ALSO: THIS.

Article from Balitmore Sun Januray 15, 1999. Interesting bit: ""It was obvious something had to be done," said Gilman. "They talked about playing games on a mid-week afternoon with no spectators, just players and officials.""

"The bordering countries of Honduras and El Salvador fought a two- week war in 1969 over a World Cup qualifying match. There have been times when youngsters playing sports at neighboring high schools Woodlawn and Randallstown probably considered similar action.

Fights, trash talk, practical jokes, disrespect -- all were often part of the scene when the rivals met in supposedly friendly combat.

Lately, however, that has been changing. For instance, some Randallstown athletes, looking to improve as hurdlers, showed up at Woodlawn on Monday [January 11, 1999] to receive instruction from Warriors coach Mike Sye.

"Conversely," says Randallstown coach Mike Gilman, "I've worked with their shot-putters. Mike and I always seek each other out at meets, the kids see that, and it's rubbing off.

"The schools are still very competitive against each other. But, at the same time, it's amicable. There's no reason for it to be any other way, no matter what the sport."

It wasn't too long ago when the rivals met in basketball and the game ended up serving as a preliminary for a good-sized brawl afterward.

"It was obvious something had to be done," said Gilman. "They talked about playing games on a mid-week afternoon with no spectators, just players and officials."

One day, Randallstown arrived at the 5th Regiment Armory early for a meet. The kids took seats in the stands off to the right as you come in. Then Woodlawn came in and took up residence nearby in the stands. There was no problem. It happened a few more times.

"We just kept meeting at meets, exchanging handshakes, and inquiring about each other's athletes," Gilman said of Sye. "We competed as hard as possible against each other but it ended there."

Then the coaches began talking about the kids as though it was one team, and the suggestion to help instruct athletes, no matter what school they represented, materialized.

"We exchanged information openly," said Gilman. "One time, both teams were competing in Boston, and we shared rides. We {the coaches} would make sure to congratulate kids for good performances without regard for the uniform they were wearing."