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Clarksburg Shared Frederick MDVARSITY.COM Championship
June 15, 2008 --
James Quinn
Talk about it in Message Board - Baltimore & D.C. Metro Area
FREDERICK - Montgomery county schools continued their dominance of the MDVarsity.com Passing Jamboree as three schools made it to the their respective championship games in their bracket.
The Black Championship bracket featured undefeated teams Clarksburg and Sherwood while Damascus rebounded from an opening round loss to make it to the Black Consolation bracket championship against Westminster.
Due to lightning in the area the 3 p.m. were called before their completion and upon a unanimous vote by coaches, the rest of the days games were cancelled. There is no makeup date for the final round of games.
Clarksburg did not lose a single game over the course of three weeks of jamboree events. They won the first two games during the lightning shortened River Hill jamboree and followed last week with a 4-0 record at Arundel to win the championship.
Damascus, who made it to the championship game last season with Kyle Frazier at quarterback, only lost one game with another Frazier seeing time at quarterback – Conor Frazier.
Sherwood's offense was consistent throughout the day as they scored six times in each of its three games.
Westminster continued an impressive showing a week after making the semifinals at North County by finishing 2-1 on the day, including a defeat of Urbana.
Black Championship Bracket
10 a.m.
Quince Orchard def. Sparrows Point
St. John's (D.C.) def. Westminster
St. Paul's def. Gaithersburg
Clarksburg def. Urbana
Poly def. Sherwood
Gonzaga (D.C.) def. Thomas Johnson
Potomac School (Va.) def. Damascus
Good Counsel def. Catoctin
12 p.m.
St. John's (D.C.) def. Quince Orchard
Clarksburg def. St. Paul's
Sherwood def. Gonzaga (D.C.)
Good Council def. Potomac School (Va.)
2 p.m.
Clarksburg def. St. John's (D.C.)
Sherwood def. Good Council
Quince Orchard def. St. Paul's
Gonzaga def. Potomac School (Va.)
4 p.m. games were cancelled due to lighting strikes in the area.
1st/2nd place – Clarksburg vs. Sherwood
3rd/4th place – St. John's (D.C.) vs. Good Council
5th/6th place – Quince Orchard vs. Gonzaga (D.C.)
7th/8th place – St. Paul's vs. Potomac School (Va.)
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Sports Spotlight Photography & Graphics
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Clarksburg Wins Arundel Tournament
June 9, 2008 --
June 9, 2008
Sheldon Shealer
MDVarsity.com Editor
Talk about it in Message Board - Baltimore & D.C. Metro Area
Clarksburg is riding quite a perfect streak.
The new Montgomery County school went undefeated during the regular season last year. The program won two Jamboree games in the lightning-shortened MDVarsity.com Passing Jamboree River Hill event on May 31. This past week, Clarksburg went the distance, winning four games to capture the MDVarsity.com Passing Jamboree title at Arundel High School.
Clarksburg's victory gave Montgomery County schools the weekend sweep since Northwest claimed the title at the North County site.
Arundel High School
9 a.m.
1. Milford Mill def. St. John's (D.C.)
2. Arundel def. Broadneck
3. Edmondson def. Gonzaga (D.C.)
4. Dunbar (D.C.) def. Severna Park
10 a.m.
5. Mount Hebron def. Frederick
6. Wise def. La Plata
7. North Stafford (Va.) def. Liberty
8. Clarksburg def. Long Reach
11 a.m.
9. Milford Mill def. Arundel
10. Dunbar def. Edmondson
13. Broadneck def. St. John's
14. Gonzaga def. Severna Park
Noon
11. Wise def. Mount Hebron
12. Clarksburg def. North Stafford
15. La Plata def. Frederick
16. Long Reach def. Liberty
1 p.m.
17. Dunbar def. Milford Mill
19. Edmondson def. Arundel
21. Broadneck def. Gonzaga
23. St. John's def. Severna Park
2 p.m.
18. Clarksburg def. Wise
20. North Stafford def. Mount Hebron
22. Long Reach def. La Plata
24. Liberty def. Frederick
3 p.m.
27. Fifth-Place, Edmondson def. North Stafford
28. Seventh-Place, Arundel def. Mount Hebron
31. Consolation Fifth-Place, St. John's def. Liberty
32. Consolation Seventh-Place, Severna Park def. Frederick
4 p.m.
25. Championship, Clarksburg def. Dunbar (D.C.)
26. Third-Place, Milford Mill def. Wise
29. Consolation Championship, Broadneck def. Long Reach
30. Consolation Third-Place, La Plata def. Gonzaga
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MDVARSITY RIVER HILL TOURNEY
June 2, 2008 --
Just when the MDVarsity.com Passing Jamboree at River Hill reached the semifinals stages, thunder and lightning stole the show.
After a second lightning delay, the Jamboree was halted early on what was an otherwise mild Saturday afternoon.
The surprise teams of the event were Clarksburg and Douglass-PG. Each team won their first two games to reach the semifinals. Clarksburg upset Good Counsel in a quarterfinal match in overtime. Douglass knocked off River Hill.
Plans are in the works for a make-up session either June 7 at River Hill (alongside the Bullseye Combine), June 14 (with additional fields in Frederick) and, perhaps, June 21 at River Hill. Coaches will be contacted via e-mail Saturday night regarding options of additional play.
The pairings were set with a Good Counsel vs. Friendly and Dunbar vs. River Hill Blue Bracket semifinal in mind. However, Dunbar was the only top seed to survive two rounds.
Be sure to check out the video highlights of the Poets win over Montgomery County's Seneca Valley.
In the Gold Bracket, there was no surprise that Gaithersburg and Edmondson advanced to the semifinal round, and actually started their match-up before play was halted.
Wootton, which has been a .500 team, and a vastly improving Rockville squad both reached the semifinals, opposite of Gaithersburg-Edmondson.
In the mixer bracket, Westminster appeared to be the strongest team, winning its first two contests. The Owls will be returning more than 40 lettermen from last year's roster.
Gold Bracket
9 a.m.
1. Gaithersburg def. Centennial
2. Spalding def. Walkersville
3. Glenelg def. Aberdeen
4. Edmondson def. Bethesda-CC
5. Wootton def. Wise
6. Marriotts Ridge def. Sidwell Friends (D.C.)
7. North Harford def. Sparrows Point
8. Rockville def. Reservoir
11 a.m.
17. Gaithersburg def. Spalding
18. Edmondson def. Glenelg
19. Wootton def. Marriotts Ridge
20. Rockville def. North Harford
21. Walkersville def. Centennial
22. Bethesda-CC def. Aberdeen
23. Wise def. Sidwell Friends
24. Reservoir def. Sparrows Point
Blue Bracket
10 a.m.
9. Good Counsel def. Allegany
10. Clarksburg def. Broadneck
11. Friendly def. Frederick
12. Sherwood def. North Stafford (Va.)
13. Dunbar def. Tuscarora
14. Seneca Valley def. Perry Hall
15. River Hill def. Northwest
16. Douglass-PG def. Mount St. Joseph
Noon
25. Clarksburg def. Good Counsel
26. Sherwood def. Friendly
27. Dunbar def. Seneca Valley
28. Douglass-PG def. River Hill
29. Allegany def. Broadneck
30. Frederick def. North Stafford
31. Tuscarora def. Perry Hall
32. Mount St. Joseph def. Northwest
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Clarksburg’s Avery Graham gets football offer from Maryland
by John Y. Wehmueller | Staff Writer
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He hadn’t played a single season of high school football until 2007, and took most of last fall to get his feet wet. But recruiters at the University of Maryland saw the vast potential of Clarksburg junior Avery Graham, and offered him a full football scholarship on Friday.
‘‘We’re very proud and very excited,” Clarksburg football coach Larry Hurd said. ‘‘We have Rob [Osborne, a senior] going to Towson, and now Avery holds an offer from Maryland. We’re working very hard at Clarksburg to give those kids who want to play at the next level that opportunity.”
Graham played running back, linebacker and defensive back for the Coyotes last fall, and returned kicks and punts. He came on late in the season at running back, finishing as the team’s second-leading rusher with 741 yards and averaging 8.2 yards per carry as the team went 10-0 in the regular season and reached the Class 2A state semifinals.
The 6-foot, 180-pound Graham scored 10 rushing touchdowns and added two on kickoff returns, one of 84 yards and another of 90. He was named to the All-Gazette honorable-mention list at all-around.
In February, Graham won two titles at the 2A state indoor track & field championship meet, in the 55-meter dash and the shot put. Graham’s combination of speed — Hurd said he runs the 40-yard dash in 4.3 seconds — and power — track coach Scott Mathias said he bench presses 300 pounds — is a rare commodity.
The only comparable athlete in the area is Surrattsville High senior Davin Meggett. In the Class 1A indoor meet in February, Meggett finished second in the shot and third in the 55.The Prince George’s Gazette football Player of the Year last fall, Meggett is the son of former NFL standout David Meggett and has already signed to play at Maryland.
Graham would like to participate in both football and track in college, and Hurd said he would have that opportunity at Maryland. But Hurd also said that other programs were weighing offers, and Graham will likely wait to make a commitment.
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Osborne Makes First Team All County
All-Gazette football: Defense
First team
Sean Stanley, Gaithersburg, Jr., DL
Rutgers, Virginia Tech and Maryland have made early scholarship offers. Strong and deceptively quick, piled up 20 sacks.
Delano Ferguson, Kennedy, Sr., DL
Opponents found Kennedy’s end terrifying and quarterbacks trembled most as his astonishing 22 sacks suggest.
Cory Boatman, Good Counsel, Sr., DL
Six-foot-1, 255-pound Division I-A college recruit totaled 60 tackles with 4.5 sacks, 9 hurries, 9 TFLs and 4 forced fumbles.
Rob Osborne, Clarksburg, Sr., DL
Quickness and strength made Towson-commit tough to block, racked up 80 tackles, two fumble recoveries and one sack.
Jelani Jenkins, Good Counsel, Jr., LB
Gatorade’s Maryland Player of the Year and All-WCAC first-team pick recorded 58 total tackles (48 solo) with five tackles for losses.
Brian Wittenberger, Damascus, Sr., LB
Insertion as middle linebacker coincided with 10-game winning streak and state title to end season for Hornets.
Darius Hill, Springbrook, Sr., LB
Towson commit was the Blue Devils’ leading tackler. Had 123 tackles, 21 for losses, 4 sacks, 4 forced fumbles and 3 interceptions.
David Gamliel, Sherwood, Sr., LB
Helped Warriors to county’s best scoring defense (7.6 points per game against) with team-high 95 tackles, including 15.5 for losses.
Joe Rankin, Seneca Valley, Jr., DB
Throw his way and he made you pay. Picked off seven passes and returned three for touchdowns.
Joseph Boateng, Northwest, Sr., DB
Tackling machine at defensive back, led Jaguars with 86 stops on the season, seven for losses. Also had 5 QB hurries and 3 ints.
Anthony Young-Wiseman, Whitman, Jr., DB
The Vikings’ jack-of-all-trades led them in several categories, including interceptions with four.
Travis Hawkins, Quince Orchard, Jr., DB
Rarely thrown at, he still snagged three picks. Also combined for 786 yards receiving and rushing with 14 touchdowns.
Dominique Budd, Sherwood, Sr., All-around
Player opponents had to gameplan for, but couldn’t. Lined up at QB, RB, WR, DB and returned punts. Had 18 TDs, 1,168 yards.
Mark Hamilton, Good Counsel, Jr., P
All-WCAC kicker⁄punter averaged 40.1 yards on 21 kicks with a long of 64 with six punts placed inside the 20-yard line.
Second team
Brian Boateng (Gaithersburg, Sr., DL)
Division I-AA recruit racked up 11 sacks.
Thomas Huff (Sherwood, Jr., DL)
Six sacks, 11 tackles for losses.
Pat Hunt (Landon, Sr., DL)
Finished with 53 tackles and 10.5 sacks.
Terrence Stephens (Quince Orchard, Jr., DL)
Terrific two-way lineman, piled up 7.5 sacks, 3 in 4A state title game.
Brendan Ray (Wootton, Sr., LB)
Mr. Versatility made 56 tackles, 6 sacks.
Alex Bazzie (Northwood, Sr., LB)
College recruit had 88 tackles, 11 TFLs.
Steven Gamble (Sherwood, Jr., LB)
Finished second on team with 80 tackles.
Matt Grossman (Landon, Sr., LB)
Tenacious leader had 107 tackles, 57 solo.
J.R. Scott (Bullis, Sr., DB)
Lone bright spot for Bulldogs. Recorded 47 tackles, 11 pass break-ups, 4 ints.
Nick Koutsos (Sherwood, Sr., DB)
Bounced back from injury-marred junior campaign to become key cog.
Tim Henley (Blake, Sr., DB)
Tallied 30 tackles, five interceptions.
Brian Yost (Damascus, Sr., DB)
Led Hornets with six interceptions.
Nick Parks (Seneca Valley, Sr., P)
Excellent 35-yards-per-kick average.
Honorable mention
DL — Uchenna Ahagotu, Sr., Springbrook; Dominick Brown, Sr., Rockville; Tom Hart, Jr., Landon; Taiquon Hill, Sr., Seneca Valley; Kyle Kelly, Sr., Magruder; Tim Mieklejohn, Sr., Clarksburg; Kenton Powell, Jr., Seneca Valley; Jordan Rigby, Sr., Northwood; Dan Tochen, Sr., Whitman; Chuma Ogunwole, Sr., Georgetown Prep
LB — Lydell Baker, Jr., Northwood; Nate Berry, Sr., Magruder; Dominique Chase, Jr., Seneca Valley; Mike Greaney, Sr., Gaithersburg; Badger Koefed, Sr., Whitman; Greg Rutland, Sr., Quince Orchard; Matt Voight, Sr., Good Counsel; Chase Williams, Sr., Northwest
DB — Xavier Hughes, Jr., Seneca Valley; Parker Mangold, Jr., Georgetown Prep; Brandon Martin, Sr., Clarksburg; Sam Trotman, Sr., Northwest; Travis Turner, Sr., Quince Orchard; Mike Wallace, Sr., Good Counsel
All-around — Gary Frazier, Sr., Richard Montgomery; Avery Graham, Jr., Clarksburg; Aron McDonald, Sr., Seneca Valley
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Hurd Wins Coach of the Year 2007
Following Hurd led Clarksburg to state semis
by Brian Heard | Staff Writer
Clarksburg coach Larry Hurd has quickly turned the Coyotes into a power.
Some people would say the whole career-path thing started for Larry Hurd as a senior at Quince Orchard High School in 1991. A self-proclaimed ‘‘good-but-not-great athlete”, Hurd quarterbacked a good-but-not-great Cougars football team to the Class 4A state championship. More than a powerful throwing arm or dazzling feet, it was the mental side of the game that separated the teenager from the average player — he simply knew where everyone was on the field and what plays would work best in what situations sometimes before head coach Ernie Ceccato would call them. Most importantly, his teammates knew he knew it too, and followed his lead.
‘‘That’s how prepared he was, even back then,” said Larry Hurd Sr., Hurd’s father and an assistant coach at Quince Orchard at the time. ‘‘That team wasn’t the best, but the key was they played so well as a unit, and Larry was a big part of that. He was like a coach on the field, and I think Coach Ceccato would agree with that.”
But really Hurd’s career path started even before then. Seems he was born to coach.
Nowadays, the 33-year-old is the head football coach at Clarksburg High School (he also coaches softball there), where he’s fresh off leading the Coyotes to a 12-1 season, and a berth in the Class 2A state semifinals in just the program’s second year of existence, its first with a senior class.
He would downplay the fact, but his management of the program played a big part in the quick success at Clarksburg, utilizing skills he’s been developing most of his life.
‘‘No matter what teams he played on as a kid, he was the take-charge guy,” Hurd Sr., now an assistant under his son at Clarksburg, said. ‘‘He couldn’t stand anything unorganized. He was always on a schedule. He runs on [Vince] Lombardi time — if he says the meeting is at 8, he means 7:45. Even as a young kid he was like that.”
The natural leadership skills and his love of sports led Hurd to turn to coaching at a very young age. He was helping his father out as an assistant in the I-270 Basketball League at 16. He got his own team in I-270 by the time he was 18. He also coached in Gaithersburg Sports Association football for a couple of years, volunteered for Ceccato at Quince Orchard and got his first paid position, for Good Counsel football in 1994, all while in college before he graduated from the University of Maryland — he played football on scholarship as a quarterback at Division II Shepherd (W.Va.) College for a year after graduating from high school and then played a year at safety at Montgomery College before ending his playing days and transferring to Maryland.
‘‘You always want to see how far you can go as a player,” Hurd said. ‘‘But at a certain period in time you know you can’t go any further. So, if you love the game, especially the mental part of it, coaching is wonderful way to stay involved with the game.”
After college, Hurd became an assistant for Watkins Mill football, then coached the Northwest girls basketball team in its inaugural season (1998-99) before heading off to Poolesville the following year, where he really began to make a name for himself. As the head boys basketball coach from 1999-2006 his Falcons teams went 89-80 overall — a somewhat misleading record playing as the smallest team in the county against bigger schools almost every night. But in the postseason against like-sized schools his teams sparkled, advancing to four regional finals in his last five years, though losing all of them. He also coached the baseball team at Poolesville from 2000-02 and led it to a regional final one season.
When he took over the Poolesville football program at the start of the 2003 season, it isn’t fair to say it was in shambles, but the team hadn’t had a winning season since 1998 and had a combined mark of 12-25 the four years prior to his taking charge. But, like he would at Clarksburg, he had an almost miraculous, immediate impact. That season, the Falcons won their first 11 games before losing in the 1A South Region final to Baltimore City’s Dunbar. The next season went exactly the same way. In 2005,they finished 9-2, losing to Dunbar for third straight year in the regional final. But Hurd’s reputation as great coach was solidified, 31-4 in three seasons.
‘‘He’s the full package,” said Clarksburg defensive coordinator Will Gant, who has been an assistant to Hurd in all five of his seasons as a head football coach. ‘‘He’s a very good Xs and Os guy. But he’s also a very good manager of 16-17-year-old kids. He’ll get on a kid sometimes, but he also relates to them so well. He knows how to get the most out of them. ... He’s driven. His intensity on a daily basis is unbelievable. There’s no let up. There’re no off-days — you know, ‘I’m not feeling so good today’. It’s amazing, he just doesn’t have ’em. He works real hard to be as good as he is.”
So it was of little wonder that Hurd was tapped to start up the football program at Clarksburg in 2006. And though the Coyotes went just 3-6 in year one with no senior class, the groundwork was set for this season. Twelve straight wins, an elusive regional title for Hurd and another remarkable season put in by the man who seems to have been born to coach, and has spent more than half his life fulfilling that prophecy.
And to his credit, he’s earned the successes and hasn’t allowed his own ego to get carried away with them.
‘‘It’s not your job [as coach] to show how much you know,” he said. ‘‘You need to put your players in the best position to win. That’s the biggest lesson you learn as a young coach. You need to understand you don’t know everything and you can always be better.”
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