxon Hill rallied with three touchdowns in the final quarter, falling just short in their comeback bid when Raider quarterback Mike Thomas scampered into the end zone on a fourth and goal from the 15-yard line to seal the win.
In addition to his crucial rushing score, Thomas was 10 of 19 for 208 yards and two touchdowns in the air. Derrick Thomas, who is no relation to his quarterback, caught four passes for 87 yards and two touchdowns.
For the Clippers (1-1), receiver Malik Cross was on the receiving end of seven passes for 66 yards and a touchdown.
Basketball: Duke Gets Two of DC’s Finest
Two of the Washington area’s top junior basketball players, Courtland’s Josh Hairston and Gonzaga’s Tyler Thornton, have returned from a recruiting trip to the Duke campus in Durham, N.C., and verbally committed to take their game to Coach K court.
Hairston, a 6-foot-8 forward who can shoot from the outside and handle the ball, turned down offers from several schools, including Georgetown, Virginia and Virginia Tech.
Thornton, a point guard who led the Eagles to the city championship, chose Duke over Georgetown, Stanford and Villanova.
Although they play at different schools, Hairston and Thornton won’t need introductions when they arrive in Durham – the two are teammates on the D.C. Assault travel team.
Jon Buzby is the Maryland correspondent for MaxPreps.com
