Archbishop Wood

Playing on the road is tough enough for any sports team. But add to that daunting task the pressure of having your last five contests in unfamiliar surroundings while your team is in a playoff hunt, and the job becomes almost impossible. That may be especially so in high school golf, as Archbishop Wood rudely discovered last week. The Vikings stood at 4-5 before they packed their bags. But four straight losses away from their base of Warminster Five Ponds Golf Club knocked the Vikings out of the playoff hunt with one more road match remaining.

This year, flirting with state gold won't be enough. Not for a talent-rich, high school football team that includes six Division I-A senior recruits. Not for a squad that returns eight starters on both sides of the ball. Not for a team that will open the season in front of a nationally televised audience. "People expect a lot from us," Archbishop Wood two-way back Desmon Peoples said. "And they should. We can be something great this year. But we have to go out and do it. We can't just talk about it. " Like the region's other Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA)

Heading into tomorrow night's Philadelphia Catholic League Northern Division opener against Bishop Conwell, Archbishop Wood coach Brian Duross is sure of one thing. "It's going to be tougher than it's been so far," he said. "The Catholic League is a whole different world. We're anxious to find out if we're as good as we seem to be. " Wood (10-0) beat Little Flower, 59-21, in a nonleague game Friday afternoon. Sophomore point guard Coleen Randa had 14 points. Senior shooting guard Chris Lesoravage had 13. Defense has been the key to Wood's success so far. The Vikings are allowing an average of 34 points a game.

Can any team beat Bishop McDevitt? So far this season, the answer to that question has been a resounding "No. " The Lancers, whose only defeats in the last 17 games came when they were forced to forfeit three wins last year for inadvertently using an ineligible player, have beaten Bishop Egan, Father Judge, Bishop Kenrick, North Catholic and La Salle this season. In the process, the defending Catholic League champions have outscored their opponents, 139-22. On Sunday, McDevitt, which was idle last week, puts its unbeaten record on the line when it faces explosive Archbishop Wood at William Tennent High at 2 p.m. In Wood, McDevitt faces a team that has won twice in six games this season, but one that has a lot of scoring potential and the ability to upset any team any week.

Behind a shutdown defensive performance, Archbishop Wood punched its ticket on Wednesday night to a third consecutive PIAA Class AAA girls' basketball championship final with a 42-37 win over Chartiers Valley in Chambersburg. The Vikings (20-10) have won each of the last two state titles. Allentown Central Catholic is the only AAA school to win three straight titles in the tournament's 40-year history. Central Catholic won four straight from 2001-2004. Chartiers Valley (24-4)

In a rematch of last year's Blue Division championship game, Archbishop Wood and West Catholic face off at Villanova University in the first game of the Catholic League doubleheader today at 4 p.m. Wood won last year's game, 17-14, completing its first perfect season in school history, while West lost its second straight final. This time around, the Burrs are hoping the third time is the charm, and they can claim their first league crown since 1965. Wood, on the other hand, is hoping to join the rarefied company of back-to-back champions.

HERSHEY, Pa. - The Archbishop Wood girls' soccer team had plenty of experience with trailing by a goal. So when they found themselves in that predicament in the PIAA Class AA state final, the Vikings didn't panic. It was just like the first-round game against Villa Joseph Marie, they thought, a game the Vikings rallied to win in overtime. On Saturday afternoon, however, at Hersheypark Stadium, Wood couldn't find the equalizer and lost to Moon, 1-0. "I thought we would get it. We are usually down in the first half of games, and most times we end up coming back," junior back Katherine Hennessey said.

Ashley Robinson, a 6-foot-2 forward and center for Archbishop Wood, has made an oral commitment to play for St. Joseph's University. "I like the coaches, the campus, the girls on the team," Robinson said. "And for what I want to major in - business - I think it's one of the best schools in the country. " Robinson earned first-team all-Catholic League Northern Division honors last season while helping lead the Vikings to a 23-3 overall record, the semifinal round of the playoffs, and a No. 5 area ranking.

Archbishop Wood notched six touchdowns in the opening 19 minutes and easily downed Dobbins, 49-0, Saturday at Northeast to claim its fourth consecutive PIAA District 12 Class AAA football championship. Joey Monaghan completed 13 of 15 passes for 199 yards and four touchdowns in the first half as the Vikings (11-1), ranked No. 1 in Southeastern Pennsylvania by The Inquirer, built a 42-0 advantage. Monaghan, a senior lefthander, hit Kyle Adkins for scores of 11 and 7 yards in the first quarter.