Laurel High Football Begins with New Coach

It is that time of year again—time for the start of the academic year, and for fall athletes that means an early start on practice sessions before classes begin.

The Laurel High football program held practice sessions on Saturday and Monday under Todd Sommerville, the first-year head coach and a former assistant at Parkdale High in Riverdale.

"The first few days have been really good," Sommerville told Patch on Tuesday morning, prior to workouts that afternoon. "With any new program you are going to have some challenges and things that need to change. Overall the morale is good with the kids."

Sommerville takes over for Brian Moore, who was 6-24 in three seasons and did not have his contract renewed after last year.

Laurel has not had a winning record since 1997, and Sommerville is the fifth Laurel head coach since veteran Chuck Hickes stepped down after the 2000 season. Hickes led the Spartans to their last playoff season in 1992.

Laurel has its first scrimmage on Saturday at 10 a.m. at Meade High in Anne Arundel County. The Spartans also have a scrimmage Aug. 27 at St. Mary's of Annapolis.

Laurel begins the season Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. at High Point High in Beltsville in a Prince George's Class 4A league game. Sommerville said he has about 30 players in the varsity program and about 20 with the junior varsity team, which will be coached by Don Cleveland.

Sommerville also reported that the new athletic director at Laurel High is Torrence Oxendine, who was a first-year boys varsity basketball coach for the Spartans in 2010-11. He takes over for longtime Laurel athletic director Terry Parfitt, who retired at the end of the last academic year.

College Athletes Hail from Laurel

While high school teams are just starting to practice, and most regular-season games are not held until September, college athletes have already practiced for several days and the season begins by the end of this week for some teams.

That is true at the University of Maryland, where the women's soccer team opens the season at home Friday at 7 p.m. against the University of Minnesota.

The Terps have ties to Laurel as Annesia Faulkner, who grew up in Laurel and was a standout at St. Vincent Pallotti High, is a senior forward for the Terps.

She missed last season with an injury but in 2009 tied a school record with three assists in one game in a victory against Mount St. Mary's. She had 20 goals and 18 assists in 2006 as a senior at Pallotti and also scored more than 1,000 points in basketball at the Laurel private school.

Another Division I soccer player from Laurel is Tiffany McCarty, a redshirt junior striker at Florida State.

A graduate of St. John's College High, she was the ACC freshman of the year in 2008, the top offensive player in the ACC as a sophomore in 2009 and was a redshirt last year due to health concerns. She has played on U.S. national teams during her career.

Florida State opens the season Friday at Oregon State.

Another local product at the college level is North Laurel resident Eric Schuster, a redshirt freshman defensive back for Division I-AA Towson in college football.

The Reservoir High graduate is expected to provide depth at safety for the Tigers, who open the season Sept. 3 at home against Morgan State.

Schuster had two tackles in the 2011 Tiger Bowl in the spring game and he also forced a fumble and recovered a fumble. He was a redshirt freshman in 2010 at Towson after playing football, basketball and baseball in high school.

He played tight end and linebacker for the Gators in high school and helped the team to a record of 5-5 as a senior.

Another Reservoir High grad on the Towson pre-season roster is Mike Evans, a junior tight end from Fulton.

A Laurel High graduate who should have a big impact this season in college football is Brandon Harvey, a senior linebacker at Division I-AA Delaware State.

Last year he was second on the team and 10th in the MEAC in tackles per game at 7.5 per outing. The Hornets begin the season Sept. 3 at VMI in Lexington, VA.

The VMI roster includes redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Patrick Goulden, who grew up in West Laurel and played at DeMatha Catholic High. He played in six games last year, added 15 pounds in the off-season and is expected to have an expanded role this season for the Keydets.

Atholton High, which draws some students from North Laurel, is represented at the college level by Kevin Gordon. A junior offensive lineman, Columbia resident Gordon is on the pre-season roster at Division III Frostburg State University in football.

College Sports Resume

FSU begins the season Sept. 3 at Geneva in Beaver Falls, PA, the hometown of Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath.

Bowie State opens the season Sept. 3 at Assumption in Worcester, MA. An offensive lineman for the Bulldogs is Laurel High graduate OgheneMaro Erhie, a key player last year. "I think we will be a balanced team," Erhie said of the upcoming season.

The pre-season roster for Bowie State also includes freshman quarterback Zane Carroll, a 2011 graduate of Laurel High. He also played basketball for the Spartans.

Laurel resident Richard Torres Jr., who played at Pallotti High, is on the roster at Bowie State as a freshman defensive lineman.

Freshman defensive back Curtis Pumphrey, a resident of Laurel, is also on the BSU roster. He played in high school at Atholton. "I just want to get bigger and better," Pumphrey said.