By Mike Loveday

With Linganore's Zach Zwinak committing to Penn State last week, I made some updates to the 2010 commit list. Check it out here.

By Sheldon Shealer

Wednesday proved to be a busy day for Maryland high school football as the Crab Bowl head coaches were introduced to the media in Baltimore and Nick Lynch Classic field was confirmed in Prince George's County.

Legendary coach Al Thomas, who recently retired as Sherwood's coach, is the head coach of the Washington, and Linganore's Rick Conner is the Baltimore head coach for the Crab Bowl.

Tony Kennedy, organizer of the Nick Lynch Classic, confirmed the pairings Wednesday. The Sept 5 all-day affair at North Point High School features Theodore Roosevelt (D.C.) vs. Anacostia (D.C.) at 11:30 a.m., Riverdale Baptist vs. DeMatha at 2 p.m., Suitland vs. Wise at 4:30 p.m. and North Point vs. Northern Calvert at 7 p.m.

"It;s 90 percent done, we signed the contracts Wednesday," Kennedy said. "We're real excited about pulling this off. It was a lot of work, a lot of changes, but the meat of it stayed the same." 

By Mike Loveday

Notre Dame has made an official offer to Linganore's running back and linebacker, Zach Zwinak. The 6-foot-2, 235-pound junior now holds 13 official offers: Maryland, Michigan, Stanford, Boston College, Rutgers, West Virigina, Virginia Tech, Penn State, California, Kansas State, Pittsburgh and Syracuse.

Zwinak rushed for 1,447 yards and 19 touchdowns last season on offense and recorded 53 tackles and five sacks on defense.

Zwinak was a leader for the Lancers last season, who made it to the Class 4A state championship game against Sherwood.

Mike Loveday covers high school sports for ESPNRISE.com. Mike can be reached at Michael.Loveday@espn.com

BALTIMORE - Sherwood's defense held Linganore to its worst offensive performance of the year as the Warriors defeated the Lancers 21-3 to win the Maryland Class 4A football state championship Friday night at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

Before this game, Linganore's lowest point total of the season came in a 17-13 win over MVAL rival Thomas Johnson. The Lancers' offense averaged more than 38 points per game this season.

Sherwood was held to its second-lowest point total of the season, but the 21 points were more than enough to make head coach Al Thomas the second eight-time coaching state champion in Maryland history.

Zach Splain connected with James Oboh on a 24-yard scoring pass in the first quarter. Dominique Davis added a 1-yard scoring run in the second quarter and Hasani Samms capped the scoring with a 23-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, finishing off Sherwood's 14-0 season.

"We went in to this season and we thought we were maybe a 6-4 team, we have very little size. We don't have a whole lot of speed," Sherwood head coach Al Thomas said. "There's a lot of character on this team. A lot of toughness and a lot of heart. We had 26 seniors - last year we had 16. & 10 seniors make a big difference."

Hat Trick: Sherwood head coach Al Thomas became the first Maryland high school coach to win state championships at three different programs. This is his first title victory with Sherwood after appearing in the Class 4A game in 2005 and 2006 with the Warriors.

Thomas also won state championships at Seneca Valley (1976, 77, 79, 80, 87) and Damascus (92, 93).

45 and done?: Thomas began coaching in 1964 as an assistant at Gaithersburg High School. He has been coaching for more than 45 years and is receiving ongoing treatment for cancer at Johns Hopkins.

"That is to be determined,"the 69-year-old Thomas said when asked if he would be back next season. "I plan on coming back. I'm under treatment at Hopkins and we'll see how that goes. You get this stuff in remission and you know how that goes. I'll see how I feel. I told my wife it's better to retire one year too soon than one year too late. I have to think about that."

Defense wins championships: Sherwood bottled up Linganore's Pat Balderson and Zach Zwinak all night. The 5-foot-8 Balderson who averaged more than eight yards per carry was held to only 60 yards on 19 carries. Zwinak was held to 14 yards after rushing for more than 1,300 yards on the season.

The Warriors' defense held Linganore to only 88 yards rushing. The Lancers had two 1,000-yard rushers and another with over 500 on the season.

Thomas Huff, who is committed to Delaware, along with Steven Gamble, Phillip Durity and Chris Everett led the defense.

Samms I am: Hasani Samms proved to be a spark for coach Al Thomas. The 5-foot-4, 155-pound senior rushed for 51 yards and a touchdown on only five carries. Samms touchdown run came with Sherwood up 14-3 and 4:01 left in the third quarter. The touchdown appeared to take the air out of the Lancers.

Going the other way: After not throwing an interception all season, Linganore threw two picks Friday. Patrick Garland had the first interception and Ralph George had the second. George's interception came with 5:36 left in the game.

Workman-like effort: Sherwood's leading rusher, Dominique Davis rushed for 61 yards on 19carries. The senior's longest run of the night was 12 yards, but his effort helped grind the clock and wear down Linganore's defensive line.

Davis rushed for more than 1,200 yards for the year.

Extending the streak: Sherwood's title means Montgomery County has won at least a 3A or 4A title 16 of the past 18 years (20 titles during that time frame).

Next year's No. 1?: Linganore's roster was made up of 40 juniors. The Lancers' best players (Zwinak, Robbie Havenstein, Nick Marth and Ryan Dixon) all return next season and Linganore will be in Class 3A West. With such a stacked roster the Lancers appear to be the favorite to be the state's preseason No. 1 team next year.

Check the ESPNRise.com Maryland front page for post-game video interviews.

Click here to be taken to the play-by-play for the Maryland Class 4A title game, pitting Sherwood against Linganore.

Sheldon and I will both be online 10 minutes before the game starts (game time is 7:30 p.m.). If you have any questions during the game feel free to ask. I will get to as many as I can as quickly as I can.

And be sure to check back at MDVarsity.com for a game recap and a postgame interview with players from the winning team.

By Mike Loveday
ESPNRISE.com

In a game where points appeared to come easily, Linganore's Pat Balderson ran wild over an Arundel team that was looking for its second straight appearance in the Class 4A title game.

Balderson's 247 yards and five touchdowns earns him this week's MDVarsity.com State Player of the Week award.

The 5-foot-8, 175-pound senior averaged over 10 yards per carry as he helped Linganore defeat Arundel 59-34 in the Class 4A state semifinal game at Linganore.

Balderson has rushed for 1,211 yards and 16 touchdowns this season.

E-mail Mike at Michael.Loveday@espn.com

By Mike Loveday
ESPNRISE.com

Once again MDVarsity.com will bring its readers complete play-by-play coverage of all four state title games this year.

We will be posting coverage on Conversation pages - one each for the Class 3A and 4A games on Thursday and Friday and another page for both the Class 1A and 2A games on Saturday.

The first game is the Class 3A game featuring Wilde Lake and Westlake, held Thursday night at 7 p.m.

Follow this link 10 minutes to game time on Thursday to follow the game.

The Class 4A game pitting two undefeated teams, Linganore and Sherwood follows on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Click this link 10 minutes to game time on Friday to follow the game.

Saturday both the 1 and 2A games will be hel. The Class 1A game with Dunbar playing Fort Hill will be played at Noon.

This link will have both the 1A and 2A games on Saturday.

The Class 2A game with a remath of last year's title game, River Hill vs. Eastern Tech, will begin at 3:30 p.m.

By Mike Loveday

Once again MDVarsity.com will bring its readers complete play-by-play coverage of all four state title games this year.

We will provide a link where the play-by-play will be available later this week so continue to check back for more information.

The first game is the Class 3A game featuring Wilde Lake and Westlake, held Thursday night at 7 p.m.

The Class 4A game pitting two undefeated teams, Linganore and Sherwood follows on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday both the 1 and 2A games will be hel. The Class 1A game with Dunbar playing Fort Hill will be played at Noon.

The Class 2A game with a remath of last year's title game, River Hill vs. Eastern Tech, will begin at 3:30 p.m.

By Mike Loveday
ESPNRISE.com

In a game where the offenses set seven state records, three public school records and a Class 4A record, it was Linganore's defense that came up big to help the Lancers defeat Arundel 59-34 in the Class 4A state semifinals.

Linganore's defense held Arundel to only six points in the second half after giving up 28 in the first and the Lancers' Pat Balderson shredded the Wildcats defense for 247 yards and five touchdowns.

"I've never been a part of something like that," Linganore head coach Rick Connor said. "I can only tell you that our kids persevered. We still don't know what happened."

What happened is the Linganore defense started to gain more pressure on Arundel quarterback Billy Cosh. In the first half, Cosh completed 24-of-36 passes for four touchdowns. In the second half, the Lancer defense held the junior to 15-of-28 and one touchdown.

"With the way we were rushing we started rushing outside and jumping on the ball," Connor said of his team's second half performance.

Pressure cooker: As the game progressed the Linganore defense gained more pressure on Cosh.

Kyle Stewart and Colby Weierbach both had sacks in the game while Austin Scates, Kevin Myers and Stewart all got in Cosh's face at the line of scrimmage and deflected passes. Michael Johnson, Zach Zwinak and Austin Matthews each had an interception in the game.

The best defense is a good offense: The 93 combined points sets a Class 4A state record for most points scored. The previous record was 88 points by Lake Clifton and North County in 1996.

Balderson and Zwinak combined to average 11.7 yards per carry on their way to 424 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.

Balderson ran for 247 and five touchdowns on 23 carries while Zwinak ran for 177 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries.

Quiet leader: With all the records falling and the yards getting racked up in the game, junior Nick Marth quietly put together a solid night with 239 total yards.

Marth completed 7-of-12 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown and ran for 51 yards on nine carries.

Walking the walk: I happened to be standing next to Zwinak with four minutes left in the half and the game tied at 28. The junior running back turned to his teammates after the defense held Arundel to a three-and-out and said. "It's our time to score. We have to score.

On the next snap, Zwinak took the handoff 63 yards for a touchdown that gave Linganore a lead they would never relinquish, 35-28.

Record setters: Arundel's Billy Cosh and Alec Lemon set 11 records in the loss.

Cosh set seven state records and one public school record with his performance.

He increased his record total for most touchdowns in a season to 56. He set the state record for most passing yards in a season with 3,909. He broke Nick Elko's record for total offensive yardage in a season with 4,074. Cosh completed the most passes in a game with 39, breaking former North County quarterback Mike Pfisterer's record of 38. He set the record for most passes attempted in a game, breaking Pfisterer's record of 58. He surpassed former St. John's at Prospect Hall quarterback Keith Ricca for most passes attempted in a season (448). He passed Elko for most passes completed in a season (292). Cosh broke the public school record for most passing yards in a game with 471 yards.

Lemon tied one state record and two public school records.  He tied former teammate Brandon Johnson-Farrell's state record for most catches in a season with 103 and the public school record for most touchdown receptions in a season with 23. He also tied Johnson-Farrell for the public school record of most receptions in a career with 174*.

Up next: Linganore will travel to M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore where they will face Sherwood in the Class 4A state final. The game will be start at 7:30 p.m. on Friday Dec. 5.

*Denotes pending information about Marriott's Ridge receiver possibly breaking Johnon-Farrell's record for most career receptions earlier this year.

E-mail Mike at Michael.Loveday@espn.com

Linganore won the Class 4A state semifinal 59-34 over Arundel, but the Wildcats quarterback-receiver combination of Billy Cosh and Alec Lemon are breaking every record in sight.

Unofficially, Lemon ended with 16 catches and Cosh passed more than 60 times for 496 yards. During the contest, Lemon matched both the single-season reception record (103) and  touchdown reception mark (23), records that were set last season by Lemon's teammate Brandon Johnson-Farrell.

After the official numbers are tallied, Cosh will hold the record for passing yards in a season (nearly 4,000), public school passing yards in a game (496), passes attempted in a game (60+), passes attempted in a season (440+), passes completed in a season (275+), touchdown passes in a season (56).

By Sheldon Shealer

Class  4A

No. 3 Arundel (11-1) at No. 2 Linganore (12-0)

Game Details: Friday vs. Linganore at Oakdale High School, 7 p.m.

Playoff History: Arundel is 9-11 in 13 appearances with a state title in 1975. Linganore is 21-8 in 13 appearances with state titles in 1989, 1991, 1995 and 2003.

Head-to-Head: The teams have not met in postseason play.

Key Players:

Arundel: QB Billy Cosh (Jr.), 253 of 364 with 3,438 yards and 51 TDs; WR Alec Lemon, 87 cathes for 1,339 yards, 21 TDs; WR R.J. Harris (Jr.), 67 catches for 973 yards, 17 TDs; LB Bobby Partilla (Jr.), 106 tackles; LB C.J. Rice, 87 tackles; LB Rob Gant, 79 tackles.

Linganore: RB Zach Zwinak (Jr.), 1,270 rushing yards, 17 TDs; RB Pat Balderson, 964 rushing yards, 11 TDs; WR Ryan Dixon (Jr.), 41 catches for 806 yards, 13 TDs; LB Canaan Metz, 71 tackles, six sacks; DL Kyle Stewart, 63 tackles.

Key Matchup:

Arundel QB Billy Cosh vs. Linganore DBs Cory Bishop and Ricky Conner.

Keys to Victory:

Arundel will complete passes - that's a given. With state record-setting quarterback Billy Cosh and receiver Alec Lemon, Arundel is one of the state's most prolific offenses. Linganore, also averaging more than 40 points a game, gets the job done with a combination of running and passing. expect a lot of points. The outcome may rest of Linganore's ability to play defense at Arundel's offensive pace. The Wildcats' hurry-up offense aims to get 15 possessions a game. Linganore needs to limit the catch-and-run plays. Arundel coach Chuck Markiewicz says Linganore's defense is a cross of severna Park and Broadneck - Severna Park's quickness, Broadneck's power. For Arundel, the outcomes rests with its ability to get the ball in the hands of Lemon, who has 2,216 all-purpose yards and 28 touchdowns.

Story Line: Arundel coach Chuck Markiewicz is known as one of the state's best offensive minds. Linganore coach Rick Conner is known for great defensive schemes that helped Urbana to four straight state ttiles in the late 1990s. ... Most of Linganore's key players are juniors, and a strong showing in this year's 4A state tournament could land the Lancers with the favorite label when it returns to Class 3A next season. ... Billy Cosh has shattered the public school passing records held by his predecessor Nick Elko, and he eyes the last private school single-season mark of passing yards in a season, which is held by St. john's at Prospect hall's Keith Ricca at 3,633.

No. 4 Wise (7-3) at No. 1 Sherwood (12-0)

Game Details: Friday at Sherwood, 7 p.m.

Playoff History: Wise is 2-0 in its first playoff appearance. Sherwood 22-11 in 14 appearances with state titles in 1995 and 1996. Sherwood has been the state runenr-up four times this decade.

Head-to-Head: The teams have not met in postseason play.

Key Players:

Wise: RB Anthony Wright, 1,654 rushing yards, 22 TDs; LB Deontre Johnson (Jr.), 80 tackles; OLB Lumbus Burrell, 69 tackles; SS Corey Barby, 66 tackles.

Sherwood: QB Zach Splain, 1,531 passing yards, 28 TDs; RB Dominique Davis, 1,180 rushing yards, 11 TDs; PK Andy Estrain (Jr.), six FGs, perfect on PATs; DB Phillip Durity (Jr.), 84 tackles; LB Steven Gamble, 80 tackles; DB/WR Chris Everett, 72 tackles; nine TD catches; OL/DL Andrew Midgette.

Key Matchup:

Sherwood OLs Andrew Midgette and Oliver Pettenati vs. Wise DL Joe Creek and OLB Lumbus Burrell.

Keys to Victory:

Wise needs to keep this a low-scoring affair in order to improves its chances of victory. The team's offense hinges on Anthony Wright, and he needs to deliver a big performance for the Pumas. Sherwood feels the key will be its line play - needing to push forward for four to five yards per carry to help set up the apssing attack. Wise coach DaLawn Parrish, the first former Consensus All-State player to coach a Maryland high school team to the state semifinals, said another key will be preventing Sherwood from short-field opportunities. "The reason i say that," Parrish said. "They kick field goals! We don't see that in our league."

Story Line: Wise is the surprise of the 4A state semifinals. The team lost to the "Big Three" of P.G. football during the regular season - Suitland, Flowers and Roosevelt. In Week 10, Wise defeated Oxon Hill just to qualify for postseason play, then took out undefeated and favored Eleanor Roosevelt in the region semifinals before ousting snake-bitten Flowers in the region final. [Flowers has been the region runner-up the four times it has qualified for postseason play.] ... Sherwood is coming off an emotional victory of Quince Orchard, the preseason 4A state favorite. If the Warriors are not focused on the Pumas this week, this P.G. County team could surprise yet another state-ranked opponent.

By Mike Loveday

oloveday5@yahoo.com

Almost every team that makes it deep into the state playoffs have one thing in common, underclassmen that contribute.

Those underclassman help augment the senior leadership. Let's look at the teams that made the championship games last year.

Quince Orchard had senior Thomas Addison, but Travis Hawkins, Terrence Stephens, Jason Ankrah and Cody Magill were all juniors. Arundel had two outstanding seniors, but Alec Lemon and Sean Fitzgerald were the perfect compliment to Brandon Johnson-Farrell.

River Hill had the trio of Michael Campanaro, Malek Redd and Leron Eaddy to help senior Zach Martin go out a champion. Dunbar was led by juniors Tavon Austin, Sean Farr and Jonathan Perry on offense and Tevin Brown on defense. Allegany put their running game on the shoulders of offensive lineman Justin Hymes.

Hereford and Damascus seem to be the exception to this rule as both teams relied heavily on seniors to get them to the title game, but state semifinalists Lackey, Wilde Lake, Clarksburg and Thomas Johnson counted on their juniors.

With this in mind I'm continuing my look at some of the rising juniors that I expect to make an impact on their respective teams this season. This is the third and final story in the series.

Robbie Havenstein, Linganore: At 6-foot-7, 300-pounds, Havenstein is an imposing presence on the line. The offensive tackle not only has the size, but also the agility to anchor the Lancers this season.

J.D. Hook, Allegany: As a running back, Hook will be looked to as a replacement for Jake Twigg and Brian Matthews. As a linebacker, the junior will pair with fellow junior Dustin Wharton as leaders on the defense.

Evan Pittman, Calvert Hall: (pictured above) Pittman impressed coaches with his size, mobility and strong arm at the Bullseye combine. As a Super 100 member, Pittman proved that he could lead his team during 7-on-7 games.

E.J. Scott, Good Counsel: A look at 2010 athletes is not complete with Scott. The receiver and defensive back is not only an impact player on the Falcons, but will be one of the most highly recruited athletes in the state.

Tyler Lardy, Gaithersburg: Lardy ran a 4.7 40-yard dash at the Bullseye Combine and showed his explosiveness with a 25-8 vertical and a 29-2 kneeling power ball toss.

Troy Gloster, Good Counsel: (pictured right) Gloster is another Falcon that will be highly recruited. The 5-11, 209-pound linebacker has a rock-solid frame and runs a 4.7 40.

Joseph Kirby, Kent Island: As a sophomore, Kirby rushed for 441 yards and seven touchdowns. At the Bullseye Combine, the running back ran a 4.68 40 and did 14 repetitions of 155 pounds.

Kyle Tucker, Linganore: The Lancers line will be tough to get through with Havenstein and Tucker. Tucker broke the Bullseye Combine bench press record when he did 38 reps of 155 pounds.

Devante Stamps, McDonogh: Stamps could be the perfect compliment to fellow receiver Javarrus King. Stamps has 4.8 speed and has a 6-foot-2, 183-pound frame, similar to that of King.

Dylan Acab, Poly: Acab showed good speed with a 4.6 40-yard dash and was one of several Engineers to impress during the Bullseye Combine.

Justin Handley, Patuxent: Handley has 4.67 speed and as a third receiver in the Patuxent offense, could be the perfect slot receiver compliment to Eric Farmer and Justin Ford.

Antione Goodson, Poly: Goodson was primarily the running quarterback for Poly last season, but during the Bullseye Super 100 he showcased one of the strongest arms of any participant.

Nick Bonhag, River Hill: Bonhag plays tight end for the Hawks and made a run at the Bullseye Super 100 MVP with highlight reel catches during 7-on-7 games.

Kevin Johnson, River Hill: Johnson played quarterback on the junior varsity, but could see time as a defensive back for the Hawks this season. With 4.65 speed and a 35-inch vertical, there has to be some place for this athlete to play.

Malik Cross, Oxon Hill: Cross along with receiver Brandon Felder will be a player to watch on Oxon Hill's offense. As a sophomore, Cross rushed for 1,653 yards and nine touchdowns.

If you want more information about the upcoming season and all the players you can order your copy of the Preseason Football Magazine Here

Make sure to leave your comment below and let us know how we're doing.

According to the Frederick News Post, former Thomas Johnson stud running back, Terence Kerns, has passed his off the field test and will be joining the West Virginia Mountaineers football program this fall.

The Post reports that Kerns has passed the ACT.

After graduating from TJ, Kerns attended Hargrave Military Academy (Va.) to improve his grades and retake the SAT and ACT and the News Post is reporting that the 6-foot-1, 225-pound running back has succeeded.

Kerns originally signed a National Letter of Intent with West Virginia in April of 2006 and was recruited by then offensive coordinator Bill Stewart, who is now the head coach.

In 2006, Kerns helped lead the Patriots back to the playoffs during his senior season. As the primary ball carrier, Kerns rushed for 1,703 and 26 touchdowns and earned Consensus All-state honors.

When Kerns takes the field in Morgantown this fall, it will likely be the first time many have seen him in pads since the Nov. 6, 2006.

With the playoffs in site and two games remaining in the regular season, Kerns tore his ACL in the game against Linganore, ending his high school football career prematurely.

The Patriots were undefeated until the 14-3 loss to Linganore that season. The finished the season 9-2 after being ousted in the first round of the region playoffs, 39-7 by Sherwood.

Kerns season helped lead Thomas Johnson back to the playoffs for the first time in nine years.