Hereford ventured into Prince George's County for a victory, as did  Perry Hall over an atypical opponent in St. Paul's of the MIAA's B Conference.

Coach Steve Turnbaugh called Frederick Douglass' Eagles "a powerhouse team," adding he chose to play a team from football-rich Prince George's County "because if we would win, that would be a great shot in the arm."

The Bulls (1-0) did that emphatically, as their balanced rushing attack totaled nearly 350 yards in a 38-18  rout of last year's Class 2A South Region semifinalist in the season-opener for both teamsby .

Lonnie Liggins had an interception and rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown; Eric Hemmeter
covered 105 yards and scored a TD; Jason Fischer ran for another score and Brian Botti (6-4, 230)
returned a fumble 20-yards for a fourth TD.

Linebacker Josh Asper led the defense with nine tackles, and there was one sack each by Sam Newton and Ron Rose. Hereford's Adam Yates kicked three field goals, his longest being from 39 yards.

Hereford, which has been reclassified into Class 3A up from 2A, won its eighth Baltimore County 2A-1A crown last fall. The Bulls have won the Class 1A crown in 1997, and consecutive 2A titles in 2001 and 2002.
 
Perry Hall 21, St. Paul's 14
 
Second-team All-Metro tightend-linebacker Dave Stinebaugh caught scoring passes of 12, 12 and 60 yards from first-year starter Mike Lang -- all of them coming in the first half.

Brett Ulman was good on all three extra point kicks for the visiting Gators (1-0), who are
three-time Baltimore County 4A-3A League champs.

Lang, who connected twice with Stinebaugh for a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, was intercepted in the second half, however, by Austin Crabill of the MIAA B Conference's Crusaders (0-2).

"When you go up against a private school, they're supposed to be the big, bad teams, and we wanted to make a statement for our program and the public schools out there," said Stinebaugh, who was playing on astro turf for the first time.

"It was a different experience. It took like 30 minutes in warmups to get used to it," said Stinebaugh. "I felt a lot faster, making cuts, being able to change direction and decide where I want to go. It's a lot faster than grass."

Crabill returned his interception 68 yards for a touchdown. And the Crusaders were within, 21-14,
after Troy Jones found Sherrod Davis on a 14 yard scoring pass, and Tyler Feeley
converted his second extra point kick.

But in the end, it was Lang's day, as he successfully stepped up to replace graduated All-Metro Jason Mattison.

Being recruited by the University of Maryland, among others, Stinebaugh will "be at the West Virginia-Maryland football game this Thursday," he said.