There’s plenty of high school sports action coming up this week for fans of Carroll County’s fall high school teams.
The county had a successful weekend, with two field hockey teams (Liberty in Class 1A, Westminster in 3A) winning state championships and a girls cross country squad (Liberty, 2A) capturing a state title.
Two boys soccer teams (Francis Scott Key in 1A, Century in 2A) advanced to state championship games.
And three football teams won regional playoff games to move onto the second round, which takes place this Friday.
Two of those teams have 3A East home games — Westminster (8-2) hosts Marriotts Ridge (8-2) at Ruby Field, while Manchester Valley (6-4) hosts Wilde Lake (3-7).
The Owls took care of Long Reach last Friday 47-28, while the Mavericks edged Hammond 14-6. The Wildecats upset top-seeded River Hill 14-10 to advance, and the Mustangs clipped Atholton 17-14.
Liberty (7-3) travels to Glenelg (7-3) for a 2A West clash. The Lions whipped Oakland Mills 51-13, while the Gladiators pulled away from Century 31-14.
The winners of the regional second-round games advance to the state quarterfinals, and re-seeded based on the Maryland Secondary Schools Athletic Association’s point system during regular-season play.
Francis Scott Key is in the 1A state final for boys soccer, where the Eagles will play later this week at Loyola University. The Eagles (9-5-2) blanked International HS at Langley Park 2-0 on Friday night to move on.
They’ll face Mountain Ridge, which beat Crisfield 3-0 in the other 1A semifinal. The tentative schedule has FSK and the Miners squaring off Friday at 5:30 p.m. FSK last played in a state title game in 1986, when the Eagles won the second of back-to-back Class C state crowns.
Century’s boys (14-4) are back in the 2A state final, where the Knights won their only state crown in 2003. Century outlasted Oakdale, the reigning champs, in penalty kicks Saturday evening after playing to a 1-1 tie.
The Knights will face La Plata in the championship game Friday night at 7:30 at Loyola. The Warriors took out Parkside 2-0 in the other 2A semifinal.
Westminster (17-0) looks to keep its unbeaten volleyball season alive when the Owls take on Northern-Calvert in the 3A state semifinals Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at University of Maryland’s Ritchie Coliseum. The Owls lost in the semifinals last season, and the state final in 2017.
Northern has 11 state championships, most recently in 2017.
Century (15-2) is preparing for a 2A semifinal Wednesday at 5:30 at Ritchie Coliseum. The Knights face perennial state contender Rising Sun, which has three championships (2006, 2007, 2015).
The Knights won a state crown in 2011. The volleyball state championships are set for Saturday.
NOTE: The soccer state finals dates and times could change depending on Loyola hosting a Patriot League championship tilt.