Howard County Times high school sports Team of the Week and game balls for Oct. 30-Nov. 4

Jacob Steinberg, Howard County Times, Columbia, Md.
·3 min read

Nov. 6—Each week, the Howard County Times will pick a Team of the Week and hand out five game balls to the top five performers through all sports across the county.

Team of the Week

Glenelg girls soccer: The Gladiators advanced to a third straight Class 2A state semifinal. Glenelg defeated top-seed Southern-AA, 2-0, in the 2A West Region II final. They then traveled on the road to No. 4 seed Calvert and for a state quarterfinal and won in penalty kicks on Friday.

Honorable mentions

Reservoir field hockey: The Gators won the 3A South Region II title on Wednesday defeating Atholton, 3-1. That marked the program's first regional championship in the school's 21 years.

Howard girls cross country: The Lions girls won the Class 3A South Regional title with 40 points, highlighted by three top-five finishers.

Game Ball No. 1

Adrian Alvarado, Reservoir, football, junior

Alvarado dominated in the Gators' 49-22 opening-round playoff win over Severna Park. He set a program postseason single-game rushing record with 237 yards, also the first in program history with four touchdowns in a playoff game. The junior's last touchdown put him at 18 on the season, another program record.

Game Ball No. 2

Brinkley Eyre, Glenelg, field hockey, junior

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Eyre excelled in the Gladiators' two victories in the 2A West Region I final and 2A state quarterfinals. She began the week with a team-high two goals and an assist in a 6-0 win over Walkersville. The junior then added a hat trick and two assists in a 6-0 Class 2A state quarterfinal win over C. Milton Wright.

Game Ball No. 3

Joey Ensor, Howard, cross country, senior

Ensor continued his dominant senior season winning the 3A South Region title. He finished the race in 15 minutes, 57.04 seconds, building on his success from the Howard County championships the week prior. The senior's success played an important role in the Lions boys also capturing the 3A South Region team title.

Game Ball No. 4

Bella Buscher, Glenelg, girls soccer, senior

Buscher played a key role in the Gladiators once again reaching the state semifinals. She made three big first-half saves in the regional final, including stopping a penalty kick to keep Glenelg even. The veteran extended that success in the state quarterfinals with five saves in regulation. Buscher then saved two critical penalty kicks as the Gladiators won the penalty shootout, 3-1.

Game Ball No. 5

Claire Sivitz, Howard, cross country, freshman

Sivitz shined in her first regional race. She continued a strong freshman season, winning the race in 18:36.87, a personal record time. Her first-place finish was key in Howard's girls also capturing the team title with an event-best 40 points, outpacing second-place Atholton by 28 points.