Cecil County Sports Weekly Vol 2 Issue 44

SPORTS

Golden Elks stun Tigers in 2nd-round clash as injuries, weather clouds contest

By Victor Hensley

RISING SUN, MD - When the MPSSAA 2A-1A football playoff bracket came out a couple of weeks ago, the potential of an Elkton-Rising Sun second-round matchup had everyone circling Nov. 11 on their calendars, including each team’s coaching staff.

Because no matter the weather, venue, record or situation, one thing’s for certain when the Golden Elks and Tigers clash: regardless of the outcome, it’s going to be a knock-down, drag-out fight.

As expected, this time was no different.

Last Friday, the No. 4 Elkton Golden Elks (6-5)

made the 16-mile trek to Rising Sun, where it upset the top-seeded Tigers (6-4) in a 27-19 stunner, earning their fourth win over their cross-county rival in two seasons and knocking them out of the postseason for the second-straight year.

“Those guys are tough, man,” said Matt Feeney, the Golden Elks’ head

coach, when asked about his opponent. “It’s cliché and all, but I just tip the cap to those guys. That’s just a really, really hard-nosed football team. And we were glad to get out of there with a win because it could’ve gone either way.”

The weather was just the icing on the cake for a game that was already go-

SOCCER STATE SEMIFINALS: pgs B2-B5

ing to be a gritty one.

But playing on a slippery, muddy field with rain and wind to boot meant that the winning team was likely going to need to find success on the ground to pull it out.

Early on, it seemed that was exactly what Rising Sun wanted.

The Tigers con-

trolled the game for most of the first half, hopping out to a 10-0 lead to start things off. They were a couple of plays away from a potential touchdown at the end of the second quarter, but a couple of ill-advised mistakes forced them to kick a field goal for the 10-point halftime lead.

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Panthers upset Green Street 17-16 in 2nd-round

By Victor Hensley BALTIMORE,

MD - There haven't been too many games this season where Perryville has had to fight tooth and nail to eke out a win.

They haven’t been met with too many teams that run hard, play defense even harder and elect to punt only in the most dire of situations.

But, regardless of the unfamiliar territory, the Panthers (7-4) didn’t miss a

beat in their trip to Baltimore, upsetting the Green Street Academy Chargers (4-4) in a one-point road win, 17-16, last Saturday in the second round of the MPSSAA 1A state playoffs.

With the win, Perryville punched its ticket to the state quarterfinals for the second consecutive year.

“This was good because we really hadn’t had an opportunity to face adcontinued on A-6

Photo by Duane Goldsmith

Photo by Scott Serio

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CECIL COUNTY SPORTS WEEKLY

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 44

November 15, 2022

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KYLE JACKSON

ELKTON GOLDEN ELKS FOOTBALL JUNIOR

Elkton Junior Kyle Jackson had 11 tackles (one for loss) 2 pass break ups and 1 interception for TD in Round 2 of the Regional Playoffs against Rising Sun.

“That kid is just so focused and cares so much about winning and doing his job for his teammates,” Feeney said of Jackson. “And it shows on the field. … He’s a great tackler, then he had the pick-six and that’s the difference.” - Coach Matt Feeney

LEANNA ROGERS

NORTH

North East Sophomore Leanna Rogers has been the dominate runner from Cecil County in every girls cross country meet this year.

Leanna ended her sophomore season with a 9th place finish in the State Championships this past week and was the top finisher from Cecil County in the Girls Race.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK PAGE IS SPONSORED BY:

High School Varsity Football Regular Season

SPORTS

Golden Elks stun Tigers in 2nd-round clash as injuries, weather clouds contest

After the intermission, the Tigers tacked on another field goal to make it 13-0, but from there, everything changed.

Once Elkton got on the board to make it 13-7, Rising Sun came right back, firing off a long touchdown pass from senior Gannon Russell to senior Sam Ehrhart, who sprinted down the sideline to the end zone for the 19-7 lead.

“It was like 3rdand-15 or -16 and they hit a pass on us where our cornerback got there,” Feeney said, “I mean, he was hitting him as he caught the ball, and the kid [Ehrhart] just made a hell of a play.”

However, Rising Sun’s celebration wouldn’t last long.

On the ensuing kickoff, near the end of the third quarter, Elkton sophomore Hugean Greer took the kickoff to the house, cutting the Golden Elks’ deficit to 1914 on a momentum-shifting special teams miracle.

The comeback was underway.

“That kickoff return just kind of took the wind out of our sails,” added Clem

Vaughan, the Tigers’ head coach, reflecting on the loss, “because it didn’t take any time. It was literally 30 seconds and now it’s 1914.”

Elkton’s comeback was aided by a third-quarter injury to Russell, who slipped and fell on the wet grass as a Golden Elk defender knocked into his hip. From there, he simply wasn’t the same as his mobility suffered.

For most of the season, Rising Sun has been a run-first team, using Russell as their go-to guy in grind-itout situations, often sending him up the middle on QB power play calls.

But, with Russell’s hip injury, the Tigers became, as Vaughan called it, one-dimensional as Ehrhart – who had almost 100 yards on the ground in the loss –became their lifeline.

“It’s unfortunate,”

Feeney said of Russell’s injury. “That kind of altered the game plan a little bit because he’s the engine and if he’s not going, they’re going to struggle a little bit. … Obviously, you want to play a team that’s at 100% and you don’t want anything to get in the way of that.”

Meanwhile, Elkton scored the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter on a strong run from sophomore Joshua Brill, giving the Golden Elks a 21-19 advantage.

“What we said was, ‘Listen, keep hitting them back. They’re going to keep running, so you’re going to have to just keep hitting them back and wear them down,’” Feeney said. “I felt like we were built to wear them down. It was almost like the same story back in Week 1, so we just kind of persevered in that regard.”

Russell proceeded to throw two interceptions in the second half, including a game-sealing pick-six to Elkton junior Kyle Jackson – who Feeney had moved over to safety against Rising Sun – that put the Golden Elks ahead by the eventual 27-19 final score.

“That kid is just so focused and cares so much about winning and doing his job for his teammates,” Feeney said of Jackson. “And it shows on the field. … He’s a great tackler, then he had the pick-six and that’s the difference.”

It was a crushing blow for Rising Sun, who had secured the region’s top seed and hosted a playoff game for just the second time in school history after a 6-3 regular season.

“It really kind of sucks that it ended that way,” Vaughan said. “I said to the kids, ‘It’s hurting right now, but when you sit back and look at the entire season, it was a really good season.’ … These kids really fought hard, they never quit and I couldn’t be more proud of them. We fought right to the end on Friday night, it just

didn’t turn out our way.”

This week, Elkton’s got a third-round date with the top-seeded Dunbar Poets (9-0), a team that Feeney claimed “might be the best team in the state, not even 1A-2A, in the state.” They also happen to be the reigning state champions. “It’ll be a valuable experience,” Feeney said. “We’re going to give it our best. We’re not going to lay down by any means. … We’re going to go out there and we’re going to try to shock the world.”

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Photos by Susan Burkholder

Photo by Duane Goldsmith

Gutsy 2-point conversion propels Eagles to 14-13 win over Colonel Richardson

By Victor Hensley

FEDERALSBURG, MD -

With the clock at triple zeroes, marking the end of the third quarter, Bo Manor had an untimed down. And a huge decision to make.

After scoring the potential game-tying touchdown on the final play of the third period, the Eagles — down 13-12 at the time — needed to choose between attempting either an extra point or a two-point conversion.

When it was all said and done, it was clear they’d made the right choice.

The Eagles went on to recycle the play they’d scored their final touchdown on – a quarterback keeper by senior quarterback Angel Granado – to score the eventual game-winning two-point conversion and stun the top-seeded Colonel Richardson Colonels (6-4) in the second round of the MPSSAA 1A state playoffs.

“We decided to go for two and got it there,” said Vince Ricci, the Eagles’ head coach, “just because we didn’t know if we were going to get the ball back. It was kind of crazy in that sense.”

Ricci’s worry about the Eagles getting another possession with an en-

tire quarter left to play may seem like an exaggeration, but it isn’t.

Colonel Richardson spent most of the evening doing two things: running the ball and chewing clock.

“They took all 40 seconds of the play clock and kind of just grinded it out and were happy with just getting two yards, two yards, two yards,” Ricci said. “I mean, they’d literally break the huddle and walk to the line of scrimmage. It was frustrating, to say the least, but we stopped them pretty well.”

In the third quarter, the Colonels scored the then-go-ahead touchdown on a drive that lasted nearly the entire period, keeping the Eagles’ offense on the sideline as they could do nothing but watch and wait.

Fresh off of a momentum-killing possession like that, Ricci’s decision to go for two makes a little more sense. In his mind, if Colonel Richardson could chew up most of the third quarter with a go-ahead scoring drive, why couldn’t it do it again in the fourth quarter?

Luckily for the Eagles, their defense held up, keeping the Colonels off the board in the fourth quarter to

secure the one-point, 14-13 victory to catapult them to the state quarterfinals.

Granado finished the day 7-for-15 for 96 yards, a touchdown and an interception – including a 40-plus-yard touchdown pass to Nate Fleming in the first half – while adding 11 carries for 72 yards and a score on the ground.

It wasn’t the flashiest day for the Eagles’ offense, but for the most part, despite getting no more than six possessions, it was an efficient performance once they found their rhythm.

“We really couldn’t, for whatever reason, get the offense going and it was just a mistake here and a mistake there,” Ricci said.

“It wasn’t anything big, just a dropped pass or a missed throw or a missed block here and there. But, once we got the offense going, I didn’t think they were going to stop us.”

That’s when the Eagles got the long touchdown catch from Fleming, who shined on both sides of the ball in the win, and tied things up at 6-6 headed into the locker room at halftime.

Ricci said the Colonels came out with a different defensive look than he’d seen on film, which the Ea-

gles had taken advantage of with Fleming’s touchdown. At halftime, he said if they were going to stay in that defense, the coaching staff had figured out how to exploit it with Granado’s arm – but, instead, they reverted back to their normal defense in the third quarter, a blessing for Bo Manor’s run game. From there, it was all about establishing the run, which Bo Manor did just enough to pull off the upset victory.

“Our coaches have done a really good job adjusting all year,” Ricci said. “And our offensive coaching staff did a really great job in this game.” This week, the Eagles travel over 200 miles to Frostburg to face off against the unbeaten Mountain Ridge Miners (10-0) in the state quarterfinals.

“It’ll be a really cool experience,” Ricci said of his team’s date with Mountain Ridge. “We’re going out there and playing with house money. We’re going to go out there and play our hardest. … Our kids battle every single day for us and that’s all we can ask for.”

Photos by Deb Koehler

Panthers’ ground game thrives in upset of Green Street in 2nd-round slugfest

versity,” said Sean Sandora, the Panthers’ head coach, “come back from adversity and overcome adversity, but we did all of that, which I’m proud of the kids for.”

The adversity Sandora’s referring to? A first half in which both teams –namely Perryville – came out “flat,” as he put it.

In the opening 24 minutes, the Panthers mustered just a single field goal on offense – despite picking off the Chargers twice – as Green Street’s physical style of play kept them from seeing the end zone.

“They were really aggressive up front and I

think they gave us a different front than we were preparing for,” Sandora said.

“They were firing off the ball and shooting the Double-A gap and we had some trouble with that, so we kind of changed up our blocking scheme a little bit.”

Meanwhile, the Chargers managed to drive down the field and score just before the halftime break, converting a couple of key third downs along the way to put them ahead, 8-3.

It wouldn’t take long, however, for the momentum to shift in the Panthers’ favor.

After a long drive to start the third quarter, Perryville was stopped on

fourth down deep in Greet Street territory. But, Sandora had faith in his defense, which proceeded to force the Chargers into a 4th-andlong situation. Instead of punting it away – something they did only once all afternoon – the Chargers faked it, but the Panthers sniffed it out and forced the turnover on downs.

A couple of plays later – after a big gain on a jet sweep by senior jack-ofall-trades Zack Ayers – Panthers junior running back Ethen Gunter punched in the two-yard score, giving Perryville a 10-8 lead it’d never relinquish.

Later in the fourth quarter, it’d happen all over

again, with the Panthers stopping their opponents on a crucial fourth down, which led to a 38-yard touchdown run by Ayers on yet another jet sweep for the 17-8 advantage.

“We made some adjustments at halftime and were able to establish the run,” Sandora said of his team’s second-half strategy. “I think we ran for 166 yards on 37 attempts, so 4

½ yards per carry. … They were loading the box a little bit more so we were able to get to the perimeter. We used Zack in multiple areas

on A-7

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continued from A-1 continued

continued from A-6 (10-1) for their third-round matchup with a trip to the state semifinals on the line.

because he’s a dynamic playmaker for us and we just try to get him the ball as much as possible.”

Green Street tacked on a touchdown just before the final buzzer to make it 17-16, but an attempted onside kick fell short and resulted in Perryville gaining control and running out the clock to seal the victory.

This week, the Panthers visit Cumberland to take on the defending state champion Fort Hill Sentinels

Sandora said he knows it won’t be an easy task, but there’s no reason to think Perryville can’t pull off yet another upset win.

“They’re the defending state champs and it’ll be a challenge for our kids,” Sandora said. “It’ll be a good opportunity to go out to Cumberland, see that atmosphere and get a chance to compete against the best. If you want to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best.”

Cecil Runners compete at State Cross Country Championships

By Amanda Callaghan and Katie Callaghan

Saturday, November 12th was a big day for Cecil County Cross Country. It was the MPSSAA State Championships, held at Herford High’s notorious Bull Run course also known as “The Toughest Three Miles in Cross Country.” Bull Run has been listed as the third hardest cross-country course in America. Runners from across the state tackled “The Dip,” a steep ravine that the runners tackled not once, but twice throughout the race.

In the 2A Girls' race, Sophomore Leanna Rogers represented North East. She ran an impressive and aggressive race finishing in 9th place, the highest finish of anyone from Cecil County, with a time of 21:30.43. From Rising Sun, their team of Katie Callaghan, Emily

Wishart, Kaitlin Perry, Savannah Lacey, Bella Chavis, Amanda Callaghan, and Isabelle Griffith finished 11th overall. Sophomore Katie Callaghan led the Tigers, running a 22:52.85 in 24th place. Senior Emily Wishart was next, with a 23:41.14 in 38th place, with senior Kaitlin Perry following her in 60th place (25:01.82).

Next was the Boys’ 2A race, with Rising Sun’s Boy’s team of John Ferry, Nik Haraldsson, Matt McKay, Landen Milloway, David Greenplate, Eli Weston, and Jake Edwards finishing 12th. The Tigers were led by senior John Ferry, finishing in 16th place with a time of 17:56.98. Nik Haraldsson was next in 85th (20:38.69) closely followed by Matt McKay in 89th (20:44.78).

North East was represented by Aidan McCullough and Daniel Katz, who both ran strong races. Senior

Aidan McCullough finished in 55th place with a time of 19:35.16, followed by junior Daniel Katz finishing in 69th with a time of 19:58.92.

In the Girls’ 1A race, Kathryn Scott from Bo Manor finished in 10th place with a time of 22:25.89, followed by her teammate Skylar Pizzulli who ran a time of 25:03.69. Both girls qualified individually for the race during the MPSSAA Regional championships hosted at Cambridge South Dorchester last Thursday.

Following the Girls’ 1A race was the last race of the day, the Boys' 1A race. During the race, Bo Manor’s team of Evan Wakefield, John Conley, Ethan Dell, Leighton Dell, Jason Wolfenden, Mason Darsney, and Robert Heinzelman finished 7th overall. The Eagles were led by junior Evan Wakefield placing in 14th with a time of 18:40.8.

Junior John Conley was next for the Eagles with a time of 19:35.78 placing 33rd overall, followed by junior teammate Ethan Dell in 39th place, who ran a time of 19:51.39. Michael Young, who qualified individually from the MPSSAA Regional Championship, ran a 19:19.36, earning 29th place for Perryville. As this was the last meet of the cross country season, we’d like to recognize Cecil County’s cross country seniors. Finishing their high school careers at the state championship were Rising Sun’s Emily Wishart, Kaitlin Perry, Savannah Lacey, Amanda Callaghan, John Ferry, David Greenplate, and Eli Weston. Also finishing their careers at Bull Run were North East’s Aidan McCullough, Bo Manor's Mason Darsney, Bo Manors Leighton Dell, and Perryville’s Mi-

chael Young. Other seniors we’d like to congratulate are Brendan Singer, Luke Gerhard, Isaiah Daly, and Mattson Gaskill from Elkton, Connor Kwiatkowski and Richard Snyder from North East, Taylor Young, Brianna Barrett, Mike Pham, and Max Hagar from Perryville, Eli Mackie from Rising Sun, and Kathryn Scott, Abigail Holloway, Owen Fabian, and Manuel Espinosa from Bo Manor. Congrats to all Cecil County runners who ran at the MPSSAA State Cross Country Championships!

We could not be more proud of the Cecil County Cross Country teams and runners who ran at the MPSSAA Cross Country State Meet. Their hard work and dedication brought them to this meet and ended the season with a huge success. We’d like to give a huge thanks to the amazing coaches who led them here, including Coach Stephen Pizzulli from Bo Manor, Coach Ben Krasnoff from Elkton, Coach Jessica Sprout from North East, Coach Raissa Moore from Perryville, and Coach Jill Mckay from Rising Sun.

Photos by Becky Young

Photo by Carole Lacey

Photo by Carole Lacey

SPORTS

‘They’re going to be hungry’: Panthers drop state semifinal to Fallston, look ahead to promising 2023

By Victor Hensley

LINGANORE, MD -

For a fleeting moment, it appeared Perryville was going to escape with a victory, punching its ticket to the state championship game as its perfect season raged on.

But, Fallston — the state’s reigning 1A champion — had other plans.

The No. 4 Fallston Cougars (15-3) proceeded to score two unanswered goals in the game’s final 16 minutes to shock the previously unbeaten Perryville Panthers (14-1), 2-1, in the semifinal of the MPSSAA 1A women’s soccer playoffs, cutting short their historic chase of perfection.

“We watched a lot of film on them and we knew

what they had, we knew they could control possession, they could control the game,” said John Myers, the Panthers’ head coach, after the loss. “We knew if we just dropped back a little bit, we knew we had the advantage with Sarah Murrell up top and, luckily, we got that first one that we thought we could hold on to and it just didn’t happen that way.”

Taking a glance at the post-game box score, you’d likely think the Cougars won handily.

In total, Fallston posted 17 shots-on-goal, including nine in the opening half, compared to Perryville’s two. All game long, the Cougars controlled possession, peppering the net with shots and playing keepaway

from the Panthers, preventing them from getting more than a handful of legitimate scoring opportunities.

Yet, the Panthers held the lead for a little over 57 minutes before the Cougars finally got on the board. And that was thanks in part to Perryville junior Sarah Murrell, who took possession near midfield after a failed Cougars corner

kick in the 8th minute, sped past Fallston’s backline and deposited a shot into the right corner of the net after a breakaway, one-on-one face-off between her and Fallston goalkeeper Leah Rhinehart.

“We knew they were keeping girls back, and we knew Sarah was faster than continued on B-2

Brunswick outpaces Panthers in state semifinal, 1-0, behind late 1st-half

By Victor Hensley

LINGANORE, MD - Mere

minutes after his team’s season came to an end at the hands of one of the state’s top contenders, Perryville Head Coach Chris Tome made an emphatic, hope-filled declaration: this isn’t the last we’ve heard of this Panthers squad.

“(This experience) is going to be huge, because I’ll tell you what, we’re not going to have a big drop

goal

off,” Tome said. “We have boys that are stepping into the role, so I’m expecting us to be in the same position next year.”

Moments earlier, the defending state champion Brunswick Railroaders (16-1) blanked the Panthers (10-3-1) in 1-0 fashion to advance to the MPSSAA

1A men’s soccer state final after a physical contest that saw Perryville struggle to keep up with the speed of Brunswick’s defense.

It was the first time the Panthers had been shut out since Oct. 11, and just the second time all season. Despite having numerous opportunities –namely with speedy attacker Logan Shaw – the Panthers simply struggled to put the ball on the net as the Railroaders controlled their penalty box and rarely let Perryville inside.

“They were just a

‘They’re going to be hungry’: Panthers drop state semifinal to Fallston, look ahead to promising 2023

them,” Myers said of Murrell’s go-ahead goal in the first half. “They controlled the middle of the field, when they controlled the middle of the field, we just couldn’t get it there to get it up to her (again).”

The Panthers held onto their 1-0 lead until deep into the second half, when it began to look like, despite its valiant effort, Fallston

just might come away empty handed.

Then, on a free kick opportunity in the 64th minute, the Cougars evened the score.

Fallston junior midfielder Mackenzie Mazor received a deep crossing pass from about 25 yards out, which soared past a Panthers defender and landed directly into Mazor’s lap. It took just one dribble for her to get face-to-face with

Perryville goalkeeper Sarah Cantrell, lofting a shot high into the net, over Cantrell’s outstretched arms, for the point-blank goal to knot it at 1 apiece.

Mazor’s game-tying goal loomed even larger when, less than 10 minutes later, in the 73rd minute, Cougars senior Ellie Ajello connected with senior Katherine King on a long centering pass, giving her an opportunity to tap the ball into the top-left corner of the net as she fell to the ground

after scoring what would be the game-winner. The Panthers had a chance to set up a goal on a late free kick deep into Cougars territory with a minute to play, but were unable to get a shot off as Fallston’s defense held strong, sealing the 2-1 victory and sending itself to its second-straight state title game. Despite allowing two late goals, the star of the show – regardless of the team – was undoubtedly Cantrell, who kept the game

close even as she was bombarded with shots from the opening kickoff. Cantrell had a season-high 15 saves in the loss, a mark of a seasoned, dependable goalkeeper.

But, here’s the kicker: she’s only a sophomore. And she’s got plenty of soccer left in the tank.

“We knew we were going to play defensive and we knew that Sarah (Cantrell) was going to have to come up big in this game,” Myers said. “And

that’s exactly what she did. She did everything and more of what we needed there. She gets better every game. She’s the one that kept us in here. We expected a lot from her today and she definitely stepped up. It was awesome.”

Being young, talented and full of potential is the case for most of the Perryville roster, however –96% of which will be back next season.

Aside from senior Kylie Narvell, who Myers said he’s sad to see go, the Panthers will bring back every single one of their starters next fall, a luxury not many Final Four teams have.

“We lose Kylie, which is a tough loss, but we still bring everybody else back,” Myers said on his team’s 2023 outlook. “We’re expecting to still work hard and still get (back) here. Like I’ve said, there’s no quit in these girls. They’re going to build off of this. They’re going to be hungry after this.”

continued from B-1

Photos by Scott Serio & Karina Serio

Brunswick outpaces Panthers

fast team,” Tome said of Brunswick. “I told the boys at halftime, I’m like, ‘The difference between what they’re doing defensively and what we’re doing defensively is, when they’re making their subtle movements to shift and slide, they’re actually getting closer to their man as they shift and slide, where we’re just moving in space and then reacting when the ball gets played to that guy.’

“Their speed and the way that they defended, always knowing what they’re defensive responsibility was,” he added, “it was just hard to unlock.”

While both teams had around the same number of scoring opportunities in the first half – even though Brunswick comfortably controlled possession – the Railroaders were the only squad able to capitalize on them.

The game’s lone score came late in the first half, when Brunswick senior goalkeeper Finn McGannon delivered a perfect pass to midfield for senior midfielder Will Burton. Burton took control, found sophomore Chase Malone sprint-

ing down the pitch, got him a pass through a pair of Perryville defenders and Malone proceeded to slot a shot into the left portion of the net for the 1-0 lead.

The score came in the 38th minute, just before the halftime break.

“It sucks because Paytn (Hulbert) felt responsible for it because he went up to win a ball, didn’t win it, it squabbles through, it gets touched by and the next thing you know, guys are behind and Finn (Tome) has no choice but to get off his line and that’s a tough save to make when you’re oneon-one,” Chris Tome said.

“They came to the bench and I couldn’t tell whether it was exhaustion or deflation, but they were tired because they were running their butts off in the first half.”

In the second half, Perryville held its own, keeping Brunswick off the board for the game’s final 40 minutes.

On the flip side, however, the Panthers didn’t muster a single shot-on-goal in the second half, despite creating a couple of decent scoring opportunities.

“We had a few

chances,” Chris Tome said.

“I think we had them a little nervous for the last 12 minutes multiple times, but we just couldn’t put one in.”

One of the team’s bright spots was undeniably Shaw, who could be seen all over the field for the Panthers as he continuously tried to put the Railroaders on the ropes.

Luckily for Perryville, he’s just a sophomore, one that’ll act as a cornerstone of this program for years to come.

“His work rate is unparalleled,” Chris Tome said when asked about Shaw.

“It’s nonstop. He’s pushing everybody to work harder.

… He's also a very technical player, it's hard for guys to knock him off the ball, take the ball from him. Last year, as a freshman, he realized that he had to get a lot more physical because he got

moved off the ball a lot last year. He’s not letting that happen this year.”

Losing just short of the state title game is a tough pill for any team to swallow.

But, with the Panthers having secured both a regional championship and a Final Four appearance this season, there’s a lot for them to hang their hats on.

“I knew pretty much right away, just by the personnel I had, I was telling these boys from the beginning that we could make a run for the state title this year,” Chris Tome said. “I know that we lost to North East and Rising Sun, but Perryville was the most technically skilled team in the county this year. … I’m just super proud of them. I couldn’t have been blessed with a better group.”

Photos by Scott Serio & Karina Serio

Lenz, Eagles Soar Past Panthers Defense, Capture Trip to the Region Finals

By Megan Steimer

CHESAPEAKE CITY -

There’s always a little more excitement and anticipation when two county teams face each other in the playoffs– it was no different when the (1) Bo Manor Eagles hosted the (5) Perryville Panthers on Monday night in the 1A Region Semifinals. The Eagles came away with a 19-25, 25-10, 25-23, 25-18 victory over the Panthers, making way for a 1A Region Final contest against (2) Patterson Mill.

During the regular season, Perryville was able to take a game from Bo Manor in each match but had a hard time forcing the Eagles to a fifth set. After the Panthers’ 3-0 victory over Joppatowne in the quarterfinals, an opportunity presented itself yet again for Perryville to once and for all close the deal on county powerhouse Bo Manor. It was a strong start for the visiting Panthers, jumping out to a 14-7 lead behind a flurry of unforced errors on the Eagles’ side. Head coach Sabrina Larmer called a well-received timeout as her team subsequently went on a seven-point service run behind a couple of Rylee Lenz kills and consistent serving from libero Julia Holmes to put Bo Manor up 15-14. The next few points were back and forth before Perryville pulled away with a six-point win, keeping mistakes to a minimum and generating an all-around solid performance on the court. “We had a new lineup so we were just so excited

and ready to put it into action” said senior outside hitter Riley Jackson, “we gave it everything we could and came out on top in the first set.”

With the game one jitters behind them, the Eagles came out in full force set two, grabbing a lopsided 25-10 win to tie the match. It was all about adjusting at the net for Lenz, “They (Perryville) started to get a lot of touches, so I had to get higher hands. Tips were open so coach just helped me fine the open spots on the court.” Game three started much the same, as setter Hannah Beck found Lenz, who recorded three kills and a block to go up 4-1 early but mistakes started creeping in on both sides of the court. It was clear whoever made the least errors would take the W for set three. After six lead changes, junior Ryleigh Racine knocked in two kills to put Perryville up 22-20 and force the Eagles to take a timeout. Moments later, a backrow kill from Holmes followed by a Panthers’ passing error tied the game for an incredible tenth time, compelling Perryville head coach Matt Borrelli to call a timeout to stop the momentum. The battle carried over from the court into the stands as fans on both sides started cheering louder and louder– this was no doubt, a playoff atmosphere. With the game tied yet again, Lenz logged one of her season high 11 blocks to put Bo Manor ahead where they capitalized and earned a hard fought 25-23 set three victory. “Everyone

really hustled and tried their best to get to every ball,” said Holmes.

Down 2-1, the Panthers needed a win to keep their season alive. “I just kept thinking, ‘I don’t want this to be my last game.’ I was imagining what it would feel like if we didn’t win and that’s what kept me motivated,” said senior captain Emily Burchett. Unfortunately for Perryville, they found themselves in a 10-2 deficit early in game four but much like they’ve done all season, the Panthers fought back. Setter Taylor McGuirk found Jackson who made three attack attempts before successfully knocking in a kill down the line to give the Panthers a point. “We were in a big hole, but we tried to climb our way out. It’s how our entire season has been, we fight to break even” said captain Erica Schoerner, “we tend to fall short, but we always keep our heads up and make the best of the matter.” While Perryville was able to win points here and there, Bo Manor’s offense was unstoppable. Hitter Kylee Bergman knocked in one of her seven kills for the Eagles while Beck continued to find Lenz out of the middle. Down 21-14, Racine tallied back-to-back kills to bring the Panthers within five, but the Eagles never let up. Bo Manor was able to take the fourth set and capture a 1A Region Semifinals win, continuing their quest for a return to states.

Rylee Lenz led all hitters with a season high 25 kills to go with her 11 blocks and eight digs while

Bergman also recorded a personal best seven kills.

Julia Holmes commanded the defense with a match high 24 digs while Hannah Beck dished out a personal best 36 assists. It was an emotional end for the Panthers as Riley Jackson finished her last high school game with eight kills and eight digs followed by Scho-

erner who recorded six digs and Burchett with a team high 21 digs to go with her 4 assists in her final game as well. Racine tallied a team high nine kills while McGuirk secured a block, 15 assists, and six digs. With the win, Bo Manor moved on to host Patterson Mill in the Region Finals this past Wednesday with a trip to the State Quar-

terfinals on the line. The Eagles split the regular season with the Huskies but looked to add Regional Champs to their repertoire in front of the home crowd on Wednesday but the Huskies pulled off the win against the Eagles in a 3-1 upset ending Bo Manor’s season.

Tigers pounce on Harford Tech in 3-1 upset win, fall to Fallston in 2nd round

By Victor Hensley

BEL AIR, MD - Some teams are simply better when their backs are against the wall.

Add the Rising Sun volleyball team to that list.

In a win-or-go-home playoff match against the No. 1 Harford Tech Cobras (10-5) on the road last Monday, the Tigers (8-10) earned come-from-behind victories in back-to-back sets to secure the first-round upset win, 3-1, in the MPSSAA 2A East Region I semifinals. Rising Sun went on to fall to the No. 2 Fallston Cougars (12-6) for the third time this season in the regional finals, but the Tigers’ performance against the Cobras was a lesson in resilience, one that can act as a building block for any young program.

“The girls weren’t down (on themselves), they were fine, it was the coaching staff that was stressing,” said Logan Bowers, the Tigers’ head coach, with a laugh when asked about the nerve-wracking win over the Cobras. “They just struggled and got their way through it, they fought through it.”

For both teams, there wasn’t a single set out of the four that was an easy win.

Bowers said after the win that it wasn’t his team’s “best play,” but even when his players are off their game, their refusal to quit is admirable.

Aside from the opening set — which Rising Sun won, 25-19, after fending off a comeback attempt by Harford Tech — the Ti-

gers were forced to claw from behind in nearly all of its set victories to pull off the stunning road upset.

Perhaps none more than the match’s final set, which saw the Cobras lead by as many as five points, 15-10.

However, Rising Sun fought back to tie it at 16 apiece after senior Kirstyn Jackson blocked a shot at the net that slapped against the Cobras’ turf.

Then, on the next point, Harford Tech failed to communicate, letting the ball land in between a pair of Cobras as the Tigers took a 17-16 lead, an advantage they’d hang on to for the remainder of the match.

It was a close one all the way down to the wire, but in the end, Rising Sun’s cast of stars — including sophomore Kendra Waters, who killed shot after shot all night — made plays when it counted most, staving off any sort of Cobras run to knock off the region’s top seed.

It may not have been a perfect finish, but a win’s a win.

“There’s just no quit in them,” Bowers said of his team. “They sacrifice their bodies. … They just keep battling, even when they’re having a bad night.”

Part of the Tigers’ early match struggles — including their 25-16 second-set loss — came from their inability to contain some of the Cobras’ hardest hitters, namely outside hitter Matilyn Royal.

Bowers said that he

was unable to find a lot of film on Harford Tech, meaning he didn’t get the opportunity to see much from Royal until it was in person and a little too late.

“Other than our normal blocks, we were adjusting on the fly,” Bowers said, “because we didn’t really have a whole lot of intel ahead of time.”

The Tigers – ravaged by injury and illness in the latter part of the season, including a week in which they lost four players entering the playoffs – had plenty of unlikely heroes in the victory, including a few players brought up off of the program’s junior varsity squad. One player Bowers credited for her versatility was junior Annie Valetutti, who had switched positions in order to fill one of the Tigers’ many roster holes.

“The last two weeks have just been unreal with having to juggle the lineup,” Bowers said. “The girls, as a team, have all done great playing different positions. Annie Valetutti has stepped up as an outside hitter when my one girl broke her wrist and Annie has only ever played right side in her life, but she’s picked up the slack and done a decent job. … It’s been very challenging, but the girls just stepped up.”

A couple of days later, Rising Sun lost to Fallston in the second round as its season came to a screeching halt, a tough moment for a team so stacked with important senior leadership.

Though, the experience of taking out a formidable contender in the postseason — battling through injuries and absences in the process — is one just about every young player on the Tigers can learn from and

improve upon.

And with Bowers being forced to bring up some of his freshmen and sophomores that otherwise haven’t seen varsity action, its created a strong foundation for the future of Rising

Sun volleyball.

“I tried to get some young freshmen in that I brought up off of J.V. to fill in,” Bowers said. “I’m real proud of the freshmen I brought up.”

Photos by Ken Morris

NORTH EAST CHEER COMPETES AT MARYLAND STATE CHEER FINALS