With soccer and field hockey regular seasons concluding and other sports nearing the end of the regular season, county championships are beginning this week.
Here are some of the biggest games and contests throughout Howard County fall sports for the week of Oct. 20-26.
Football
Howard at Guilford Park, Friday, 6 p.m.
The Lions and Panthers are two of Howard County’s top teams with Guilford Park the county’s last unbeaten team. Guilford Park (7-0) clinches the Howard County title with a win in just the program’s second varsity season. Meanwhile, Howard will look to bounce back from its first loss of the season and keep pace with Oakland Mills for the top seed in the Class 2A West region.
Atholton at Oakland Mills, Friday, 6 p.m.
Atholton enters this matchup coming off an impressive 37-28 win over Howard and faces another challenging opponent in the Scorpions. Meanwhile, Oakland Mills responded in a big way after its first loss of the season with a 49-0 win over Long Reach last week. The Raiders will look to keep building momentum, while the Scorpions are also looking to maintain their standing for the postseason.
Field hockey
Mt. Hebron at Glenelg, Tuesday, 7 p.m.
The Summit Division champion Vikings and Sierra Division champion Gladiators are meeting for the second time in the last two weeks. Glenelg won the first meeting, 3-0, and aims to maintain its dominance against county competition. Mt. Hebron will look to dethrone the perennial powerhouse Gladiators who have dominated county competition for several seasons.
Golf
The Howard County golf championships are Thursday at Fairway Hills. River Hill’s Evelyn Park and Michelle Yeung, as well as Samadhi Tennakoon are some of the top contenders for the girls. Meanwhile, Mt. Hebron’s Grady Kent, River Hill’s Justin Zhao and Marriotts Ridge’s and Aidan Kim are some of the top competitors in the field for the boys.
Cross country
The Howard County cross country championships are Wednesday at Centennial. Hammond’s Trevor Miyagishima and Wilde Lake’s Wesley Zaron are both having strong seasons, while River Hill’s Alyssa Mattes, Guilford Park’s Izabella McDonald and Centennial’s Kaylee Beal are other runners to watch.
Volleyball
No. 1 Howard at No. 3 Broadneck, Tuesday, 5:30 p.m.
The undefeated Lions (12-0) dominated county competition and now face a challenging non-county foe in the Bruins. Broadneck (11-2) is another of the area’s top teams and will present one of Howard’s most difficult opponents of the season.
No. 10 Severn Run at No. 9 River Hill, Tuesday, 5:30 p.m.
The Hawks (11-1) are the Summit Division champions and will face Howard in the county championship next week. However, before that River Hill welcomes in a talented Severn Run team that has orchestrated a strong season.
No. 14 Glenelg at No. 4 Arundel, Tuesday, 5:30 p.m.
A matchup of two 9-3 teams, the Gladiators and Wildcats each field impressive teams. Both sides will look to build momentum with one more match before the end of the regular season.
No. 4 Arundel at No. 1 Howard, Thursday, 5:30 p.m.
Arundel and Howard are two of the top teams in 3A. These two teams could be facing off again in a few weeks deep into the postseason.
No. 3 Broadneck at No. 13 Reservoir, Thursday, 5:30 p.m.
One more high-profile matchup between Howard and Anne Arundel County teams this week with the Gators and Bruins meeting in Fulton.
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