Big games, matches on tap with winter sports county titles in view
The Carroll County Athletic League regular season is set to end Feb. 18 for wrestling and Feb. 23 for basketball.
We've got a few weeks remaining for Carroll County winter sports teams to make their moves toward capturing a county championship, so let's take a look at the standings as of Jan. 23, 2023.
Boys Basketball
It's Liberty's county title to lose right now with the Lions basically three games clear of the field and five Carroll opponents remaining. Liberty handled Manchester Valley 85-44 on Jan. 20 and moved to 7-0 in the CCAL, with the Mavericks dropping to 4-2. They rebounded with a win over South Carroll on Jan. 22 to stay in second place, but both of MV's losses have come against Liberty.
The Lions last won an outright county title in 2018. Liberty shared the county crown with Century in 2019, and the Knights have won the last three championships.
Girls Basketball
Francis Scott Key is rolling and the Eagles are trying to win just their second county title since 1987 (FSK won the title in 2019). Key rallied to beat Manchester Valley 40-30 in their first matchup Jan. 9, and the rematch is set for Feb. 3 in Uniontown.
The Mavericks are holding onto second place in the CCAL standings and they have a big game Jan. 27 at Westminster. The Owls have turned things around since losing their top two players to injury and illness with four consecutive wins, including county victories against Winters Mill, Liberty, and South Carroll.
Westminster also handed Linganore its first loss of the season when the Owls won 47-46 on Jan. 17.
Wrestling
As the writing of this blog, South Carroll and Man Valley are tied for first place in the county standings. The Cavaliers hosted the Mavericks on Jan. 24 in a big county showdown.
The Cavs have won the last three CCAL regular-season titles, and they added a county tournament crown in 2022.
Five of the county's seven wrestling teams are above .500 in dual meets.