HEADLINE NEWS - Features

Tuesday - 11/6/2001

By Ethan Lindsey,NFLHS.com

The controversy had been swirling since the middle of the summer, when Bowie High linebacker Reggie Holmes and his father informed school officials that he had been approached by Eleanor Roosevelt head coach Rick Houchens about transferring schools before the beginning of this season. But the matter was not resolved until Friday, when the Prince George�s County Superintendent�s office announced its ruling that while Houchens would be reprimanded and censured, his actions did not warrant a suspension of a forfeiture of any 2001 wins.

The decision was rumored to be in the works for the last several months, but the ruling finally puts some actual closure to a situation that will continue to be discussed by Bowie, Eleanor Roosevelt, and county officials. The decision was not unexpected, because it was the same decision reached by both schools� officials in a meeting, the results of which were submitted to county labor relations officer John Robinson, who was acting on behalf of the Superintendent on the issue.

Perhaps the issue that may be most unsettling to Bowie officials is that Eleanor Roosevelt�s administration has refused to even publicly censure the coach. While the school will accept an official letter of complaint from Bowie High, Roosevelt has announced it will not regard the letter as any form of censure.

TEAM WINS ON MORE THAN JUST PAPER: Buoyed by its victory in the county Superintendent�s office, Eleanor Roosevelt played what may be its best game of the season against a lowly C.H. Flowers squad on its way to a 42-0 blowout win.

Three running backs for Roosevelt (9-0, 7-0 Prince George�s Co.) topped 100 yards � Josh Allen reach 160 yards on 14 carries, Antonio Beale totaled 142 yards on 13 carries, and Andre Dixon reached 112 yards on six carries.

On defense, linebacker Henry Carter racked up an impressive 11 tackles.

GLENELG WINS CO. TITLE: Glenelg High ended its 16-year regular season title drought in heart-stopping, come-from-behind style on Saturday when backup running back Jay Hamilton barreled into the end zone with 7 seconds left in the game to defeat divisional rival Wilde Lake on the road, 28-21.

Glenelg (9-0, 8-0 in Howard Co.) was in the driver�s seat for the league playoffs, but this weekend�s win gave the team the outright championship with another game left to play. The team pulled three games ahead of league rivals Centennial, Oakland Mills, and Long Reach with the win and looks to play the lowest-seeded of those three teams following the results of next week�s games. Currently, that would be Oakland Mills by virtue of its lower nonconference winning percentage � both Centennial and Long Reach won their nonconference game, but Oakland Mills lost.

If Hamilton had not walked into the end zone to close the game, the teams would have gone to overtime because they would have been sitting tied at 21-21 at the end of regulation.

Wilde Lake looked primed after its own dramatic comeback to tie the game at 21 with four minutes remaining. Quarterback Charles Berlin threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Cameron Golden and was behind center less than three minutes later after the Wildecats defense forced the Gladiators to a three-and-out punt and received a punt with 40 seconds left on their own 20-yard line. But Berlin then gave the Gladiators some life, by throwing a last-second turnover that put his opponent�s offense inside the red zone.

Glenelg may be concerned about that status of star running back Kevin Ganascioli, after he left the game in the second quarter with a sprained foot. Hamilton served well in his absence, but Ganascioli�s presence is vital to the Gladiators playoff chances, as the team relies on him for a good chunk of their offense � evidences by his six touchdowns last week.