Can New Laurel Football Coach Turn Things Around?

Chuck Hickes, the longtime head football coach at Laurel High, stepped down after the 2000 season.

More than 10 years later, the Spartans will have their fifth head coach since Hickes left when practice begins August 13.

And Laurel is still looking for its first winning season since 1997.

Trying to turn that around is Todd Sommerville, who was named the Spartans' head coach in February after he spent four seasons as an assistant coach at Parkdale High in Riverdale.

Sommerville takes over for Brian Moore, who had a record of 6-24 in the previous three seasons. Laurel won its only state title under Hickes in 1987 and has not been to the playoffs since 1992.

"I think we have a good core of seniors ready to take on the challenge of leading this team," Sommerville told Patch. "We will see what happens with them."

Some of those returning players will get some summer experience when Laurel takes part in a seven-on-seven tournament this Saturday, July 23, at Woodlawn High in Baltimore County. "They are buying into the program and what we are doing," Sommerville said.

A graduate of Franklin High in Baltimore County, Sommerville said about 30 to 40 players have taken part in summer workouts at the school. He hopes to have 20 to 25 players in the junior varsity program and 25 to 30 in varsity this season.

Sommerville said he will handle the defensive coordinator duties, a role he also filled at Parkdale. His offensive coordinator will be Scott Gasper, a former coach in Tennessee. The head JV coach will be Don Cleveland, a Prince George's County teacher and one-time softball coach at Laurel.

Meanwhile, St. Vincent Pallotti High, in Laurel, has already experienced football success during summer leagues.

This past Saturday, July 16, the Panthers won five of six games in a seven-on-seven event at Towson University under new head coach Ben Thompson, a 1993 Pallotti High graduate.

The Panthers placed in the top 16 of 40 teams, Thompson said. The only loss was 16-14 to Paint Branch (Burtonsville), which won the event. "It was good for our confidence," said Thompson, who was the defensive coordinator at Mt. St. Joseph's in 2010 and has coached with public schools in Anne Arundel County.

Splitting time at quarterback for Pallotti on Saturday was returning starter Raffi Correa and transfer Trey Busick, a rising sophomore from Mt. St. Joe's.

Another transfer who should help Pallotti this coming season is Chaz Pittman, a wide receiver/defensive back from Oakland Mills in Columbia, who will be a junior.

Thompson and Pallotti was slated to hold a camp for youth July 18-20 in Columbia, but the coach noted it was canceled due a lack of students who signed up.

The Panthers will attend their last team camp of the summer this weekend at Salisbury University. Thompson plans to take about 35 players to the three-day event. He was allowed to have a roster of 20 for the seven-on-seven event at Towson last Saturday.

Thompson said practice begins Aug. 10. The first scrimmage for Pallotti is August 20 at Wheaton High against Wheaton and Howard High.