Oakdale High Football's Evan Austin, Hunter Thompson

With the start of the season approaching and having just made their college commitments, Oakdale High School football players Evan Austin and Hunter Thompson are this week's guests on The Final Score podcast.

Austin and Thompson chat with host Greg Swatek about their college decisions. Austin, a senior quarterback for Oakdale, recently committed to the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, where he will be a wide receiver, while Thompson, a senior receiver for the Bears, just committed to play at Ohio University. The guys talk about why they chose the schools that they did and what the recruiting process was like in general.

They also discuss the upcoming season at Oakdale and how they will manage the high expectations after the Bears advanced to the Class 3A championship game last fall. What do they expect and what are some of the biggest challenges they anticipate facing?

Prior to that, FNP sports writer Alexander Dacy joins Greg to discuss Francis Scott Key Post 11's run up to the state American Legion baseball tournament, for which it served as the host team.

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Jeff Sill, FC Frederick President

With the soccer club's 15U girls team competing for a national championship this week in Florida, FC Frederick president Jeff Sill is this week's guest on The Final Score podcast.

Sill chats with host Greg Swatek about the 15U girls run to nationals, as they are just the second FC Frederick team to qualify for the championships in the 20-plus year history of the club, and what makes them such a strong team. 

He also talks about the tremendous impact FC Frederick has made on the local soccer scene in its relatively brief history.

Prior to that conversation, FNP sports writer Alexander Dacy joins Greg to discuss summer developments, including the Major League Baseball Draft and how it impacted the career trajectory for Catoctin High ace Joey McMannis, who will now head to the University of Maryland to pitch.

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Rob Dixon, Frederick High Girls Flag Football Coach

With the first varsity girls flag football season approaching in Frederick County, coach Rob Dixon, the head coach at Frederick High, is this week's guest on The Final Score podcast.

Dixon, who is also the head track and field coach at Frederick High, chats with host Greg Swatek about his expectations for the coming season. What made him interested in coaching girls flag football? How many players are coming out for the team at Frederick High? And what is their familiarity with playing football?

The two also discuss the potential impact girls flag football as a varsity sport in Frederick County will have across the state and across the region and how it might impact the other varsity sports.

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Andrew Klein, GM Frederick Keys, Spire City Ghost Hounds

What is a Ghost Hound? And what is the plan to bring affiliated minor league baseball back to Frederick?

Andrew Klein, the general manager of the Frederick Keys and the Spire City Ghost Hounds, answers those questions and more on this week's episode of The Final Score podcast.

Klein chats with host Greg Swatek about the addition of the Ghost Hounds, who play in the independent Atlantic League, to the baseball scene in Frederick. Why did Attain Sports, which owns and runs the Keys and the Ghost Hounds, feel that an additional team was needed? And what has the general fan reaction been to the Ghost Hounds so far?

He also discusses the future of professional baseball in Frederick. What are the current plans to renovate Nymeo Field? Are their ongoing discussions to bring an affiliated team to town? And when might that happen?

Prior to that discussion, FNP sports writer Alexander Dacy joins Greg to talk about Urbana High graduate and Washington Nationals prospect Trey Lipscomb playing in Double-A Harrisburg and Catoctin High ace pitcher Joey McMannis potentially being drafted next week.

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Chuck Foreman, Frederick High, Minnesota Vikings legend

This week's guest on The Final Score podcast is Chuck Foreman, the former three-sport star for Frederick High School and football great for the Minnesota Vikings.

Foreman chats with host Greg Swatek about the most recent honor he received, as he will be inducted into the ring of honor at his college alma mater, the University of Miami, in October, alongside coaching greats Jimmy Johnson and Dennis Erickson. Foreman talks about why he chose to go to Miami when he had many other offers and the impact playing for the Hurricanes had on the rest of his career and his life.

Foreman, the 12th overall pick in the 1973 NFL Draft, also talks about his candidacy for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and why he thinks he has not gotten the call yet. He rushed for almost 6,000 yards, caught 350 passes for more than 3,000 yards and scored 76 touchdowns over the course of an eight-year career with the Minnesota Vikings (seven seasons) and the New England Patriots (one season).

Still residing in Minneapolis, Foreman also discusses the Vikings' recent draft choice of Tuscarora High graduate Jordan Addison, who is the highest NFL draft choice (No. 23 overall) from Frederick County since he was selected in '73.

Foreman talks about the impact he thinks Addison, a wide receiver, will have with the Vikings and the advice he would share when he gets a chance to speak with him.

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William Eskay, Former Urbana Soccer Star, The Soccer Tournament

After winning a share of $1 million for playing in The Soccer Tournament earlier this month, former Urbana High soccer star William Eskay is this week's guest on The Final Score podcast.

Eskay played for the Newtown Pride, which won the $1 million, winner-take-all The Soccer Tournament on June 4 in Cary, North Carolina. Newtown outlasted 32 teams in the four-day, World-Cup-style tournament that was televised on Peacock and some of the NBC networks.

Eskay chats with host Greg Swatek about being part of the winning team and what he plans to do with his share of the money, half of which was split evenly among the 18 players on the Newtown team.

Eskay talks about how he became involved with the Newtown Pride and why the team was so dominant throughout the tournament. He also touches on his professional career with the St. Louis Ambush of the Major Arena Soccer League and all of the momentous ways his life has changed in recent months.

Prior to that conversation, FNP sports writer Alexander Dacy joins Greg to talk about some summer sports happenings in Frederick County.

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State champion Urbana Softball

After winning the state softball championship in Class 4A, star players Delaney Reefe and Maggie Hummer and coach Frank Husson are this week's guest on The Final Score podcast.

The trio chats with host Greg Swatek about the 8-2 win over Delaney in the 4A championship game that earned the Hawks their second state title, with the first one coming in 2011. They discuss how the team grew over the course of the season, turning an 0-2 start into one of the finest seasons in school history.

Reefe, a University of Maryland recruit, talks about his transition during the high school season from being a standout catcher to a top-notch pitcher. Hummer, Urbana's every-day catcher, chats about why she loves playing softball so much. And Husson discusses why he felt this particular team had so much potential.

Prior to that conversation, FNP sports writer Alexander Dacy joins Greg to discuss Urbana's softball championship, the summer sports landscape in Frederick County and some of the baseball feature stories he is working on.

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Kevin Kendro, FCPS Supervisor of Athletics

With the 2022-23 school year now over, the supervisor of athletics and extra curricular activities for Frederick County Public Schools made his annual appearance on The Final Score podcast this week.

Kevin Kendro chats with Greg Swatek about the year that was in FCPS athletics. The discussion centers heavily on the school system adding girls flag football as a varsity sport in the fall. How challenging was the process? What sort of response has the school system gotten about adding the sport? What will the games look like? What are the rules? How are points scored? What sort of blue print will the sport create for other school districts across the state? All of those questions are addressed.

Kendro also talks about the state of the Central Maryland Conference eight years into its existence. Clear Spring was added in the last school year to give the sports league 16 teams, including the 10 from Frederick County. Kendro discusses some structural changes the CMC is making to its divisions and the way championships are awarded.

He also discusses some of the challenges that high school sports are facing on the state level, namely a shortage of game officials.

Coach Bobby Humphries, James Partlow, State Champion TJ Boys Track and Field

Fresh off of the Thomas Johnson boys track and field team winning its first state team title in more than a decade, coach Bobby Humphries and team captain and top distance runner James Partlow are this week's guests on The Final Score podcast.

Humphries and Partlow chat with host Greg Swatek about how the Patriots were able to claim the Class 3A boys teams championship without winning a single event. They scored 56 points and held off nemesis Frederick High (51.75) to win their first state title since their three-peat in 2009-11. 

Partlow talks about how the Patriots overcame a poor first day of the meet to achieve a season-long long, and Humphries addresses his transition from coaching football to coaching track and how he has become better at the job in the process.

Prior to that conversation, FNP sports writers John Cannon and Alexander Dacy join Greg to talk about the end of the spring sports season in Frederick County, which featured Urbana softball winning a state title, the Catoctin boys and Urbana girls track teams defending their titles, championship-game appearances for Middletown girls lacrosse, Catoctin softball and Urbana baseball and the first tennis state championship in the history of Brunswick High School.

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Ellery Bowman, Coach Tyler White, Middletown Girls Lacrosse

As they prepare to face Manchester Valley in the Class 2A state championship game, senior midfielder Ellery Bowman and coach Tyler White are this week's guests on The Final Score podcast.

Bowman and White chat with host Greg Swatek about the significance of the Middletown girls playing in their second lacrosse state final in three seasons and what it would mean to become the first girls lacrosse team from Frederick County to win a state title.

Bowman, the leading scorer in Frederick County by a wide margin, talks about how she got started in playing the sport and her future playing it at the U.S. Naval Academy and beyond.

White, meanwhile, talks about how is able to maintain such a positive outlook most of the time, why it is so important to his coaching philosophy, the importance of remembering that playing lacrosse should be about having fun above all else, and how he might celebrate a state-championship win for the Knights.

Prior to that discussion, FNP sports writer Alexander Dacy joins Greg to discuss the four state championship games this week involving Urbana softball and baseball, Catoctin softball and Middletown girls lacrosse. What are each teams chances of bringing home the title?

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Dean Coccia, Linganore Girls Lacrosse Coach

With his team set to play in another state semifinal, first-year Linganore girls lacrosse coach Dean Coccia is this week's guest on The Final Score podcast.

After suffering a heart-breaking loss in the final minute to Severna Park last spring in the state semifinals, the Lancers are back in the final four of Class 3A and set to take on top-seeded Towson at Paint Branch High School. Coccia chats with host Greg Swatek about taking over a team with a mix of veterans from last season's experience and new players

The two also discuss Coccia's backgound in the sport, how he got the job at Linganore and what his expectations are moving forward.

Prior to that conversation, FNP sports writer John Cannon and Alexander Dacy join Greg to talk about state semifinals and quarterfinals for Frederick County teams in baseball, softball and boys and girls lacrosse.

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Catoctin softball pitcher Taylor Smith and catcher Meghan Gray

As their team prepares to begin the softball playoffs as the top team in the region, Catoctin star softball pitcher Taylor Smith and catcher Meghan Gray are this week's guests on The Final Score podcast.

Smith and Gray chat with host Greg Swatek about what makes them such an effective combination. They discuss their backgrounds in the sport, what makes Catoctin such a strong softball program year after year and what winning a state title would mean to them.

How much guts are required to catch a power pitcher like Taylor? What makes Meghan such an effective hitter? Those questions and more are answered.

Prior to that conversation, FNP sports writers Alexander Dacy and John Cannon join Greg to discuss the recently played Central Maryland Conference championship games for baseball and softball and the regional playoffs in a variety of spring sports.

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Jordan Addison's mother, Keisha Blackman

One week after seeing her son fulfill a lifelong dream of being drafted into the NFL, Jordan Addison's mother, Keisha Blackman, is this week's guest on the Final Score podcast.

Addison, a wide receiver and Tuscarora High graduate, was selected at No. 23 overall in the first round of the NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings, making him the second player from Frederick County to be drafted into the NFL's opening round, following former Frederick High great Chuck Foreman, who was selected by the Vikings at No. 12 overall in 1973.

Blackman shares with host Greg Swatek what it was like watching this entire process unfold for her son and how she felt once he was drafted. She talks about how Jordan's love for football started and his rise through the ranks into one of the top college wide receivers in the country.

She also talks about the various challenges he has overcome along the way, such as dealing with a lot of negative blowback after he transferred from the University of Pittsburgh, and what some of the next steps are as his NFL career begins.

Prior to that conversation, FNP sports writers Alexander Dacy and John Cannon join Greg to talk about where things stand as the regular season for spring sports in Frederick County comes to and end and with the playoffs set to begin next week.

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Jordan Addison, Bryan Bresee Drafted in the First Round of the NFL Draft; Rob Robinson

On a momentous night for Frederick County sports, Tuscarora graduate Jordan Addison, a playmaking wide receiver, and Urbana native Bryan Bresee, a disruptive defensive tackle, were taken in the first round of the NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints, respectively.

On this week's episode of the Final Score podcast, FNP sports writers Alexander Dacy and John Cannon join host Greg Swatek to discuss this major news, as Addison and Bresee join former Frederick High star Chuck Foreman as the only Frederick County natives to be drafted into the NFL in the first round. Foreman was the 12th overall pick by the Vikings in the 1973 draft.

Following that conversation, in a prerecorded interview, one of Addison's former coaches with the Gaithersburg-based Montgomery Village Chiefs, Rob Robinson, joins Greg to discuss the beginnings of Addison's football career and what made him such a dynamic player at such an early age. Why did Addison need to be the team's quarterback? How did the rest of the Chiefs take their cues from such a quiet leader? Robinson explains.

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Tom DeMaio, Urbana Girls Lacrosse Coach

With his team in the midst of a good season, first-year Urbana High School girls lacrosse coach Tom DeMaio is this week's guest on The Final Score podcast. 

DeMaio chats with host Greg Swatek about growing up as a huge sports fan in Boston and going to Super Bowls that his beloved Patriots played in and won. He talks about how he transitioned from being a solid defenseman in hockey into a lacrosse player and later a coach. And he talks about raising six kids, all of whom play lacrosse, including his oldest son, Anthony, who was a standout midfielder on two national championship teams at the University of DeMaio.

The conversation eventually shifts to DeMaio's team at Urbana this season, its thrilling last-second win over Middletown and where it stands in the Frederick County girls lacrosse pecking order with the playoffs approaching.

Prior to that, Alexander Dacy joins Greg to discuss at length his upcoming and ambitious tryout with Frederick's new Atlantic League baseball team. What is he expecting, for better or for worse?

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Bradley Gray, Tuscarora Girls Lacrosse Coach

As the spring sports season nears its midpoint, Tuscarora High girls lacrosse coach Bradley Gray is this week's guest on The Final Score podcast.

Gray chats with host Greg Swatek about how he came to be a lacrosse coach after never playing the sport himself. He talks about the evolution of the game here in Frederick County since he came onto the scene right around the time the game was incorporated as a varsity high school sport in the area. And he also talks about the challenges of coaching his daughters, choosing teaching and coaching over a more financially lucrative career in law and how his love of sports began.

Prior to that conversation, FNP sports writer Alexander Dacy joins Greg to discuss where this stand in spring sports across Frederick County. Plus, the guys tease a big endeavor that Alexander has coming up.

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Catoctin baseball pitching ace Joey McMannis, coach Mike Franklin

Off to a strong start this season, Catoctin pitching ace Joey McMannis and the Cougars' longtime coach Mike Franklin are this week's guests on The Final Score podcast.

McMannis, who committed to play at the University of Maryland as a freshman, is receiving lots of attention from Major League Baseball scouts. He and Franklin chat with host Greg Swatek about dealing with that process and handling the pressure and scrutiny that comes along with it. McMannis talks about how he developed and maintains his powerful right arm, which can deliver mid-90's fastballs on the radar gun. He also talks extensively about his friendship with Catoctin track phenom Brody Buffington and how they have helped each other manage both the recruiting process and the small-town celebrity status that each now enjoys.

Meanwhile, Franklin discusses what makes McMannis such a dominant pitcher and why is team is off to such a strong start.

Plus, we've got power rankings, as FNP sports writer Alexander Dacy joins Greg to discuss the Frederick County teams that have looked the strongest so far in each of the spring sports.

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Geoff Arnold, Radio Voice of the Baltimore Orioles

As a new Major League Baseball season gets underway, Baltimore Orioles play-by-play voice Geoff Arnold is this week's guest on The Final Score podcast.

Arnold, the former director of broadcasting and public relations for the Frederick Keys, chats with host Greg Swatek about whether the O's can take the next step and make the playoffs this season after being the best team in the American League to not make it last year. He shares some impressions from spring training and his thoughts on top pitching prospects Grayson Rodriguez and DL Hall not being in the majors to start the season. How long might it be before we see them in the big leagues?

Plus, Arnold shares his thoughts on the pitch clock, which seems to be wildly popular so far and has drastically reduced the lenghth of games in spring training. Has he had to adjust his broadcasting style as a result?

Prior to that, FNP sports writers John Cannon and Alexander Dacy join Greg to share their thoughts on Opening Day and the fortunes of the Nationals and Orioles. Plus, the guys discuss spring sports in Frederick County and some of the best teams that have emerged so far.

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Randy Hinkelman, Walkersville Softball Coach

As a new season gets underway, Walkersville softball coach Randy Hinkelman is this week's guest on The Final Score podcast.

Hinkelman chats with host Greg Swatek about the outlook for his team this season after it made a run to the Class 2A state semifinals last season. He also talks about the challenge of coaching his daughters, life growing up in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, how he became a softball coach and how he became a world-class archer.

Prior to that conversation, FNP sports writers join Greg to discuss the start of the spring sports season in Frederick County, and Alexander shares details of the story he is working on about the very successful Esports team at Mount St. Mary's, which leads to a broader discussion about Esports in general.

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Coach Emonte Hill, Elwyne Wordlaw, David Dorsey, Frederick High Boys Basketball

After winning 26 out of 27 games during a remarkable season advancing all of the way to the Class 3A state semifinals, coach Emonte Hill, junior guard Elwyne Wordlaw and junior forward David Dorsey are the guests this week on The Final Score podcast.

Coach Hill and the players chat with host Greg Swatek about what made this team and this season so special. They talk about the bitter disappoint of losing to arch rival Thomas Johnson three times during the previous season and how that provided the fuel for all the work and preparation everyone put in over the summer and during the fall in preparation for the season. The guys also talk about helping to restore pride in Frederick County athletics and what is on tap over the offseason as they prepare to chase a state title again next season.

Prior to that, FNP sports writers John Cannon and Alexander Dacy join Greg to share their thoughts on Frederick High's boys basketball season and help preview the upcoming spring sports season in Frederick County.