With victories over Marriotts Ridge and Centennial May 6, Glenelg became the first county school other than Mt. Hebron to capture both the boys and girls county championship lacrosse titles in the same season.

The Gladiators' boys team earned a 14-6 victory over Marriotts Ridge to kick off the evening, while the Glenelg girls completed the championship sweep by defeating Centennial, 16-5. Both Glenelg teams finished the county regular season a perfect 10-0.

Glenelg boys roll, 14-6

The three straight possessions, the crisp passing, the execution -- for Glenelg, it was a perfect opening 87 seconds.

And for a Marriotts Ridge team making its first-ever county championship appearance, it meant trouble.

Glenelg scored three times in the first minute-and-a-half May 6, including twice on goals by Ryan Dougherty, and never slowed down, ultimately rolling its way to an eight-goal win and the program's second county title in three years.

"We were just pumped, fired up right off the bat," said Dougherty, who finished with three goals and an assist. "We've started a couple games this season slow, so we talked about getting a few quick goals and setting the tone. Once we get going, we're tough to beat."

Glenelg has eventually gotten things going all season, improving to 13-0 with Tuesday's victory. The county championship win over the Mustangs just happened to come a little easier than some of the others.

"We were taking care of the ball, not forcing things, and the shots were there," Glenelg coach Josh Hatmaker said.

Dougherty kicked things off for Glenelg 59 seconds into the game off a pass from Chris Gotschall, who also assisted on Tyler Burford's goal 11 seconds later that made it 2-0. Dougherty then increased the lead to three on an unassisted tally shortly thereafter.

Jon Lim got Marriotts Ridge on the board at the 6:19 mark of the first quarter. The Mustangs trailed, 8-3, at halftime.

Glenelg girls earn title, 16-5

For 20 years, second was as good as it got for the Glenelg girls team. And being second in the county often depended on whether Glenelg beat Centennial or vice versa during the season.

This year Glenelg beat Centennial twice, most recently, 16-5, to win the county title. (Mt. Hebron, which has owned the last 17 county titles, didn't make the county title game.)

"I feel like we won states or something," said Kristy Black. The Glenelg senior led her team's offense with five goals and three assists.

Brie Kitchelt (three), Alayna Markwordt (three) and Katie Chase (two) combined with Black, and others, to score 11 unanswered goals to counter a spectacular game by Centennial keeper Mary Teeters (17 saves) and put the game out of reach.

Glenelg's defense, anchored by Kate Selfridge, Brooke Costantino and keeper Katie Beaver (seven saves), was up to the task of stopping Centennial's normally powerful offense. Kendall Church drew the assignment of containing Sarah Parks, Centennial's leading scorer, and held her scoreless.

E-mail us at howardcountysports@patuxent.com.

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