Prep notebook: County championship bouts pair familiar title contenders | Maryland Gazette (HometownGlenBurnie.com)

With the exception of South River's surge into the boys' lacrosse game, seven of the eight teams are making at least their second straight appearance in their respective championship games.

The action began with lacrosse yesterday, followed by softball and baseball tomorrow.

Girls Lacrosse: Severna Park (14-0) vs. Broadneck (11-2), 5 p.m. yesterday at Meade High School - The Bruins clinched their spot in the championship game with South River's 26-8 loss to Severna Park on Friday.

Broadneck, which took an 18-9 loss to the Falcons on April 19, beat everyone else in its county schedule. The Falcons, who went 20-0 en route to the 4A-3A championship last season, haven't lost since the 2006 title game against Dulaney.

Boys Lacrosse: Severna Park (12-2) vs. South River (10-3), 6:45 p.m. yesterday at Meade High School - This is a rematch of Friday's game, in which the Falcons escaped with an 11-5 victory. Severna Park, the defending 4A-3A state champions, dropped its only county setback to Broadneck - a 6-3 loss on April 19.

South River, which was also beaten by Broadneck, had its tournament fate virtually sealed when Northeast topped the Bruins on April 22. The Seahawks carried an undefeated record into mid-April before dropping consecutive games to Severn and Annapolis - its first county loss.

Softball: Broadneck (15-2) vs. Chesapeake (18-1), 5 p.m. tomorrow at Bachman Stadium - This is Round 3. Chesapeake and Broadneck have split their regular-season meetings. The Cougars won at the Easter Tournament, and the Bruins took a 2-0 victory in mid-April - Chesapeake's first loss since the 2007 county championship; a 2-1 defeat to Broadneck. Chesapeake has lost the last two county championship games - Severna Park beat the Cougars, 3-2, in 2006 - but made appearances in both 4A state finals, winning last year's.

Broadneck, powered by Kourtney Salvarola, Ashley Thomas and Chesapeake transfer Corie Seitler, had its undefeated mark in the county blemished last week with a 5-1 loss to Arundel.

Baseball: Arundel (13-4) vs. Northeast (16-4), 7 p.m. tomorrow at Joe Cannon Stadium - It came down to the season's last day, but the Wildcats and Eagles clinched their spots in the title game.

Like last season, Northeast got hot at the right time. The Eagles won their final six regular-season games to force a meeting with Arundel in the county championship game, and with a 3-2 victory against Old Mill Monday, they closed out this year's regular season with five consecutive wins. The Wildcats ended last year's run with a 3-1 victory to claim their 19th county title. Coach Adam Bolling and his Northeast players are hoping for a different ending in 2008.

Arundel, dealt what was thought to be a season-threatening blow in the preseason when star pitcher Tyler Hibbs left the team following a drug-related arrest, mowed through its Anne Arundel County schedule. After losing to Chesapeake, 5-1, on March 31, the Wildcats won 10 consecutive games. They stumbled with consecutive losses to Severna Park and Annapolis to end April, but won three games in the first four days of May to earn a meeting with Northeast.

"It's been that kind of season where everybody had us down and out," said Arundel coach Bernie Walter. "They had the grave dug and the coffin ordered and the flowers ordered, but they forgot the nails."

COACHING VACANY: Severna Park is looking for a golf coach for its varsity team. Interested candidates should call athletic director Wayne Mook at (410) 544-7462.

DESTINATIONS: Glen Burnie midfielder Marissa Morrill has signed to play lacrosse for St. Bonaventure University of the Atlantic 10 Conference and coach Chrissy Malone next year. Marissa will graduate from Glen Burnie in June, before commencing at the university in Olean, N.Y., this fall.

As of Feb. 3, DeMatha fullback and Severna Park resident Ryan Clarke signed to play football with West Virginia. The 6-foot-1, 235-pound Clarke had an offer from Syracuse, but decided to play with the Mountaineers, who finished their 11-2 season with a 48-28 win over No. 3 Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, instead.

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mpeters@capitalgazette.com