Teams Prepare For Fall Sports Season

Ready to show your hometown pride? Cue the fall sports season, with football, soccer, field hockey, volleyball and cross country athletes performing with support from the community.

Public high school student-athletes are returning to the field this week, and some private school teams have already started competition.

Here is a brief outlook for the 2024 season:

Football

A storybook season for Broadneck ended just short of a championship last year as the Bruins lost to the Wise Pumas in the 4A state championship game, 21-0. The Bruins have much of their nucleus intact and plan to make another playoff run.

For Severna Park, the 2023 campaign was a setback; they went 2-8. The team had a large turnout for camp this summer, and coach Nick Marks is optimistic that the Falcons can turn their luck around.

Coming off their second consecutive MIAA A Conference championship, Archbishop Spalding is showing no signs of slowing down as the team has continued to retain and recruit premier talent. Severn School is making a leap to the MIAA B Conference after going 6-4 last year.

Girls Soccer

No doubt, Severna Park’s squad had plenty of preseason hype after going undefeated and defeating Mount Hebron to claim the team’s seventh state championship in 2023. The Falcons graduated a strong senior class and will have a lot of production to replace. Coming off a region finals loss, Broadneck also lost several stellar seniors and will feature a team with 10 sophomores and five freshmen.

Severn School is set to return 15 players, giving the team plenty of experience and a chance to contend for a title. Despite a losing record, Archbishop Spalding made a surprise run to the conference championship last fall and could repeat that success again.

Boys Soccer

In 2023, Severna Park went undefeated in county play and enjoyed a 3-2 victory over South River in the county championship. The Falcons have expectations to go deep into the playoffs, as do the Bruins after making it to the region finals last year.

Severn School plans to keep their strong defensive identity as they follow up on a 12-2-2 campaign and MIAA conference championship appearance. Archbishop Spalding aspires to take the next step this year after posting their first winning season since 2012.

Field Hockey

It’s hard to three-peat, a lesson Severna Park learned over the last two years after winning back-to-back state titles. The Falcons lost in the state semifinals last season, but with a large senior class, the girls have the pieces to potentially hoist the trophy once again this year.

For Broadneck, this season is also about recapturing glory. The state champions in 2022, Broadneck won the county championship over Crofton last season, but the Cardinals got revenge with a 2-0 state semifinal win.

In private school competition, Severn School hopes to rebound from a 5-10-1 record. Archbishop Spalding has loftier goals. Stung by a 3-1 loss to Garrison Forest in the IAAM championship last year, Archbishop Spalding features three first-team All-County players, giving their team a great chance to win a title.

Volleyball

Broadneck was a fierce out in the region finals last year after closing the 2023 regular season with an 11-1 record. They return 11 players from last year’s team. Severna Park is in the second year of a youth movement within the program. Of their 16 varsity players, only two are seniors.

Cross Country

Strong cross country teams are a hallmark of Severna Park athletics, and the Falcons will again be a team to beat. The Severna Park girls team captured their second straight state championship last November while the boys finished second.

Read more in the September edition of the Severna Park Voice, which will be delivered to homes this week.