This Week in Poolesville Sports
Friday (5/9)----------------
Playoffs! PHS Varsity Baseball at Allegany @ 4:00 PM
Playoffs! PHS Boys Volleyball at Sherwood @ 5:15 PM
Playoffs! PHS Co-ed Volleyball at Paint Branch @ 5:00 PM
PAA Baseball 10U Rec at Stephen’s Park @ 6:00 PM
Saturday (5/10)----------------
Playoffs! PHS Varsity Girls Lacrosse vs. Brunswick or Rockville at PHS @ 12:00 PM
Playoffs! PHS Varsity Boys Lacrosse vs. Century or Oakland Mills at PHS @ 2:00 PM
Sunday (5/11)--------------------
PAA Baseball 8U Rec at Stephen’s Park @ 6:00 PM
Monday (5/12)-------------------
Playoffs! PHS Varsity Softball vs. Mountain Ridge or Southern Garrett at PHS @ 4:00 PM
PHS Boys and Girls Lacrosse Regional Semi-finals (with wins on Sat.---Time and Locations TBD)
PHS Varsity Baseball Regional Quarterfinals at Clear Spring (with win on Saturday----Time TBD)
Tuesday (5/13)------------------
PHS Co-ed Volleyball County Semi-finals (with win on Friday---Time and Location TBD)
PAA Baseball 10U Rec at Stephen’s Park @ 6:00 PM
Wednesday (5/14)--------------
PHS Girls Softball Regional Semi-Finals at PHS (with win on Monday)
PHS Boys and Girls Lacrosse Regional Finals (with wins on Monday---Times and Locations TBD)
PHS Varsity Baseball Regional Semi-Finals (with win on Monday----Time and Location TBD)
PAA Baseball 8U Rec at Stephen’s Park @ 6:00 PM
Thursday (5/15)----------------
PHS Outdoor Track and Field State Regional Championships at Clear Spring HS @ 3:00 PM.
PAA Baseball 12U Rec at Stephen’s Park @ 6:00 PM
Friday (5/16)--------------------
PHS Girls Softball Regional Finals at PHS (with win on Wednesday---Time TBD)
PHS Girls Lacrosse State Semi-Finals @ Reservoir HS (with win on Wednesday---Time TBD)
PHS Varsity Baseball Regional Finals (with win on Wednesday----Time and Location TBD)
PHS Baseball Finishes Off Clarksburg,
Looks for Playoff Win Over Allegany
The PHS Varsity Baseball squad pounded out 12 hits against Clarksburg on Wednesday night to win their ninth game of the season and hopefully pick up some momentum for their Friday (5/9) opening round 1A West regional playoff trip to Allegany. The trip to Cumberland will not be an easy opener for the Falcons as Allegany finished the season on a roll by beating rival Fort Hill, which gave the 10-6 team a share of their City Championship. Once Poolesville moves past Allegany, they’ll travel to Hagerstown for a regional quarterfinal match-up against Clear Spring. “We’re playing our best baseball of the year, both mentally and physically,” said Manager Ted Gardiner. “We know we’ll be facing Allegany’s strongest pitcher, but all year long we’ve forced our opponents to throw their toughest guy at us at one point or another in each game and we’ve always hit him. We’re as ready as we can be.”
The Clarksburg win was a satisfying one, as any Falcon victory over the Coyotes should be. The hits just kept on coming for Poolesville (team average .354), with Kevin McNealy going 3 for 4 with two runs scored, Tommy Hughes hitting 4 for 4 with one run and 2 RBI’s, Nick Loftus going 2 for 4 with one run and three RBI’s, and Daniel Young hitting 2 for 3 with one run scored. Six different pitchers combined to work the seven-inning game. Hughes, Young, and Drew Karlin all worked one inning without giving up any runs. Dave Johnson shut out Clarksburg in the 3rd and 4th innings. Max Heldman and Cory Wyne each pitched one inning giving up one and none runs respectively. The Falcons finished the year holding their opponents to an average of just three earned runs per game.
On Saturday (5/3), the Varsity Boys played their fourth game in four days. Luckily the opponent was Northwood and the tired Falcons managed to pick up a win. The game was locked up at 2-2 heading into the 6th inning when Poolesville broke the game wide open. Pat Zapata singled, Daniel Young followed with another single, and Drew Karlin then singled in Zapata to give Poolesville a 3-2 lead. The Falcons were not done as Cory Wyne then drove in 2 runs on a single to left and Nick Loftus doubled scoring Wyne from first on a hit and run. At the end of the 6th the Falcons had all they needed with a 6-2 lead. Northwood then put in one run in the top of the 7th to make the final score 6-3. Tommy Hughes started for the Falcons and looked good in two innings of work allowing one unearned run. Dave Johnson came in to pitch the 3rd and 4th pitching very effectively and allowed only one run on two hits. Daniel Young finished the last 3 innings. He pitched 29 strikes to only 10 balls and allowed just one run.
In the Falcon’s first match-up against Clarksburg last Friday, Poolesville lost to the Coyotes 9-8. Tommy Hughes homered in his 3rd straight game and finished 3 for 4 with three RBI’s and two runs scored. Pat Zapata also homered and picked up two RBI’s. Kevin McNealy continued to look good at the plate by going 3 for 5 with one run. Cory Wyne continued his hot streak by going 3 for 4 with two RBI’s and one run scored. Drew Karlin came in relief and pitched four strong innings. Max Heldman and Wyne combined to finish the game.
PHS Softball Has High Playoffs Hopes at Home
Despite a disappointing 6-4 loss to Clarksburg in their regular season final game, Poolesville’s Varsity Girls Softball team accomplished just about all of their team goals for the season. The Falcons lost just two games all season, and in doing so, locked up the # 1 seed in the Maryland 1A West Region. Poolesville needed the top seed because this year the Falcons moved out of the weaker 1A South region (where they reached the finals during the past two years) and into the much tougher West region, where known heavyweights Williamsport (last year’s 1A state champion) and Catoctin (2006 1A champ) await.
Along with their top seed, Poolesville received a first round bye. That means they start regional play at home on Monday (5/12) at 4:00 PM in the quarterfinal round against the winner of the Mountain Ridge/Southern Garrett game. Mountain Ridge looks to be the clear favorite to advance. The Miners finished 12-3 and tied for their conference championship. “We should be rested and ready,” said Poolesville Coach Laurie Wohnhas. “No team can look forward to traveling as far as either one of our possible opponents has to go. We worked hard this season to earn the #1 seed and our job will be to play our game and to be consistent.” The Falcons look to build a three-game streak at home next week---a streak that would put a major hurting on some Prom Night plans but would also land them in the state semi’s on May 20th.
The loss to Clarksburg was just the second all season for the top-ranked Falcons. Poolesville managed seven hits (to Clarksburg’s two) but the Falcons also struck out 11 times. “We didn’t hit until late in the game,” said Wohnhas, “ and by then it was too late.”
PHS Girls Lacrosse Earns #2 Seed, First Round Bye
While their playoff draw had already been decided, Poolesville’s Girl’s Varsity Lacrosse team was determined not to suffer a letdown in their last regular season game. Coach May Shlash’s group came through as planned as the Falcons rolled to a 9-7 win over Whitman to finish the season with an 11-1 record. Poolesville’s leading scorer, Cori Rosenberg, showed why she deserves serious recognition for post-season honors. The fleet multi-sport scorer found the back of the net four times (and dealt two assists) to pace the Falcons to the win. Rosenberg finished the regular season with a team-leading 39 goals and 14 assists. Also scoring for Poolesville against Whitman was Megan Patton (two goals) and Gracie Jackson, Stephanie Boulter and Megan Kohler (one goal each).
In addition to Rosenburg’s scoring binge, Patton finished the year with 28 goals and six assists, Jackson netted 30 goals and eight assists, and injured senior captain Stephanie Hilton scored 17 goals to go along with eight assists. Erica Gonzales was outstanding all year long and finished the season with 89 saves.
Poolesville’s outstanding regular season earned the Falcons the #2 seed in the very tough 2A/1A West Region. Poolesville will open up regional play at home on Saturday against the winner of the Brunswick/Rockville match-up. Rockville looks to be the team to advance and Poolesville crushed them earlier in the year by a 12-3 margin. The Rams finished the regular season losing six out of their last eight games. “Neither team will be a walk for us,” said an under-the-weather May Shlash, “but I’ll be very disappointed if we don’t advance.” Looking deeper into the playoffs, the Falcons face a likely regional semi-final pairing at home against Glenelg (11-4 and winners of seven out of their last eight). Looming in the distance is also Century (10-2)---last year’s state champs and the team that eliminated Poolesville in last year’s regional final.
Last Season Behind Them, PHS Boys Varsity Lacrosse
Looks to Move Forward in Playoffs
Poolesville’s Boys Varsity Lacrosse team shrugged off an opening season loss to Churchill and proceeded to rip off nine wins in their last 11 games to capture the #3 seed, a first round bye, and a playoff home opener against the winner of the Century/Oakland Mills game. The nine-win season was a major rebound from last year’s four win effort and vaulted the Falcons back into the limelight as one of Montgomery County’s best teams. Poolesville lost to Whitman in their last regular season game, but that is unimportant now to 2nd year PHS Coach Eddie Zacharek. “Whitman is a strong club and we were in that game until they pulled away at the end,” said Zacharek. “We had a nice run at the end of the season (including 18-5 and 7-3 wins over Northwest and Kennedy) and I think our guys are ready to show the west region that Poolesville is back.”
Poolesville’s likely quarterfinal round opponent on Saturday (2:00 PM at PHS) should be Century. The Knights booted the Falcons out of last year’s playoffs and finished the season with nine wins, including taking seven out of their last nine games. The next pairing for Poolesville would probably sent them on to Marriotts Ridge. The Miners went 11-4 this year but all four of their losses occurred in their last seven games. Poolesville was led this year by senior attackmen Patrick Moore and Kyle Corfman and junior midfielder Dylan Haas. The Falcons averaged 14 goals a game.
PHS Co-ed Volleyball Advances to County Quarterfinals
Poolesville High School’s Co-ed Volleyball team has a standard to live up to since Coach Fran Duvall’s Girls Volleyball teams always manage to make noise in the fall league state playoffs. The first step to winning the county championship (no state playoffs for co-ed volleyball) was nailed down on Wednesday night as Coach Duvall’s squad picked up a three-game win over Blair at PHS to advance to a county quarterfinal match at Paint Branch on Friday (5/9) night. The winner goes on further battle in the county semi-finals on Tuesday (5/13). The Falcons are 11-2 heading into Friday’s tilt.
“We played decent enough on Wednesday night to beat an okay team and that’s always good,” said Duvall. “Ashley Funk played well and so did Kobby Waters. Our ball control was really on last night. Dee Miller was also strong for us.”
Poolesville beat Paint Branch in a two-game win earlier in the season, which should bode well for the locals since the Falcons have improved their play as of late. “We have had several players step up in the past few weeks,” said Duvall. “Waters, our senior hitter, has been attacking and serving well. Mark Fales has played consistently well all year and continues to do so heading into the playoffs. Jenny Better and Ashley Funk have done a great job of running our offense. Cecilia Blanc, Megan Kenneweg and Jessica Chittenden have also been contributing to our success.”
The PHS Boys Volleyball team picked up a five-game win over neighboring Quince Orchard on Wednesday to advance to a county quarterfinal match-up at Sherwood on Friday (5/9) at 5:15 PM. The boys are lead by the Uncle-Nephew combo of Brian Karn and Logan Wilson. Andre Martinez has also had a strong year.
JPMS Soccer Girls Look for Strong Finish vs. Mont. Village
The John Poole Middle School Girls Soccer team faces one final challenge to its very successful season. They face off against Montgomery Village on Tuesday at JPMS with kickoff scheduled for 2:50 PM. The Timberwolves have won or tied four out of their five opponents so far this season with the only blemish coming recently against Rocky Hill (a 6-0 defeat).
The John Poole girls opened up the season with a double overtime 0-0 tie against Kingsview---a team that had beaten JPMS soundly for the last two years. Kelly Weber and Bonnie Giovannetti pitched a shutout in goal. The girls followed up that tie with a resounding 5-0 win over Neelsville. Megan Flick, Taylor Karlin and Allie Greene were amongst the goal scorers. In their third game of the year, the T-wolves held on to tie a strong Clemente squad. Jennifer Price’s goal almost held up for the win until a late Clemente score forced JPMS to settle for the tie. Weber had 11 saves in that game. In game four, Karlin nailed the lone score for the Timberwolves in a game that John Poole dominated and won by a 1-0 margin.
“Even though it’s a short season, the girls have really come together during the short time we have been able to practice and play,” said Coach Earl Kenneweg. “The loss to Rocky Hill was a bit of an eye-opener for us. We didn’t play a strong game, for what I think will be the only time this season, and they made us pay for it. Two of our 8th graders, Melanie Hovencamp (center mid) and Taylor Karlin (striker), play Wags soccer year-around and have worked hard to get our team to gel.” On top of his goal scorers, Kenneweg cited another 8th grader, Junique Lyles, for her strong play on defense. “Our 7th graders have come through for us, too,” said Kenneweg. “Julie Boyland (stopper) and Allie Greene (outside mid) have had great years. Katie McFall has anchored our ‘D’ from the sweeper position and Dina Maita has been a strong defender as well.
Stop by the JPMS field on Tuesday to get the last look at this year’s edition of the Timberwolves before a bunch of them move on to the high school. You can say you saw them “way back when”.
PBA Summer League Tryouts Set for May 12-14 at JPMS
The Poolesville Basketball Association (PBA) will be conducting tryouts for the six teams it will field this summer in the Montgomery County Recreation Department's "Rising Star League". This summer program is an important step in preparing players for their potential future participation in the winter season Mid-Maryland Basketball League.
For both Boys and Girls, there will be a 6th Grade team (made up of current 4th and 5th graders), a JV Team (made up of current 5th and 6th Graders), and a Varsity Team (made up of current 6th and 7th Graders). In addition to trying out for teams at their own grade level, players are allowed to try out for one grade level up if they so choose (example: A current 5th Grader may try out for the JV team. If he/she doesn't make that team, they can come back the next night to tryout for his or her own grade level team).
All players residing within the Poolesville school district, including those who attend private school, are welcomed and encouraged to try out. NOTE: While every effort will be made to ensure playing time for all players accepted onto a PBA team, there is no outright guarantee of playing time in every game for all players. A parent or guardian must attend the tryout with the player. If there is a large turnout, additional tryouts may be conducted.
TRYOUT TIMES (All tryouts to be held at John Poole Middle School Main Gym)
Varsity Girls Team----------------------Monday May 12, 2008 (6:00 to 7:30 PM)
Varsity Boys Team---------------------Monday May 12, 2008 (7:30 to 9:00 PM)
JV Girls Team----------------------------Tuesday May 13, 2008 (6:00 to 7:30 PM)
JV Boys Team---------------------------Tuesday May 13, 2008 (7:30 to 9:00 PM)
6th Grade Girls Rising Stars---------Wednesday May 14, 2008 (6:00 to 7:30 PM)
6th Grade Boys Rising Stars--------Wednesday May 14, 2008 (7:30 to 9:00 PM)
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PBA Open Gym Nights continue for one final Tuesday (5/6) at JPMS for current 4th though 8th graders. The "girls only" session runs from 6:00 to 7:00 PM, then a mixed session for both boys and girls from 7:00 to 9:00 PM. The cost is only $1.00 per player. Parents of younger players should stick around to keep an eye on their kids.
The Mini Falcon, *all new* Junior Falcon and the regular Falcon Camps are filling up! All camps are all-day basketball camps tailored specifically for age groups ranging from Kindergartners through 8th Graders. The camps are being hosted by Poolesville High School Varsity Basketball Coaches Tom Lang and Randy Berger, PHS Athletic Director and coaching legend Fred Swick, PHS Coach Ted Gardiner as well as all-time PHS leading scorer Jamie Morningstar. Go to www.PBAHoops.com and look under "Camp Information" to find out more about the best basketball camps for your local hoopster!
