(Enlarge) Laurel High senior Jerrium Beale goes up for a shot during a scrimmage. He had 27 points as the Spartans began the season with a win at Forestville on Dec. 4. (Staff photo by Nicole Martyn)

The scoreboard went dark at Bowie High for a few minutes during the third quarter Dec. 8. And about the same time a comeback attempt by the Laurel boys basketball team went silent, as the two-time county champs opened league play with a 79-51 loss to the host Bulldogs.

"We tried too hard. We got lazy," Laurel senior Jerrium Beale said. "I guess we got too excited" after winning the opener Dec. 4 at Forestville.

"Hopefully after this game we will have a reality check," said Laurel senior William Odoh, a transfer from Spalding who had 15 points.

Laurel trailed by 15 points early in the second quarter before a basket by Beale pulled Laurel to within 38-36 midway through the quarter. "We executed offensively and more importantly we got stops defensively," Laurel coach Antoine Gaither said. "We made them make shots. It was working well for us."

But Bowie scored eight straight points to take a 46-36 lead and soon after that the scoreboard went dark. Bowie guard Jared Carithers, after the delay, hit a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the quarter to make it 58-42 and Bowie breezed from there.

"It was a little bit of a surprise," Bowie senior Jeffrey James, who is headed to Mount St. Mary's, said of the easy win. Omar Hendricks added 15 points for Laurel. Bowie was led by Carithers, who had 25 points. "He kept knocking them down," Beale (7 points) said of Carithers.

"We lost him twice in transition. He is a good player," Gaither said. Meanwhile, Bowie forced Odoh into several misses inside. "We tried to keep him out of the paint," James said. The Spartans play Dec. 11 at Roosevelt in Greenbelt. "The key will be rebounding and better defense," Odoh said.

Pallotti wrestling

Despite losing eight seniors, members of the Pallotti High wrestling team feel they can repeat as regular-season champions in the B league of the MIAA. "We are getting new guys that are coming out," said Matt Halkos (103 pounds), in his third varsity season. "We have some returning seniors and first-year seniors. Once we get everyone into shape our team is going to be very solid. We can still achieve a successful season like last year, or even better."

Other returning seniors include Chris Haag (130) and Wilfred Brownell (189/215). John Chenault, a junior, has been one of the top wrestlers for Pallotti the past two seasons. "We have a good lineup this year," said Haag, a Laurel resident. "We did lose eight seniors but a lot of people came out."

What will it take to repeat? "Just a bunch of hard work and do whatever it takes to come out on top," Haag said. "But we do that every day." Seniors who came out for wrestling for the first time include Joe DeSimone and Mark Piccirelli.

Pallotti began its season Dec. 4-5 with a tournament at Oakland Mills High in Columbia. Halkos, Chenault and junior Derek Pittman were 8-0 at the event and sophomore Chris Halkos was 7-1. Joe Florenzo wrestled well, according to coach Tom Owens.

The Panthers will compete Dec. 11-12 at the Ed Peery tournament at Annapolis Area Christian then host Great Mills and Curley on Dec. 17.

Laurel wrestling

While Pallotti lost eight seniors, Laurel High has just nine wrestlers, head coach Irwin Poelinitz said Dec. 3.

Last year the team disbanded in the second half of the season when just one wrestler was left on the roster. Poelinitz is in his second season as the Laurel coach after holding the same position at Parkdale High in Riverdale.

Poelinitz teaches special education at Parkdale. "I have been through this before. Not having a coach inside the building is pretty hard," he said. Among the Laurel wrestlers is Victoria Jones, a sophomore.

Cody Oyewole, who was third in the state last year for Laurel as a sophomore, is no longer at the school, according to athletic director Terry Parfitt.

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