Patriots

After giving up three quick touchdowns to Thomas Johnson in the first quarter Friday night, the South Hagerstown defense buckled down a bit. The Rebels shut down TJ in the second quarter, forcing a punt, a fumble and an interception and giving the team a boost going into halftime. One run in the third quarter turned the tide back the way of the Patriots for good. Brandan Berney's third touchdown of the game was easily his most impressive, an 80-yard run in which he broke through or fought off five would-be tacklers, and the Patriots went on to defeat South 35-7 at School Stadium.

The Washington boys basketball entourage used a quick-in, quick-out philosophy on Thursday night. The Patriots arrived at St. Maria Goretti shortly before the scheduled tipoff and made quick work of Greencastle in a 79-45 decision to win the Mason Dixon Summer League title. Keldon Bell, a transfer from Jefferson, led the Patriots with 23 points, displaying an array of shots from around the floor, along with a nifty rebound putback on a slam dunk. Christian Coles added 16 points and Kendall Smith had 15 for Washington, which finished 15-9 last season.

FREDERICK, Md. -- Despite losing 33 players to graduation, the Thomas Johnson football team showed no signs of being in a rebuilding year Friday night. No, it seems the Patriots have simply reloaded. Thomas Johnson exercised its pedigree against North Hagerstown in the season opener, reaching the end zone eight times in a 56-7 drubbing of the Hubs to kick off the season. The Patriots were sharp in all phases, scoring touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams. "That's a (Maryland Class)

The Williamsport volleyball team is 10-0 for the first time since 2004, although they just about gave coach Emily Crabtree a heart attack getting there Thursday night. The Wildcats raced to big leads in the first two games on the way to a 2-0 lead over Thomas Johnson, then had to withstand the Patriots' comeback attempt, only pulling out a 25-21, 26-24, 20-25, 24-26, 15-11 victory when junior Stacey Christy took charge at the end of Game 5. Christy - who finished with 24 kills and eight blocks - had five kills and a block in the Game 5 race to 15. She had two kills and a block in a three-point sequence that got Williamsport to match point at 14-9, then put away the final kill three points later.

Area's No. 1 to face nation's No. 1 tonight By MARK KELLER / Staff Writer photo: RIC DUGAN / staff photographer ST. JAMES - From the St. James point-of-view, Thomas Johnson's gameplan was like a pitcher who tips his pitches. The batter knows what's coming at him. But even with that knowledge, the batter still has to hit the ball. The Saints knew every curveball the Patriots threw at them on Thursday, but TJ got enough of them by in a 68-60 win in the first round of the St. James Invitational Tournament.

koelble@herald-mail.com MERCERSBURG, Pa. - The schedule maker won't be getting many thank-you cards from the Thomas Johnson boys basketball team. Playing their seventh game in two weeks and second in about 18 hours, the Patriots were stung with a third consecutive loss Saturday afternoon, falling to Mercersburg Academy, 65-50. "I think we were hit by fatigue, but I give (Mercersburg) credit," said TJ coach Tim Abercrombie. "How much Friday night was a problem, I don't know.

FREDERICK, Md. - When Tim Abercrombie the player got things going in the third quarter Tuesday night, Tim Abercrombie the coach simply smiled. Thomas Johnson's senior guard poured in 11 of his game-high 21 points in the third quarter, propelling the No. 1 Patriots to a 66-51 win over Frederick County rival No. 8 Middletown. "I just told the guys (at halftime) that the opportunities were there, we just have to be more aggressive," said coach Abercrombie. "Tim was just a little bit more aggressive shooting the ball.

ST. JAMES - The Tri-State area's No. 1 team is no longer undefeated, but it took the nation's No. 1 team to do the deed. Playing with a significant height disadvantage, Thomas Johnson nonetheless hung with Oak Hill Academy (Va.) for much of the game before falling to the top-ranked Warriors 86-69 Friday in the semifinals of the 26th Annual St. James Invitational Tournament. Oak Hill (28-0) will play Notre Dame Academy (Va.) in tonight's 7:30 p.m. championship game. Notre Dame defeated Montrose Christian 66-56 in the other semifinal.

andrewm@herald-mail.com WOODSBORO, Md. - Thomas Johnson harriers Chris Lemon and Chelsea Powell both conquered the mountain with similar approaches Tuesday at the second annual Mountain Run Invitational at Woodsboro Park. "We're not used to going straight up," said Lemon of the vicious 800-yard climb that the runners had to tackle during mile one of the three-mile race. "We just wanted to take it up relaxed and go after people after that. " That's exactly what Lemon and teammate Marshall Lawrence did in the boys race.

Patriots remain right on schedule By DAN SPEARS dans@herald-mail.com FREDERICK, Md. - There is no RPI formula to decide seeds in the Maryland state basketball tournament. Winning streaks or level of competition aren't considered when the regionals are set up at the end of February. Thomas Johnson coach Tom Dickman doesn't care. Neither do his Patriots. For all they know, schedule strength is the most important ingredient in earning a trip to the state semifinals at Cole Field House.

Two Chambersburg-based credit unions merged their resources Friday following a rank and file vote. The members of Community of Healthcare Employees Credit Union (CHECU) voted to approve the proposed merger of CHECU with Patriot Federal Credit Union during a special member meeting Friday in Chambersburg. The merger will not be finalized until June when regulatory approval has been secured, according to Thomas Iacona, senior vice president of corporate communications for PFCU. “We are very pleased to announce the approval of the merger by our members.

Smithsburg's boys lacrosse team will be happy to see someone other than Thomas Johnson's Nick Sponyoe between the pipes the rest of this season. The Leopards outshot the Patriots 52-20 and, thanks to Travis Leopold, won 16 of 20 faceoffs. But Sponyoe made 23 saves and Thomas Johnson left Coach Carroll Reid Field with a stunning 8-7 victory. “He had a good night, and our shooting was to his liking,” Smithsburg coach Joe Dietrich said. “We were going low, and he was very good getting down quick.

South Hagerstown's performance on the basketball floor Tuesday night started out very well, but everything the Rebels worked for nearly turned ugly in the fourth quarter. The Rebels nearly squandered all of a 17-point lead, but managed to fend off charging Thomas Johnson 57-50 in the first round of the Maryland Class 3A West region playoffs. South, the No. 4 seed, will return home Thursday for a 6:30 p.m. quarterfinal matchup against No. 5-seed Northwood. “We played a good first half of basketball,” South coach Kevin Naylor said after the Rebels beat Thomas Johnson for the second time this year.

Name of business: The Patriot Grille Owners: David and Garland Hess Address: 50 Lola Way, Martinsburg, W.Va. Opening date: Oct. 14, 2012 Products and services: Full-service kitchen, daily lunch specials, bar, two pool tables, shuffle bowl machine, Golden Tee golf game, four big-screen televisions, live music, karaoke on Thursday nights, DJ on weekends, and video lottery expected in the near future Target market:...

Students at Hickory Elementary School performed a musical tribute to veterans Nov. 7, under the direction of Christa Stout, music teacher.  Guests were welcomed by Monica Bowers, principal at Hickory.   A photo presentation opened the evening as guests were seated.  The presentation included pictures of veterans who are family members of the Hickory Elementary School staff.   Students invited family members, friends and neighbors who...

Les Smith told Spring Mills Middle School students Friday that he enlisted in the West Virginia Air National Guard years after he wasn't drafted to fight in the Vietnam War. “I wanted the opportunity in some small way to perhaps pay back what had been given to me by others,”  Smith said at the school's annual Veterans Day assembly. Smith, who is a counselor at Martinsburg High School, along with Sharon Webb, a military flight nurse who works at the Martinsburg Veterans Affairs Medical Center, were the guest speakers for the hour-long program, which featured performances of patriotic music by the school's seventh- and eighth-grade chorus and individual recognition of area veterans who attended.

Patriot Federal Credit Union's Richard E. Baumunk Memorial Scholarship has been awarded to Kelsey White of Needmore, Pa.  White attended Southern Fulton High School and was selected from 21 applicants. She will attend Messiah College in the fall to study athletic training and hopes to pursue a career as a certified athletic training/licensed physical therapist.  The scholarship competition is held every year for graduating seniors in the areas served by the credit union.

The Washington boys basketball entourage used a quick-in, quick-out philosophy on Thursday night. The Patriots arrived at St. Maria Goretti shortly before the scheduled tipoff and made quick work of Greencastle in a 79-45 decision to win the Mason Dixon Summer League title. Keldon Bell, a transfer from Jefferson, led the Patriots with 23 points, displaying an array of shots from around the floor, along with a nifty rebound putback on a slam dunk. Christian Coles added 16 points and Kendall Smith had 15 for Washington, which finished 15-9 last season.

Friday, May 25, 2012 PREP BASEBALL CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - Washington pushed across the winning run in the bottom of the seventh to stun Musselman 3-2 in the West Virginia Class AAA Region II semifinals on Friday. The Patriots will travel to Bridgeport today for the region final. Colin Gustines had two hits for Washington. Ryan Pansch went the distance, striking out 11. Jacob Whitmore had two hits for Musselman (25-10). Chance Allen drove in both runs.

The scoring parade continued on Thursday afternoon on the North Hagerstown diamond. Andrew Yacyk slammed a pair of three-run home runs in the third inning and the Hubs decimated Thomas Johnson 21-6 in the Maryland Class 3A West Region semifinals. The Hubs will host Rockville in the West final today at 4 p.m. with the winner advancing to the state semifinals. Yacyk said he'd enjoy the victory until “about the time I get home and then start to focus on (Friday). It's a new day.” North (19-1-1)