Coaching Legend Retires

Some non-recruiting breaking news:

Al Thomas, the legendary local high school football coach who last month guided Sherwood to the Maryland 4A championship, today announced he is retiring.

Thomas, who has coached football since the mid-1960s, has a career record of 232-47 and has guided his teams to eight state titles, tied with Good Counsel Coach Bob Milloy for the most ever by a coach in Maryland. In five seasons at Sherwood, his teams went 54-10; he previously won five state titles at Seneca Valley and two more at Damascus.

This season, Sherwood's relatively unheralded team went 14-0 and finished No. 1 in The Post's rankings after being unranked the first half of the season. After a 21-3 victory over Linganore in the state final, Thomas said he would have to evaluate whether he would return next season; his prostate cancer, which was diagnosed in 2004 and promptly put into remission, is still monitored with weekly doctor visits, he said.

More in tomorrow's print edition....