Saints

andrewm@herald-mail.com ST. JAMES - The difference in fortunes on the playing field often is slight. For the second time in eight days, one goal separated the Hedgesville and St. James girls soccer teams as they continue to streak in opposite directions. The Eagles (6-3-2) extended their winning streak to four and St. James' losing skid to five with a 1-0 victory Tuesday. Hedgesville beat the hard-luck Saints (1-8) 2-1 last Monday. "We survived," Eagles coach Sonny Tippett said.

SMITHSBURG - Shoot 54 percent and slap down some pretty good defense, chances are excellent you're going to win a game. Shoot 31 percent, chances are pretty good you are talking about a loss. St. James had the superior shooting touch, hitting 20 of 37 shots from the floor, and it led to a 58-51 win over Smithsburg on Thursday night. Conversely, Smithsburg could connect on only 19 of 61 shots, including 4 of 23 from 3-point range. Saints coach Mike Brooks was overly enthusiastic about the well-rounded game his club had played, considering he was missing two players.

SAINT JAMES -- Mike Russ turned in a big first half and ended with a double-double, but he was the first person to deflect talk toward one of his teammates after St. James defeated Heritage Academy 69-50 on Thursday night in Alumni Hall. The 6-foot-1 senior scored 20 in the first half and finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds, then praised Spencer Draper. "Spencer, he's the best point guard," said Russ. "He is so unselfish. He knows when to pass or to turn something into a score himself.

ST. JAMES - St. James swept Grace Academy on Monday in a Washington County private school girls-boys basketball doubleheader. The Saints girls scored a 51-32 win, followed by the boys 69-45 victory at Alumni Hall. St. James' boys jumped out to an early 11-2 lead over Grace (6-13) as all five starters scored during the first 2:37. Grace Academy coach Jim Fahey was forced called a timeout. The stopage apparently helped as the Knights proceeded to outscore the Saints 20-10 over the next 10 minutes to take a 22-21 with 3:47 remaining before halftime.

andrewm@herald-mail.com ST. JAMES - The first two plays from scrimmage set the tone and Potomac School quarterback Brent Locey continued to hit the pitch Thursday as the Panthers knocked off St. James 33-0 in their rain-soaked Mid Atlantic Conference matchup. After Cooper Jones intercepted St. James quarterback David Hammond on the game's first play, Locey - who was 11 of 20 passing for 174 yards and three touchdowns - turned a double-reverse, throw-back pass into a 50-yard touchdown down the right sideline to the wide-open Jones on the very next play, less than 30 seconds into the opening period.

SAINT JAMES - St. James senior Patrick Solberg proved at the Holloway wrestling tournament what the Saints learned on Thursday - he holds the upper hand on teammate Colin Stoecker. Solberg defeated Stoecker in wrestle-offs Thursday and repeated the performance Saturday in the 125-pound championship, posting a 4-2 decision for his first Holloway title. "It's kind of weird. I don't really like wrestling teammates," Solberg said. "You can't really get up as much as you would for a regular match.

Saints get first victory Jenkins battles ankle injuries, leads team past Randolph-Macon By JACK HILL III / Staff Correspondent photo: JOE CROCETTA / staff photographer ST. JAMES - The medical report has not been good lately for the St. James girls basketball team. continued Three players - Caytie Smith (concussion), Millie McKeachie (right ankle) and Meghan Harmon (flu) - were unable to suit up for Thursday afternoon's game. Jennifer Jenkins played at point guard despite two sprained ankles.

ST. JAMES - One period was a major difference in a loss for St. James. The Flint Hill Huskies outscored the Saints, 25-4, during the second quarter to build a 41-18 halftime lead. That put the Huskies in control as they went on to beat the Saints 67-42 on Wednesday night in a Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference boys' game. "We had a bad second quarter," St. James coach Patrick Gahan said. "But other than that, the other quarters were pretty close. Last time, they ran us out of their gym (74-23 on Dec. 6)

ST. JAMES - Wayne Ridenour must have felt like a kid again the way he was anticipating Christmas. After a disastrous three-loss performance at the Mercersburg Rotary Classic in mid-December, Ridenour wanted his team to take advantage of a three-and-a-half-week holiday break by getting healthy and forgetting the first month of the season. [cont. from sports page ] The impression the No. 10 Saints gave Wednesday against Mercersburg Academy was that December never existed.

Saint James rolls in opener By BOB PARASILITI / Staff Writer photo: RICHARD T. MEAGHER / staff photographer ST. JAMES - Wayne Ridenour didn't wait until Christmas to make his wishes. The St. James basketball team gave its coach everything he could have asked for - at least for one half - by hitting the boards and hitting them hard Monday to hand over a neatly gift wrapped 81-32 victory over Georgetown Day. continued There was no list for the Saints to check twice as Ridenour had one request entering the season opener.