Cougars

SMITHSBURG -- Catoctin got the lion's share in its MVAL Antietam matchup with Smithsburg on Friday. The Cougars used a seven-run first inning and built from there to knock off the Leopards in a 14-4 decision shortened to six innings by the 10-run rule. Catoctin (5-4) got started quickly with the help of a Smithsburg error that plated the first two runs in the first. It led to Tanner Ausherman's three-run homer before Aaron Schroyer walked five straight batters to add the final two runs.

The North Hagerstown boys basketball team handed Catoctin a thank-you note without wasting the cost of a stamp. The Hubs did it old-school Valentine style on Friday. They just handed it to the Cougars in the gym. North showed its gratitude with defensive pressure that ran Catoctin out of the gym in a 79-44 MVAL Antietam victory. It was the Hubs’ way of saying thanks for the 75-73 upset the Cougars collected the first time they played on Jan. 14. “I’m not one for revenge.

View all of the photos for purchase! HAGERSTOWN -- South Hagerstown goalie Drake Kessell won't be blamed by coach John Chirgott for Tuesday's 20-3 loss to Catoctin. "We thought we had a chance to hang with them," said Chirgott. That chance began to dwindle in the first quarter and was out of reach by halftime as the Cougars pulled away to a 13-0 lead. "You can't blame the goalie," said Chirgott. "Our defense, the midfielders, they weren't picking up the sliders across the attack zone.

North Hagerstown wrestling coach Greg Slick had Catoctin sized up pretty well before their MVAL Antietam Conference showdown Thursday night. “When I looked at it on paper, I thought they were going to score 30 points,” he said. “I was only hoping we'd score 31.” The Hubs did that and more. They beat the host Cougars 42-30 to take home the Antietam title, completing a perfect run through the conference. It was the first Antietam loss for Catoctin (17-4, 3-1), which began the night as the No. 14 dual-meet team in the Maryland State Wrestling Association's top-20 state poll.

keller@herald-mail.com SHENANDOAH JUNCTION, W.Va. - The Fort Hill Sentinels know all about big games. They prepare each week to take the best shots from opponents hoping to knock off the perennial powerhouse and playoff team. Then there is Jefferson. It's safe to say the No. 4 Cougars, the surprise team in the Tri-State area this season, haven't played a game as big as Friday's Cumberland Valley Athletic League matchup with Fort Hill in a dozen years. That inexperience showed in the second half as the poised Sentinels bulled their way to a 28-7 victory over the Cougars, who saw their five-game winning streak snapped.

Cougars sweep By CURT HORNBECKER / Staff Correspondent SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - While the Martinsburg boys basketball team frantically searched for someone to take charge, Jefferson had a court full of volunteers. continued After Kevin Pittsnogle's third bucket of the fourth quarter gave the No. 7 Bulldogs a nine-point lead with five minutes remaining, the Cougars reeled off 14 unanswered points Thursday night with five different players scoring to escape with a 50-45 victory and advance to tonight's finals in the City National Bank Holiday Tournament.

In a rain-soaked boys lacrosse contest on Wednesday, Boonsboro fought tooth and nail to try to sweep the season series from Catoctin. In the end, however, a four-goal fourth period gave the Cougars a 9-7 victory over the Warriors. The game was tied 5-5 heading into the final period, before Catoctin's John Wilhelm scored three fastbreak goals and Charles McGlaughlin added a score to put Boonsboro (2-5) away. “(Catoctin) scored a few fastbreak goals on us tonight,” said Boonsboro coach Phil Aversa.

Wednesday's bitter cold and swirling winds didn't seem to affect Catoctin's baseball team in its MVAL Antietam matchup against Boonsboro. Alex Kennedy pitched a complete game as the Cougars shut out the Warriors, 8-0. Kennedy was a model of efficiency for the Cougars (4-1, 1-1), collecting seven strikeouts without a walk in 62 pitches for his first win of the season. “(Alex) strikes out a lot of guys. He had 10 against Clear Spring in his first outing and today was no different,” said Catoctin coach Mike Franklin.

Williamsport High School is a smoke-free facility, so the Wildcats were only allowed to have blindfolds. The Williamsport football team suffered through a bit of an execution on Saturday. It was death by Catoctin's muddling offense. The Cougars used a maze of counters, traps and sweeps to keep Williamsport defending blindly as Catoctin ran up 456 yards of offense to hang a 40-7 loss on the Wildcats to tarnish the glow of Homecoming in an MVAL Antietam matchup. “They make it hard to find the ball,” said Williamsport coach Randy Longnecker.

One year ago, Tione Womack was lost. Bad grades not only put him on the sidelines for the Hagerstown Community College basketball team, they put him in the bleachers. Right then, something clicked. He spent the 2011-12 school year trying to get everything back. And on Thursday, Womack was found. The HCC point guard will be at the University of Houston next fall after signing a letter of intent to play for the up-and-coming Cougars in an informal ceremony before friends, family and teammates in a classroom at HCC's athletic complex.

Sunday, April 21, 2013 GIRLS LACROSSE North Hagerstown 23, Catoctin 2 THURMONT, Md. - Kayla Peterson had seven goals and two assists, and twin sister Leah Peterson added six goals and four assists as the Hubs rolled past the Cougars (1-6, 1-2) on Saturday in an MVAL Antietam contest. Maddie Palkovitz had five goals and an assist, and Anna Compton added two goals and four assists for North (7-1, 2-0). Adrienne Kramer had a goal and two assists, Natalie Karlen and Deanna Brunner scored one goal each, Savannah Plemmons and Natalie Bye had one assist each, and Emma Moss made eight saves.

Friday, April 5, 2013 BOYS LACROSSE CENTREVILLE, Md. - Mike Ewing and Matt Casto had four goals and three assists each to lead St. Maria Goretti past Gunston 14-2 on Friday. Morgan Kenworthy had two goals and an assist, John Martin had two goals, Wyatt Derr had a goal and an assist, Jordan Patterson had a goal, Willie Spinnler had and assist and Mike Fairley made 11 saves for the Gaels (6-2). PREP BASEBALL Catoctin 6, Williamsport 0 WILLIAMSPORT - Hunter Maloy and Brandon Toloso had Williamsport's only two hits in a loss to Catoctin in the MVAL Antietam.

Wednesday's bitter cold and swirling winds didn't seem to affect Catoctin's baseball team in its MVAL Antietam matchup against Boonsboro. Alex Kennedy pitched a complete game as the Cougars shut out the Warriors, 8-0. Kennedy was a model of efficiency for the Cougars (4-1, 1-1), collecting seven strikeouts without a walk in 62 pitches for his first win of the season. “(Alex) strikes out a lot of guys. He had 10 against Clear Spring in his first outing and today was no different,” said Catoctin coach Mike Franklin.

The Hagerstown Community College baseball team has been living on a diet of cookies and orange juice lately. For the last week, the Hawks have been giving blood - and lots of it. The latest donation came on Thursday, as Frederick Community College came up with one big inning in each game of a doubleheader in a 7-1, 14-10 Maryland JuCo Conference sweep of the Hawks, pushing HCC's losing streak to six games. “For the last six games, one inning comes up and kills us,” said HCC coach Scott Jennings.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013 PREP BASEBALL Clear Spring 8, Catoctin 5 CLEAR SPRING - Dylan Stouffer hit a base-clearing double in the sixth inning to put Clear Spring ahead and key an eight-run sixth inning to lead the Blazers to a season-opening victory. Catoctin scored three runs in the fourth and two in the fifth to take the lead, while starting pitcher Alex Kennedy struck out 10 in his four innings. Logan Appel put Clear Spring on the board in the sixth to start the rally as the Blazers sent 13 hitters to the plate.

You can't ask for anything better to start the baseball season than scoring eight runs in the first inning. The Jefferson baseball team rolled into Hagerstown on a cool and windy but sun-drenched Thursday and headed back home after five innings with a 19-2 romp over St. Maria Goretti in the season opener for both teams. From the very first batter, when Goretti's Adam Blenckstone walked Anthony DiAmario, it was all Cougars. Jefferson had 12 hits and took advantage of three hit batsmen and eight walks, scoring in every inning.

For one time, the Hagerstown Community College men's basketball team put a new twist on an old athletic belief. On Friday, it wasn't how the Hawks finished, it was how they started. HCC jumped out to a 16-2 lead in the first 8:25 of the game and kept Frederick at arm's length the rest of the way to score a 95-84 victory on Friday in the semifinals of the NJCAA Region XX tournament at the HCC athletic complex. It was a combination of imaginative defense and a gritty edge provided by guard Jerel Carter that got HCC (27-4)

The North Hagerstown wrestling team rose to the occasion again. The Hubs toppled Catoctin 48-23 on Senior Night at North on Thursday to win their second straight MVAL Antietam Conference title. With the victory, the Hubs also improved their chances of advancing next week to the Maryland Class 4A-3A West region dual-meet tournament, which North won last year. The Hubs improved to 15-10 (6-0) this season, while Catoctin fell to 19-9 (3-1). “There was a lot on the line,” North coach Greg Slick said.

The Williamsport boys basketball team was 1-for-2 in achieving its goals Tuesday night against Catoctin. That pretty much matched the Wildcats' performance from the free throw line. The Wildcats beat winless Catoctin 61-39 in an MVAL Antietam matchup, allowing them to place a check mark next to their first goal. Williamsport coach Scott Mowbray gave his team an incomplete on the second goal. “Our goals each game are to get the win and be better than we were the game before,” Mowbray said.

Boonsboro's boys basketball team notched its fifth win of the season on Wednesday with a 57-28 MVAL Antietam victory over Catoctin. The Warriors (5-4, 3-1) set the tone from the tip with a 9-2 run, en route to a 13-4 lead by the end of the first quarter. Dylan Coulter and Scott Bennett each drained four points and Chad Cowden added three in the quarter to pace Boonsboro. Cowden and Bennett began to fire at will in the second quarter. Cowden scored six points in Boonsboro's eight-point run that started the period.