The state's new region alignments for the next two years should benefit the Class 3A Annapolis football and boys basketball teams the most, not to mention the county's eight Class 4A boys basketball teams.
Anytime you can get away from Prince George's County football and boys basketball teams, especially the latter, is a plus, and Annapolis has managed to do so.
Annapolis and the county's two other 3A schools, Northeast and Severna Park, will be moving from the 3A East region, which is loaded with Prince George's County powers, to 3A South. That new 11-team region is comprised of teams from Calvert, Charles and St. Mary's counties.
The new East region is made up of five schools each from Howard and Prince George's counties.
Annapolis won the 3A East region in boys basketball to advance to the final four at College Park in 2000 but lost in 2001 and 2002 to Crossland and Gwynn Park, both Prince George's teams. The Panthers have to get past those Prince George's schools once again, this season, before the change is made.
The county's 4A contingent also got a break in boys basketball with the moving of perennial Frederick power Thomas Johnson from 4A East to 4A North.
"TJ," a seven-time state champion, moves in with Baltimore City powers Lake Clifton, Walbrook and Southwestern and Baltimore County's Dulaney and Woodlawn.
Thomas Johnson rolled over Anne Arundel County teams South River (109-59), North County (68-35) and Meade (108-77) in the 4A East region last season to advance to the final four. That's an average winning margin of 38 points - and the Patriots are the strong favorite to repeat as the 4A East champion.
In addition to Thomas Johnson moving out of the 4A East, so are Frederick, C. Milton Wright and Westminster.
Moving in are Great Mills, from St. Mary's County; Patuxent, from Calvert County; and Thomas Stone, from Charles County.
Jump shots
Southern-Harwood's Adrian Gross, a 6-foot-6 senior center, has signed to play next winter with Division I Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C. Gross was All-County last season after averaging 17.3 points a game and leading the county in rebounding with 13.3 a game. Coastal Carolina plays in the Big South Conference.
In a independent, preseason high school basketball poll of media members, The Sun's top-ranked Archbishop Spalding is ranked No. 2 behind Montrose Christian in Rockville. No. 7 Annapolis is ranked No. 15 in the state Top 20, and No. 10 Southern-Harwood was among others with votes.
Sophomore guard Kerwin Porter, who transferred from Chesapeake-AA to Cardinal Gibbons at the start of the school year, returned to the Lake Shore public school at the start of the basketball season. Cougars coach Doug Sisson was delighted to get Porter, who started as a freshman, back.
Sideliners
Archbishop Spalding's Mo Brady and Sam Clement have been nominated for the Wendy's High School Heisman Awards that go to exemplary student athletes. Brady plays field hockey and girls lacrosse while maintaining a 4.7 grade-point average. Clement, who has a 3.9 GPA, runs cross country and plays boys lacrosse. ... Two more Severn boys lacrosse players have committed to college. Both attackman Chris Mercer and midfielder Chad Houser signed with Villanova. That brings the total to 10 Jamie McNealey-coached Admirals who will play college lacrosse, the most of any school in the area. ... The number of students who participated in Maryland public school athletics last year (2001-02) was up by 500 at 95,570. Football had the most participants (13,218 among 55,346 boys). Soccer, at 4,990, drew the most from the total 40,224 girls who participated. ... The Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association is examining out-of-season and camp regulations. Ned Sparks, the MPSSAA executive director, wrote in the fall Scout newsletter that because of changing times, a big question to be answered is, "Wouldn't students be better off with their school coach during the summer?" The question relates to Sparks' writing that "the non-educator has unfettered access."
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