Anne Arundel County public schools have fended off a court challenge by the former head football coach of Meade High School who claimed, in a reverse-discrimination lawsuit, that he lost the post because he is white.

Although the lawyer for the county says he is pleased that the lawsuit was dismissed in its pretrial stage, the lawyer for former coach Mark Frye expects to ask Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Pamela L. North to reconsider her ruling.

North dismissed the suit last week, saying that Frye did not show evidence in depositions or during a hearing that could lead a judge or jury to conclude that school officials chose a black coach for the Mustangs because of his race.

"It means they run a process by which all candidates are given equal employment opportunities," William D. Evans Jr., senior assistant county attorney, said of the judge's ruling.

Frye led the Mustangs to two championship seasons, in 1997 and 1998. In 1999, school officials hired Kenneth Gray, an African-American graduate of Meade who worked as Frye's assistant in 1998, for the top football coaching job.

In a 10-page opinion, North wrote that Frye did not show that there was a dispute over key facts of the case, and noted that whether other parts of the selection process were at issue was immaterial.

But the coach's lawyer, Thomas McCarthy Jr., said those issues matter: "Our challenge was to show that there were disputed facts. We think we've got some."

For example, North wrote that the recommendation of an advisory group was not crucial because it was up to the principal to select a coach, and the principal had no obligation to follow the panel's suggestion. But McCarthy said that what transpired among members of the panel - Frye alleged that at least one member said it would be good to have a black coach - is an important part of the process.

Also, North said that Joan Valentine, the incoming principal, made the decision, and McCarthy argued that George Kispert, the departing principal, made it during a transition period.

Frye's wife said the family would not comment on the suit. School officials could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Frye, who later coached at the private Severn School, is not coaching now, McCarthy said.

Last year, with Gray as coach, the Mustangs had a 10-2 season. The team was 2-8 and 5-5 in his first two seasons.