Not bothered by a
large opening night crowd, St. Mary’s countered Spalding’s considerable
size advantage with a three guard lineup that lit it up from the
outside.  In addition to Morgan-Green, senior Josh Hartman and
sophomore Nick Grocé combined for 30 points in the Saints’ backcourt. 
Together, the trio sank eight three-point field goals.

St. Mary’s guards also contributed the majority of 20 assists and 17 steals produced by the team.

Loyola sophomore quarterback Leon Kinnard (in action from earlier this season) scored three touchdowns to lead Loyola to a 26-0 win over Calvert Hall, in yesterday’s 87th annual Turkey Bowl.  (Photo by John Strohsacker)

For
all the talk of rivalry and the possibility that anything can happen in
this storied series, the 87th annual Turkey Bowl battle between Loyola
and Calvert Hall turned out largely as expected, yesterday at M&T
Bank Stadium, as Loyola sophomore quarterback Leon Kinnard turned the
locally televised contest into his own personal showcase while leading
the Dons to a 26-0 shutout victory.

Kinnard, who was the
offensive catalyst throughout Loyola’s 9-1 season, made one big play
after the next, both on the ground and through the air, and rushed for
three touchdowns.  The victory allowed Loyola to finish at 4-1 in the
MIAA A Conference and claim a share of the the league title along with
McDonogh and Gilman, which also posted 4-1 conference records.

After
seeing its initial drive, a 13-play, 58-yard effort, stall at the
Calvert Hall 10-yard line, Loyola went 54 yards on its second
possession to grab a 7-0 lead with 3:02 to play in the opening
quarter.  On the five-play march, Kinnard completed two passes for 36
yards and rushed two times for 12 more yards, including a one-yard
sneak for the touchdown.

Calvert Hall, which had some success
running the ball between the 20’s throughout the game, followed with an
impressive 11-play drive, but Loyola finally halted it on downs, at its
own 24, and quickly drove back down field for the first of two second
quarter scores.

Kinnard again made several big plays along the
way, including a critical 28-yard, third down conversion pass to senior
Michael Horne.  On the play, Kinnard calmly stood in the pocket and
lofted a perfectly thrown pass into the hands of Horne, who was running
free up the center of the field.  Kinnard also connected with Emmit
Kellar for a 20-yard touchdown pass on the drive, only to see it
negated by offsetting penalties.  Undeterred by the setback, four plays
later, Kinnard scooted around left end, spun out of a tackle at
three-yard line and went into the end zone for a 13-0 Loyola lead.

Kinnard,
who finished with 141 yards passing and 76 yards rushing, added another
one-yard sneak, with 46-seconds left in the half, to virtually seal the
outcome.

Defensively, Loyola also came up big.  Sophomore
linebacker Matt Heacock delivered several big hits and hauled in an
interception.  Kellar also racked up the tackles and recovered a
fumble, while junior Bubba Harris intercepted two passes, returning the
second one six-yards for the game’s final score, with less than a
minute to play in the fourth quarter.

Calvert Hall (0-5, 1-8)
proved competitive, as juniors Kevin Graves (76 yards rushing) and Dan
Zentz both had success on the ground, but turnovers and the inability
to make a big play in the red zone ultimately doomed the Cardinals.

Yesterday’s
victory was Loyola’s fourth straight in this series and the Dons
stretched their all-time edge to 46-33-8.  It was also the first
shutout since Loyola won the the 1995 game, 21-0.

As is its trademark, Curley pounded Calvert Hall
with its power running game and scored on its first two possessions to
jump out to a quick 15-0 lead.  Senior Kevin Franklin powered five
yards for the game’s first score on a drive that was keyed by a 56-yard
screen pass from quarterback Marquis Graves to Franklin’s younger
brother Eric, a sophomore.

Following a Calvert Hall punt, Curley
need just two plays to reach the end zone again, as senior Ray Ridgeway
churned his way through several would-be tacklers and raced 77 yards
for a touchdown.

On its ensuing possession, Calvert Hall struck
back quickly, as sophomore quarterback Evan Cain found senior Tyler
Miller in single coverage, on first down, and hit him on a slant
pattern.  Miller side-stepped the only defender in the area and went 70
yards for the first score by the Cardinals.

Curley’s fortunes
took a major turn for the worse on its next drive as it lost three
starters, all to ankle injuries, in span of two plays.  Ridgeway, at
the end of a powerful 15-yard run, got tangled up with teammate Kellen
Gray near the Friar sideline and both were forced out of the contest. 
On the next play, senior tackle Ben Dantoni also went down.  Gray
eventually returned in the second half and contributed a big
interception, but Ridgeway, Curley’s best player who is being recruited
by several Division I programs, and Dantoni each saw their high school
careers end on that drive.

In visible pain, Ridgeway had the
ankle taped and gingerly tested it throughout halftime and early in the
third quarter, but was not allowed to re-enter.  He finished with 110
yards on severn carries and the one score.

For the remainder of
the first half, the momentum swung to Calvert Hall.  Junior Kenneth
Harris blocked a Curley punt and the Cardinals hit a 34-yard touchdown
pass on the first play of the possession, only to see it overturned by
a holding penalty.  On their next drive, however, the Cardinals did get
in the end zone as junior Dan Zentz capped a 34-yard drive with a
two-yard touchdown run, shrinking Curley’s lead to 15-13 at the half.

Curley
regrouped during intermission and opened the third quarter with a
20-play, 80-yard drive, which consumed 9:28 and resulted in Franklin’s
second touchdown run of the day.  With Ridgeway out of the lineup,
Franklin became the workhorse, finishing the day with 105 yards on 23
carries and the two scores.  At that point, Curley led 22-13.

Calvert
Hall’s next drive resulted in an interception by Gray, which was forced
by a near sack by Curley cornerback Terrance Dandrige, who hit Cain
just as he released the ball.  The Friars took over near midfield and
although they did not score, they chewed another six minutes off the
clock as they drove to the Calvert Hall 17 before turning the ball over
on downs.  Curley needed just one play to get the ball back as junior
Malcom Jones came down with an interception and the Friar offense
ground another four minutes off the clock.

Junior quarterback
Zach Blake, who split time with Cain, got the Cardinals back in the end
zone when he capped a 75-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run, with
1:09 remaining in the contest, but Calvert Hall’s ensuing onside kick
was recovered by Curley as the Friars secured the victory.

Curley,
which has been known to go three or more consecutive games without even
attempting a forward pass, also got a big contribution from Graves, who
complimented the running attack by completing 5-of-7 passes for
110-yards.

“This is a tremendous win for our program,” said
Curley head coach Sean Murphy, who saw his team set a school record for
wins one season after tying the school record for losses.  “Calvert
Hall has a good football team, despite their record.  They play an
extremely difficult schedule and, based on our experience last year, we
know a team’s record is not always indicative of its ability.”

With
the loss, Calvert Hall fell to 1-7 this fall, but it now has 12 days to
prepare for its Thanksgiving clash with Loyola where it will have the
opportunity to deny its arch-rival a share of the MIAA A Conference
title.

Third-ranked
Gilman hosted its arch-rival, tenth-ranked McDonogh, yesterday, with an
opportunity to clinch the outright MIAA A Conference championship.  The
visiting Eagles, however, stunned the Greyhounds, 22-16, ending
Gilman’s 13-game winning streak against A Conference opponents and
claiming a share of the league title.  The game winning score was an
18-yard touchdown pass from McDonogh senior quarterback Jared Jorgensen
to senior Andrew Feinberg, with less than three minutes to play.

This
annual battle is steeped in tradition dating back to 1915 with Gilman
leading the series with 54 wins, 31 losses and 5 ties.  The pre-game
pageantry included all the ceremonies that make high school sports so
appealing to sports fans of all ages.

Thirty minutes before the
game, the McDonogh faithful marched over the Northern Parkway bridge
and descend onto the Gilman campus.  The sea of orange, lead by drums
and bagpipes, set the tone for what turned out to be an unbelievable
contest.  The Greyhounds then honored their graduating seniors, all 22
of them, as a tribute to the last football game in their high school
careers.  The festivities continued when Gilman headmaster Jon McGill
presented the outgoing McDonogh headmaster, Bo Dixon, a gift for his
fifteen years service leading the Eagles and his dedication to
education.  Sportsmanship still lives!

With the stage set, the
game began with McDonogh receiving the ball.  The Eagles methodically
drove down the field with a balanced attacked of run and pass. 
Quarterback Jared Jorgensen found fellow senior Robby Ford in the end
zone to cap the drive with a seven-yard touchdown pass.  Jorgensen also
added a two-point conversion pass to Matt Hart and the Eagles led 8-0.
 
Following
an exchange of turnovers, Gilman got on the board for the first time,
early in the second quarter, when senior John Pagliaro dashed 11-yards
for a touchdown and followed with a two-point run to tie the game at
eight.

It was clear at this point, that the contest would be a
battle of two offenses with completely different styles.  The
Greyhounds run the ball and make not attempts to disguise their
strategy.  They challenge any team to try and stop them.  In fact,
Gilman did not attempt a pass until late in the fourth quarter. 
McDonogh on the other hand, uses a spread formation and serves up a
variety of passing and running plays.  As the half came to a close, the
Eagles had a chance to claim
the lead with a field goal when the
Greyhounds fumbled the ball on their own 17 yard line.  However, Gilman
redeemed itself and blocked the field goal attempt with no time
remaining in the half.

Things didn’t look good for the Eagles on
the opening drive of the second half.  The Greyhounds, led by a heavy
dose of Pagliaro and senior Ben Eaton, marched down the field in
dominating fashion to score their second touchdown and another
two-point conversion.  With much of the third quarter eaten up by the
Greyhound drive, McDonogh went to the final quarter facing a 16-8
deficit.

The Eagles, however, rebounded quickly with an
eight-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Bryan Ellis.  After
failing on the two-point conversion attempt, McDonogh trailed 16-14,
but still had over ten minutes to play.

The Eagles made their
final push in the game’s closing minutes, as they drove down field and
produced their own version of the “immaculate reception.”  Attempting
to connect with senior wide out Steve Banks, Jorgensen floated an
18-yard pass into the end zone which tipped off Banks’ hands and found
its way into the waiting arms of Feinberg, who secured it for the
winning score.  McDonogh upped its lead to 22-16, as Feinberg hauled in
another Jorgensen pass for the conversion, with less than two minutes
to go.

Gilman head coach Biff Poggi then found himself in a
position where he had to put the ball in the air.  Junior quarterback
Jake Tunney, Gilman’s passing specialist, came in for Makura Compton,
and immediately sparked the Greyhounds with a completion.  Two plays
later, however, an apparent completion was jarred loose from a Gilman
receiver into the hands of McDonogh defensive lineman Tyler Goldberg,
who secured it for his first career interception.  Gilman was able to
regain possession one more time, with 1:36 remaining, but again it was
thwarted by a McDonogh interception as Feinberg capped a huge quarter
with nifty pick that sealed the win for the Eagles..  

Gilman
and McDonogh each finished 6-3 overall and 4-1 in the A Conference. 
Since the MIAA has no tie-breakers in A Conference football, both teams
gain a share of the league title.  Loyola, which defeated Georgetown
Prep, 14-7, yesterday to improve to 3-1 in the conference, can also
claim a share of the championship if it can win its finale, on
Thankgiving Day against Calvert Hall at M&T Bank Stadium.  For
Gilman, it is its eighth MIAA league title.  This is McDonogh’s second
A Conference title and its first since sharing the honor with Gilman in
2001.  The Eagles also own four B Conference championships.

After
the game, Poggi was gracious in defeat.  “McDonogh deserves a lot of
credit.  Jorgensen was unbelievable and their receivers ran great
routes.  Their coach had them well prepared and their defense did a
nice job stopping our running attack.  We live and die by the run.”

McDonogh
head coach Dom D’Amico agreed with Poggi that his team was well
prepared.  “Our team was ready.  We knew we were going to get a heavy
dose of the run.  We just kept telling our kids to stay low and get to
the ball.”

As McDonogh celebrated the victory on the Gilman
field after the game, Jorgensen calmly reflected on the day.  “I felt
confident all day that we were going to win.  It felt like destiny. 
Look at the winning touchdown pass.  You don’t plan things like that,
they happen.”

In two playoff games, Chapelgate, the top-seed from the regular season, defeated its foes by a combined score of 9-1.

Junior
Alex Kriete scored the other goal for Chapelgate, which posted a final
record of 14-3-1.  The Yellowjackets also received one assist each from
brothers Mike and Jim Becker, the team’s top two scorers this fall.

Mike
Becker, just a freshman, finished the season with 11 goals and 11
assists, while Jim, a senior, had nine goals and nine assists.  Jeong,
a junior, who had nine goals and seven assists, will also return next
year, giving the Yellowjackets their top three scorers when they
attempt to win a third straight.

“It feels good to win two
straight.  It feels better to know that these young men are staying
consistent with their level of play,” said Chapelgate head coach Jason
Bennett.  “After splitting with Beth Tfiloh and Balitmore Lutheran in
the regular season we felt like we needed to step up our attack during
the final game.  We tried hard to not settle in at all and just press
with the attack for the full 80 minutes.

“I would say that a
couple of the biggest differences between this team and last year’s
team are unity and speed.  This is one of the first teams I have ever
seen in which the unity was already there before the first day of
tryouts.  These young guys respect and care for each other which made
my job easier.  They are also a fast bunch of guys.  I think their
speed tired out a lot of our opponents.”

Lutheran, which finished at 11-8-0, received its lone goal from David Crotty.