Cecil County Sports Weekly Vol 2 Issue 41

SUSKY BOWL CHAMPS!

By Victor Hensley

PERRYVILLE -

As excite-

ment filled the air on a chilly night at Perryville High School last Friday, a group of players donning navy blue and white uniforms –with a hint of gold – corralled at midfield, beaming with pride, howling in celebration and hoisting the area’s most iconic trophy.

The sights and sounds have become familiar for those who have seen this script before.

For the third straight

season, the Perryville Panthers are Susky Bowl champions.

The Panthers (44) scrapped and clawed their way to a comfortable win, 24-0, over the Havre de Grace Warriors (0-8) in the latest installment of the famed Cecil-Harford rivalry, keeping the Susky Bowl trophy east of the Hatem Bridge for yet another year.

“Basically, they've grown up with each other, they played against each other, they played with each other, so this is just a cul-

mination our seniors look forward to at the end of this season,” said Sean Sandora, the Panthers’ head coach, on the importance of winning the Susky Bowl. “It's great for our kids, it’s great for our community.”

Last season, the Susky Bowl was the stage for a major upset, when the Panthers traveled four miles west to Havre de Grace, where they eked out a 2114 win against the previously unbeaten Warriors (6-0) in front of their home crowd.

This year, however,

with the Warriors being in the midst of a major winless slump, the Panthers needed to simply play their style – which includes a heavy dose of the run game – to ensure the trophy stays in Perryville.

And, despite some hiccups along the way, that’s exactly what they did.

The Panthers wasted no time proving they meant business.

After Perryville forced a three-and-out on Havre de Grace’s opening drive – made possible by a

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ELECTION DAY NOVEMBER 8

first-play sack and a gain of only one yard by the Warriors – the Panthers put together a short drive that featured run plays of 11, 12 and 15 yards en route to an eventual 11-yard touchdown run from senior Swiss Army Knife Zack Ayers.

Ayers proceeded to connect on the extra point to bring the score to 7-0 with 8:05 to play in the first quarter.

“It was great,” Sandora said. “Just establishing the line of scrimmage and then being able to establish

the run, and then we could get our play-action pass on it. … That's how you want to start a game, just driving it down a team’s throat.”

Ethen Gunter, deemed the Panthers’ “workhorse” by Sandora, had yet another brilliant night against the Warriors, posting 148 yards on 19 carries (7.8 yards per carry).

In addition to his big night on the box score, Gunter provided the fireworks early.

continued on page A-6

CECIL COUNTY

VOLUME

PUBLISHERS:

ASST. SPORTS EDITOR:

PHOTOGRAPHERS:

NOAH WALLACE

NORTH EAST INDIANS GOLF JUNIOR

Noah Wallace, North East’s junior phenom, took both the top men’s and overall spots at the Cecil County Championships this week, shooting a 2-under total of 69. Noah will compete this week at the State Championship and be going for his second State Championship win.

MAILING

OF THE WEEK:

KARINA SERIO

TOME TITANS GOLF

JUNIOR

Retaining her position as top high school female golfer in the county, Karina Serio won her second County Championship this week.

Karina placed sixth overall out of a field of 40 students from across the County.

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AUTHORITY: William Malesh, Friends For Public Education; Benjamin Malesh, Treasurer

High School Varsity Football Standings

SPORTS SCHEDULE Oct

- Oct 30:

(1), K. Allen (1), A.

GIRLS SOCCER

3 assists, 2 digs,

1 dig, 3 kills

Ewing 1 ace, 1 block, 3

NE: R. Mullins 13 assists, 3 kills D. Stanley 2 blocks, 1 kill

Coker 5 aces, 3 kills A.

4 aces, 4 kills A. Schaible 1 dig, 4 kills

RS: M. Weil 7 assists M. Fairweather 8 digs K. Waters 1 block, 3 kills B. Brumfield 1 ace, 7 digs

P: M. Unruh 5 kills, 30 digs A. Rash 1 ace, 7 assists N. Salom 3 aces, 10 digs

T: Ai. Carrillo 4 aces, 6 kills G. Bradfield 18 kills K. Bullerman 4 aces, 6 kills

E. Griffiths (1) W- G.

(2), L. Kabalisa (1), E. Grazios (1), I. Buenacasa

W- M. Fernandez (1), G. Agahnya (1), N. Ferrari (1), L. Kabalisa (2)

D. Eichmann

Virginia CC

19

K. Waters 8 digs, 15 kills

Weil 2 aces, 22 assists, 6 digs M. Fraker 11 kills B. Brumfield 15 digs M. Norma-Wilson 2 aces, 16 assists

GOLDEN ELKS FOOTBALL

Golden Elks suffer loss to high-powered Bobcats

By Victor Hensley

ELKTON - In sports, sometimes you simply run into a buzzsaw.

And there isn’t a whole lot you can do about it.

That’s exactly what happened to the Elkton Golden Elks (4-4) last Thursday, when the unbeaten Bel Air Bobcats (8-0) strolled into town and handed them a devastating loss on senior night, 48-8, in a game that featured a running clock for much of the second half.

“They've got really tough kids over there who are, physically, just imposing,” said Matt Feeney, the Golden Elks’ head coach, following the loss. “That line is big and athletic and they move people, and their running backs will run your face over. They’ve got guys, so we just weren't able to stand in with them for four quarters.”

Elkton struggled with Bel Air’s physicality from the get-go, fumbling on the very first play of the game to give the Bobcats the ball on Elkton’s 6-yard-line.

It took just one play for Bel Air to find the end zone on a 6-yard run from senior Nehemiah Ramsey – one of his two touchdowns on the day – to quickly make it 7-0 Bobcats.

The Golden Elks proceeded to give the ball back on their next possession on another lost fumble, as the Bobcats then

scored on the following two drives to extend their lead to 21-0.

Scoring both of those touchdowns for Bel Air was senior wide receiver Tre Dennis, who had himself a day, catching five balls for 114 yards and four scores, with three of them coming from senior starting quarterback Jay Perez (7of-19 for 168 yards, 3 TDs, 2 interceptions) and another manifesting itself late in the game from junior Tavon Anderson.

“We tried to move an extra guy down into the box, just to try to give us an advantage there. If you're going to beat us, we want to force you to beat us throwing,” said Feeney. “We put ourselves behind the 8-ball a few times, the turnovers, putting the ball on the ground. When that happens, it’s hard to recover. The game plan, we believed in it, but we were unable to execute it.”

Feeney also gave a shoutout to Bobcats senior running back Nate Furrow, who gashed the Golden Elks to the tune of 205 yards on just 13 carries (15.8 yards per carry).

“We’re going to have to get back to the drawing board on the tackling,” Feeney said, “but tip your cap to (Furrow). He’s a tough out.”

By halftime, Bel Air held on to a 35-0 lead after scoring twice more, triggering the running clock for nearly the entire second half.

Elkton finally got on the board early in the fourth quarter on a drive that started at its own 32-yard-line and featured senior quarterback Eli Latshaw going 3-of-4 for 45 yards – and an interception, but the returner was stripped on his way to the end zone, resulting in a fumble recovery for the Golden Elks, all of which took place on a single play. The drive was capped off by a 35-yard touchdown run by sophomore Joshua Brill.

Then, in an effort to shut off the running clock, despite it being 42-7 with a little over nine minutes to play, Brill ran it in again for the two-point conversion instead of the Golden Elks kicking the extra point.

“He’s young, he’s a sophomore, but he’s an athlete,” Feeney said of his sophomore running back, who moved back to Elkton halfway through the season. “We're just glad he's back. He brings an additional talent to our backfield.”

By the time the clock struck triple zeros, Elkton found itself down by 40 points, 48-8, after allowing 543 total yards of offense and seven total touchdowns.

This week, the Golden Elks look to get back on track when they visit the Harford Tech Cobras (4-4), while the Bobcats aim to complete an undefeated regular season when they host the Edgewood Rams (7-1).

photos by Susan Burkholder

RISING SUN TIGERS FOOTBALL

Tigers plagued by miscues, big plays in streak-snapping loss to Joppatowne

By Victor Hensley

JOPPATOWNE - Rising Sun was five yards away from making it a game against Joppatowne last Friday night, but its own mistakes kept getting in the way.

In the second quarter, the Tigers found themselves down 22-7 with the ball on the 5-yardline and less than a minute to play.

But, as would become an unfortunate trend for Cecil County’s hottest team, an offensive offside penalty stunted their momentum, knocked them back five yards and forced them to kick a field goal to make it 22-10 at the break.

Miscues like those were abundant for the Tigers (5-3), who fell to the smooth-sailing Mariners (7-1), 44-25, on the backs of a big offensive night for some of their top skill players.

“I think we jumped offsides in our first offensive drive like two or three times,” said Clem Vaughan, the Tigers’ head coach.

“We can’t win with first-and-15, first-and-20, that kind of stuff, so that’s what stalled us. Our mantra is, ‘Nobody stops us, we stop ourselves.’ … You can't come in on the road, playing a good team like this and make these mistakes. It's

a lesson learned.”

With Joppatowne’s last loss having come on Sept. 9 against Perryville – going 5-0 in the five weeks leading up to its date against Rising Sun, out-pacing the Tigers’ own four-game winning streak – the Tigers knew that shutting the Mariners down would be a Goliath-sized task.

And, it didn’t take long for them to find out why, as the Mariners scored on their first two offensive drives to capture an early 14-0 lead that’d only bloom larger as the game went on.

Joppatowne senior running back Steven Robinson had a field day against the Tigers, registering his second-straight week with over 200 rushing yards as he carried the ball 14 times for 224 yards (16 yards per carry) and found the end zone three times on the ground.

“I said it all week, that it was going to be hard to tackle (Robinson), that we were going to have to get three or four guys on him,” said Vaughan. “At times, we had one in the backfield on him, and he’d juke them and move and, next thing you know, he’s 15-20 yards downfield.”

Having an equally impres-

sive day was Mariners quarterback Anthony Wilson, who completed 15-of-20 passes (75%) for 298 yards and three touchdowns.

On the flip side, Tigers senior quarterback Gannon Russell still managed to find the end zone twice on the ground in the loss.

Rising Sun actually cut it to a one-possession game in the third quarter after a fake punt by senior Caleb Leffew resulted in a 40-yard touchdown to make it 2217, but the Mariners came right back with a touchdown of their own and wouldn’t stop there, scoring 22 points in the second half to put the Tigers away, 44-25.

“We hit a fake punt for about a 40-yard touchdown … and it seemed like three plays later, they were in the end zone, so it was 30-17,” said Vaughan with a laugh. “We just couldn't match the speed of their scores.”

The Tigers finish off their regular season with The Battle of 272 rivalry game against the North East Indians (1-7) this Friday, which has major implications for postseason home-field advantage. The Mariners, on the other hand, take on the Patterson Mill Huskies (7-1) on the road for their finale.

photos by Duane Goldsmith

Just a few plays after yet another three-and-out by the Warriors, Gunter took the handoff from junior quarterback Ty Patchell and sliced through the middle of the field, weaving and slipping through the arms of defender-after-defender. By the time he reached the end zone, Gunter had broken four separate tackles – including a brutal stiff-arm at the goal line – to cap off a 30-yard touchdown run and increase Perryville’s lead to 14-0.

“I stiff-armed someone, apparently,” said Gunter with a laugh after the win, “and then I started stumbling … and I was like, ‘I can’t go down at the 1(-yardline),’ so I dove into the end zone.”

kids’: Panthers trounce Warriors to win 3rd-straight Susky Bowl

Gunter’s 30-yard TD run would be the last score of the first half for either team, however, as both offenses slowed down and struggled to move the ball.

While the Warriors’ offense never mustered a scoring drive, they occasionally found success thanks to the legs of senior starting quarterback Amir Austin, who kept a few drives alive simply because of his ability to scramble and get out of tough situations.

In total, though, Havre de Grace racked up just 109 yards of total offense, turning the ball over three times in the process on two interceptions and a lost fumble as the Perryville defense put together yet another masterclass.

“We had to start a couple

guys young in the secondary due to some injuries and losing some guys last week, so they really stepped up,” Sandora said. “Our kids took pride in it all week long. They wanted to come out here and show that we have a pretty good defense and that we can dominate the line of scrimmage and I think we did that tonight.”

In the second half, Perryville found the end zone on a lengthy opening drive that lasted nearly 10 minutes, chewing up close to the entire third-quarter clock thanks to a boatload of penalties – five in total – and 11 run plays, the last of which was yet another score for Gunter, this time from the 1-yard-line, to make it 21-0 Panthers.

Then, on the Panthers’ next possession, Ayers drilled a 44-yard field goal to reach the eventual final score of 24-0.

“He's got a college-level leg in my opinion,” Sandora said. “It’s great because you can always get points on the board and when you have an opportunity to put points on the board, it’s always good.”

With the win, Perryville snapped its two-game losing streak and got back to a .500 record with one regular-season game left on the calendar.

This week, the Panthers host the Bo Manor Eagles (5-3) on senior night, while the Warriors visit St. Andrews (Delaware) in search of their first victory.

continued from cover

photos by Scott Serio

BOHEMIA MANOR EAGLES FOOTBALL

Head Coach: Vincent Ricci 2022 Season Record: 5-3

Eagles and Cougars battle on Senior Night

By Kevin Phillips

CHESAPEAKE CITY

– Both Bohemia Manor and Fallston struggled to hold on to the football in the teams’ UCBAC Susquehanna Division football battle, combining for nine turnovers on the night.

The Eagles committed six turnovers throughout, and they could not overcome those mistakes en route to a 24-7 defeat at the hands of the visiting Cougars Thursday night.

“We have to rep ball security and preach it in practice. We do preach that stuff. That stuff is going to happen. It’s part of the game,” Bo Manor head coach Vincent Ricci said. “(Fallston) coughed the ball up too, and we fell on it too. It was just one of those nights that who was going to hold on to the ball seemed like

was going to win the game. It was one of those games that was really odd with the fumbles.”

The Eagles gained just 64 yards in the first half, and as a result, they entered the second half trailing 3-0 after Cougars kicker Jason Roberts converted a 41yard field goal midway through the first quarter.

As a result of their offensive struggles in the first half, Bo Manor switched to the Wildcat formation on their first possession of the third quarter and promptly worked its way down the field and took the lead on a Jake Koehler three-yard touchdown run, culminating a 10-play, 65-yard drive.

“It was something we decided to do at halftime. The coaches made a really good adjustment, doing that. That got us down the field and got us in the lead,” Ric-

ci said. “Unfortunately we gave it right back when we got the bad break on the tipped pass. That happens in football, and that’s the little bit of adversity that we had. When you run the Wildcat like that and once a team sees it, the other coaches obviously would figure it out.”

On the ensuing possession, the Cougars responded with their first touchdown of the game when Aiden Dixon’s pass was deflected high in the air before Brody Fitzekee hauled it in for a 35-yard touchdown.

Fallston put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter when Evan Bradley-Dozier and Evan Alcide had touchdown runs of 23 and 12 yards respectively, and Ricci took responsibility for the Cougars’ final touchdown.

“On the last touchdown,

I called a really dumb blitz. That was on me. I thought they were going to run to the opposite side, and they ran to the weak side. That one is on me,” Ricci said.

Despite giving up 24 points, the Eagles’ defense played well throughout the night, forcing three turnovers and limiting a normally dynamic Fallston offense to just 226 yards, and Ricci said the score was not indicative of how well Bo Manor’s defense played.

“Once again, we showed up. We tackled a really tough quarterback all night. They didn’t get many rushing yards. We caught a really bad break on one of their passes. They stayed together and kept fighting.” Ricci said. “The effort was there. As you said, it was 24-7, but I do believe the kids played a lot harder than that”

Indians stumble, 28-0, against ‘physical’ Patterson Mill squad

By Victor Hensley

BEL AIR - Fresh off of an emo-

tional senior-night victory on Oct. 14, the North East Indians were tasked with one of their toughest challenges of the season last Friday.

And, regardless of what the final scoreboard says, they undoubtedly stepped up to the occasion.

The Indians (1-7) dropped a defensive battle, 28-0, to the Patterson Mill Huskies (7-1) in a contest that saw their defense thrive and offense struggle against one of the top teams in Harford County.

“They’re a physical team, and that’s something you can definitely tell they pride themselves on,” said Taylor Slaughenhoupt, the Indians’ head coach, when asked about Patterson Mill. “They were in good position, it looked like they were communicating pretty well and were on the same page with each other. … They’ve got a couple of guys that like to fly around and hit, which, from a defensive perspective, you always love to see.”

Entering last Friday’s game, North East knew it had one job: stop the Huskies’ ever-present rushing attack.

While the Indians were able to mostly limit big run plays against the Huskies, save for one or two, Patterson Mill still managed to punch in all four of their touchdowns on the ground, including three in the first half.

From the jump, however,

North East couldn’t get out of its own way.

On the game’s opening drive, the Indians had the Huskies in third-and-long situations on a couple of different occasions, but continuously made mistakes like jumping offsides to keep the Huskies’ offense on the field, inevitably making them pay for it.

“They ended up scoring (on that drive),” Slaughenhoupt said. “They’re a good team, so if you give them two or three extra chances during the drive, they’ll end up putting points on the board, and that’s what they did.”

At halftime, Patterson Mill held firmly onto a 21-0 lead as the Indians’ simply couldn’t get into an offensive groove all night.

Defensively, North East allowed just seven total points in the second half – forcing a few three-and-outs in the process –but with the Huskies being a runfirst team, they were able to chew up a chunk of the clock every time they had the ball. They rapidly tore through the third and fourth quarters, preventing the Indians from having too many shots at putting together a scoring drive.

“When a running team gets a couple of first downs, they’re going to let that clock run,” Slaughenhoupt said of Patterson Mill’s ability to chew clock. “Especially when you're playing catch up, you go three-and-out, get the ball back over to them, and you just lost another four minutes.”

This week, North East gets its final test of the regular season when it visits rival Rising

Sun (5-3) for The Battle of 272 in its inaugural season. Slaughenhoupt said that, after facing a run-heavy team in Patterson Mill, their game plan against Rising Sun – known for the success of their dual-threat quarterback, Gannon Russell – won’t be much different. This time, though, he’s hoping for better results.

“It'll be real similar to what we did on Friday night: stay in our gaps and once we get hands on the ball carrier, make sure we bring them down,” Slaughenhoupt said. “It's a fun rivalry, man. And I think what they're doing – putting a name behind it, putting a trophy behind it – it'll be a good time. It'll be a great atmosphere on Friday night.”

photos by Sam Dixon

CECIL COUNTY

SPORTS

By Victor Hensley

‘You’ve got to bring the energy’: Titans outlast Crusaders in rivalry thriller

ELKTON - Sports would be nothing without their storied rivalries.

Every sport has a handful of must-watch matchups that – whether it’s Steelers-Ravens, Duke-Carolina or Alabama-Auburn –always brings the fire, the intensity and, of course, the tight, impossible-to-predict contests.

In the Cecil County volleyball community, the rivalry that arguably transcends all others is the Tome Titans versus the TriState Crusaders, with every set manifesting itself as a heated battle fit for an ancient Greek epic.

The latest installment of the Titans-Crusad-

ers conflict took place last Tuesday with massive implications for the Mid-Atlantic Independent League (MIL) playoffs on the line, which saw Tome (12-2) down TriState (9-4) in four sets, 3-1, to earn the regular-season sweep over its cross-county foe.

“It’s always been back-and-forth,” said Tome sophomore Grace Bradfield of her team’s rivalry with Tri-State. “It’s the atmosphere, and they bring their fans, so we have to bring ours. They’re one of the teams that you have to play against. You’ve got to bring the fans, you’ve got to bring the energy, and that just makes you a better team.”

Earlier in the season, Tome defeated Tri-

State, 3-1, in a match that Crusaders Head Coach Andy Mussaw said was much more lopsided than this one, crediting his team for having improved since the first meeting.

“Compared to our previous game against those guys, where they burned us 100% on tips and pushes into the corners,” Mussaw said, “we improved on that dramatically from the last time.”

The Crusaders gave the Titans a run for their money all night long, beginning from the opening set, which saw Tri-State take an early three-point

lead, 6-3, and stay ahead by just a couple of points for most of the set.

However, as these matches tend to go, Tome stormed back to tie it at 1414, then took the lead, 1514, on a well-executed ace on a serve by junior Katy Bullerman, who was excel-

lent both from the service zone and the outside for the Titans, racking up six kills.

Tome managed to extend its lead to three, 1815, but just as quickly as it’d gone down, Tri-State kicked it into another gear, winning seven straight points to take a 19-18 advantage, capped

off by a dominant kill at the net by Ashlyn Criddle, who was playing her first game ever at middle due to the absence of Crusaders star Jules Harris.

“Considering (Criddle) had never played mid-

continued on B-4

JV Indians Take Elks to Game Three, Secure a 2-1 Come From Behind Victory

By Megan Steimer

NORTH EAST - The North East JV volleyball team knocked off visiting Elkton Golden Elks Monday evening, en route to a 19-25, 25-18, 16-14 win. The junior varsity squads faced each other just ten days prior when the Indians came away with a 2-1 win, but if their last match was any indication how this one would play out, spectators were in for a treat.

History certainly repeated itself as Elkton was able to come away with a game one win in both matches before North East would come from behind in set two and three to take a hard-fought victory. In set one, North East seized an early 6-2 lead behind a kill from the middle by Jordan Ford, but Elkton came right back to go up 12-11 on the Indians after Delilah Summers recorded four service points, including an ace. It was neck and neck from

then on out when the Elks started to pull away. Veronika Soto went on a six-point service run to put Elkton up 22-15 before losing possession of the ball. They got it right back when Dani Brackett found Summers for a kill on the way to a game one win.

hit a kill off an Indians pass over the net, livening up the Elks side and bringing the visitors within four to tie. The passing errors were too much to overcome though, as North East secured a set two win to tie the match and yet again, take Elkton to a set three.

one point between staying alive and defeat. The Indians rallied though, starting with sophomore Natalie Smith who secured a kill to bring her team within one. Smith then rotated to the back line and knocked in an ace to tie the game 14-14. The following play, Pelletier

found Paige Dugger for a kill to take a 15-14 lead when a passing error by the Elks secured the final point and a match win for the home team. North East JV stormed the court in celebration of an absolute thriller, stunning the Elks in a come behind set three victory. Pelletier

dished out three assists to go with three aces on the night while Ford recorded two aces and one block for the Indians. Dugger led the team with three aces and a kill for North East. On the Elks’ side, Summers concluded the evening with two kills.

Set two certainly had an interesting start as the Indians got the ball to begin, serving it over to the Elks where it was thought to hit the floor for an ace. However, it hit an Elkton player’s foot and was still playable, so the Elks sent it over the net amid an Indians’ ace celebration, securing the first point for set two. North East rebounded though, when middle Natalie Jones made a huge block to put her team up 5-2. Trinity Cunningham served back-to-back aces while Jones recorded an ace as well, helping the Indians lead increase 15-10 before Elkton called a timeout. The game slowed a bit before Elkton’s Sophia

Summers served an ace to give Elkton the first point, but it was back and forth the next few. Coming off an Elkton time out, North East was determined to keep their lead, first with an ace from Ford followed by a set from Kaelyn Pelletier for a Kamryn Kitts’ kill to keep the momentum and ball on their side. Rosario had some tricks up her sleeve to keep Elkton in the game, pushing the ball to deep corner where it dropped on the Indians’ side. A couple of unforced errors by the Indians put the Elks up 13-11, giving them an opportunity to take the match. A few plays later, North East found themselves down 12-14 with

Rosario

Indians Ace Senior Night, Sweep Elks For Fifth Win

By Megan Steimer

NORTH EAST - It was no ordinary game for the North East Indians this past Monday. Their match against county rival Elkton Golden Elks marked the second time in ten days the two teams have met, but it was especially meaningful as the Indians celebrated senior night with a 25-14, 2510, 25-20 victory where the four seniors on the squad not only started but shined.

“I was really happy for the seniors, first and foremost” said head coach Joe Burkhardt, “we had a couple of girls out tonight, so we had to do some rearranging to the line up and it worked out well.” It was business as usual for setter Rachel Mullins and middle Ginny Coker. The two connected on an attack out of the middle in the first set before freshman Ashley Ungarten eight-point service run, including a whopping six aces, brought her team out of a deficit to go up on the Elks 14-7. A few rotations later, Mullins entered the backrow and secured another five points, two of which were aces, to put North East up 23-11. Elkton was able to get the

ball back for a chance to tack on a few points, but a service error gave the Indians a set one win.

Much like set one, Elkton jumped out to an early 3-2 lead behind an Amya Smith ace, but senior Ally Schaible knocked in three of her own to put her team up 7-3. Setter Sophie Camphausen found hitter Danielle Rogers for an Elks’ kill but the errors continued to creep in, giving North East the advantage. Schaible, who is typically the Indians’ libero, seized the opportunity to play in the front row for her senior night and knocked in two late kills, one of which was for the game two win.

“It was definitely new to me” said Schaible when asked how it felt to play front row, “I think I did pretty good, and I enjoyed it.” Burkhardt agreed, “I was very happy with Ally’s playing tonight. She’s usually our libero but we had her at outside tonight where she was able to get a couple of kills. It was awesome to see.”

Mullins again started off strong at the service line for set three, recording two aces to put the Indians up 4-0 early. The Elks continued to struggle on of-

fense, but Rogers had an impressive block out of the middle to give Elkton the momentum they needed. Down 15-22, Smith stepped up to the service line and knocked in five crucial service points to keep her team in the game.

Nonetheless, the Indians didn’t let the Elks come any closer to spoiling senior night– recording a double block on the right side and then a Coker kill out of the middle to seal the deal for win number five. “I think getting comfortable with each other and just learning how to play as a team has led to our recent success” noted Coker. “I think our passing and hitting have also improved,” said senior Delaney Stanley. Whatever it may be, the Indians are rid-

ing the high, winning three of their last four games. Mullins finished the night with five aces, 20 assists, and two kills while Coker knocked in three aces, one block, and a team high five kills. Schaible recorded four aces and three kills for her senior night while Ungarten had a game high eight aces at the service line. For the Elks, Camphausen concluded the evening with one ace, two assists, two digs, and two kills while Smith finished with two aces and four digs. As the regular season comes to a close, both teams face Harford County schools where the Indians hope to continue their late season surge while the Elks look to add a few more W’s to their win column.

continued from B-1

dle before, she played really well,” Mussaw said. “Toward the end of the game, she kind of lost it a little bit, but having never played that position before, that’s totally acceptable in my eyes.”

got to bring the energy’: Titans outlast Crusaders in rivalry thriller

many as three points in the process, but another Bradfield kill in her sweet spot – the back-left corner – tied the set, 18-18.

After another run by the Titans and a couple of back-and-forth points, the set was locked at 23-23.

Then, Criddle struck again, forcing a hit toward the Titans’ front line that went right off of the fingertips of Bradfield, giving TriState a 24-23 lead. With Criddle serving on the ensuing point, Bradfield knocked a potential return out of bounds to give the Crusaders a 25-23 first-set victory.

However, Tome appeared to take the set loss personally, proceeding to wallop Tri-State in the second set after hopping out to a 13-4 lead that it’d never come close to relinquishing, leading by as many as 11 before eventually pulling out a 25-14 win to even the match at 1-1.

The third set would prove to be another barnburner, with the Crusaders getting the early advantage after a pair of aces from Katie Eckendorf and Hope Pfadt, 3-1, but the Titans coming back to retake the lead, 4-3, after winning three consecutive points.

Tome held onto the lead until a Crusaders run allowed them to win six straight points, taking the lead on a hard-hit ace from Baylie Thomas, making it 12-11.

A back-and-forth sequence ensued, with the Crusaders leading by as

From there, the Titans flipped a switch, winning seven consecutive points to seal the 25-18 set win behind a masterful job in the service zone by freshman Ainsley Carillo, giving Tome a 2-1 match lead, needing to win just one more set to take the match home.

“We do a magnificent job of digging really deep holes and trying to climb out of them, and sometimes we run out of points,” Spencer said. “The first set, we’re warming up a little bit, we still couldn't get out of our own way with some of the errors, but then the second and third sets, I felt we were pretty solid. It was pretty solid volleyball all the way around.”

The fourth and final set had a similar feel, with Tome spotting Tri-State a small lead early. But, after gaining an advantage on an ace by Bullerman, followed by a service error on the next point to tie it, 10-10, the Titans rattled off 15 straight points as Carillo was flawless on her serves.

In the Titans’ final 15-0 run – which gave them the fourth-set win, 25-10 – Bradfield had five kills in what was a complete team performance to close out an action-packed, come-frombehind rivalry win.

“(Bradfield) was really smart with where she was putting the ball,” Spencer said of his sophomore.

“When the season started, she was struggling a little bit, she was learning. Every time she was going for that home-run ball, but she’s learned you can’t always do that. … She’s been finding the floor a lot more the past few games.”

With a win over the Crusaders, the Titans not only extended their league record to 11-0, but also secured home court advantage throughout the MIL playoffs, a major step in their journey to reclaim the league title af-

ter losing to Tri-State in the championship match last season, a memory that continues to fuel them to this day.

“It's definitely a bittersweet taste, knowing we lost it last year and now we’re being able to take just little pieces of it back, just working towards it and seeing how the work and effort we put in is kind of starting to pay off,” Bradfield said. “It just really feels nice to know your hard work counts for something.”

‘You’ve

SCENES FROM PERRYVILLE VOLLEYBALL vs RISING SUN OCTOBER 21, 2022

Photos by Sam Dixon

Photos by Sam Dixon

Rowan University Women's Swimming Falls to #8 NYU in the Profs Season Opener; Pennington Wins Three Events

Story By Rowan University Athletics

GLASSBORO, NJ -- Rowan

took on #8 NYU in the season opener on Saturday at the Tony Lisa Natatorium but were on the wrong end of a 167-90 score.

Rookie Ella Pennington had quite the debut, winning three events on the day. The freshman was first in the 100 backstroke (58.69), the 200 backstroke (2:05.87), and the 200 IM (2:13.54).

Jordan McChesney picked up a first-place finish in the 50 free (24.60) and a second place in the 100 free (53.56). Emma Padros was second in the 200 IM

RISING SUN HIGH SCHOOL MARCHING BAND WINS TOURNAMENT OF BANDS COMPETITION

First Place in Tournament of Bands Chapter 9 Group 2A Chapter Championships

October 22, 2022 at Lake Forest High School Score of 88.5

RSHS Tiger Marching Band presents their 2022 show, “Bee Yourself”

(2:21.72) while Natalina Baldinazzo had a third place result in the 200 IM (2:22.13) and two four-place finishes (100 breaststroke & 200 breaststroke).

For the Violets, Nicole Ranile (200 free & 200 butterfly), Avery Lambert (500 free & 1000 free), and Anna Li (100 breaststroke & 200 breaststroke) all won two events each.

The Profs are back in the pool on Friday as the team takes on Kean in a New Jersey Athletic Conference matchup here in Glassboro beginning at 4 p.m.

Featuring songs from The Bee Movie, Symphony No. 5& No. 9 by Beethoven, I Want to Break Free by Queen, Imma Be by the Black-Eyed Peas, and Let It Be by The Beatles

Band Director: Jorge Ayala

Assistant Band Director: Dale Amos

Color Guard Instructor/Choreographer: Ashlee Amos

Color Guard Instructor: Dawn Amos

Percussion Techs: Hunter Sauer, Austin Amos

Specialty Awards:

First Place in Visual, Music, Auxiliary, & Percussion and the Pit Crew Award

Like a good neighbor,

‘These girls were ready’: Panthers shut-out Tigers, 4-0, to earn county sweep

By Victor Hensley

CALVERT PARK - The Per-

ryville Panthers needed to jump one final hurdle to hit a milestone.

But, with less than an hour to go before game time, there was a question of if they’d even have the chance.

Luckily for the Panthers, the weather held up, the ball was kicked off after a short delay and they pro-

ceeded to earn a masterful shut-out win, 4-0, over the Rising Sun Tigers (7-3-1) to not only stay unbeaten at 11-0 – just one win away from a perfect regular season – but finish off the Cecil County sweep.

“It was a tough one because the rain moved in, the lightning and all, and we were like, ‘Are we going to get this in?’” said John Myers, the Panthers’ head coach, reflecting on his pre-

game concerns. “Then they were talking about canceling and that Rising Sun can’t make it up because they have Monday-Wednesday-Friday this week, so it’s taking away from everything we worked for and we were looking forward to this game.

“So, when (the officials) said they were ready (to play), you can ask Mr. Rash,” he continued, “they had the speakers blaring,

they were dancing through the hallways. … These girls were just ready to go.” The Panthers proceeded to win their last game on the schedule just two days later against the Aberdeen Eagles (2-10), 6-1, to solidify their perfect 12-0 regular season.

From the get-go on Monday, however, it was clear that Perryville had brought the energy. Not only were the

Panthers up against a fierce in-county rival with both the Cecil sweep and their perfect season on the line, but it was also one of their toughest tests yet.

And they passed with flying colors.

The Panthers got a big offensive boost from a pair of juniors that were firing on all cylinders, Kamryn Marcinkevich and Sarah Murrell, who each scored two goals and racked up two

assists in the win.

Marcinkevich drew first blood mere minutes into the contest, having received a textbook crossing pass from Murrell – who dribbled into the left corner – and fired a shot past Tigers goalkeeper Jordan Lynch. But, the shot was a little too far to the left, smacking off of the post and right back into Marcinkevich’s lap. With a continued on C-2

ELKTON DEFEATS

BOHEMIA MANOR 1-0 PAGE C5

SUN ON TOP 3-1 VS PERRYVILLE PAGE C4

second-chance opportunity right in front of her after grabbing her own rebound, she made sure she didn’t miss the second time, slotting the ball perfectly into the left corner of the net to give Rising Sun a 1-0 lead in just the sixth minute.

Before the end of the half, though, Murrell made sure it was her turn to get in on the action.

In the 26th minute, Marcinkevich took control of a free kick on the Tigers’ 40-yard-line and promptly walloped a deep pass over Murrell’s head, toward the penalty box. Murrell tracked it down and, in the blink of an eye, buried a shot into the net from about 20 yards out to increase the Panthers’ advantage to two goals, 2-0, which they carried into the halftime break.

“I feel like me and Kam have played together for so long that we just know each other and we have a connection on the field because I had both of her assists and she had both of mine,” said Murrell after the win. “So it was just kind of like, ‘Please go in, please go in,’ as it was going, but then once we scored, it was

just a great feeling knowing it came from Kamryn.”

Despite the Panthers’ two-goal halftime lead – and the eventual four-goal win – Rising Sun’s defense came to play and, for the most part, contained some of Perryville’s best playmakers.

In total, the Tigers actually out-shot their opponents, registering eight shots-on-goal to the Panthers’ six.

The difference, however, was the quality and strength of the shots, along with Perryville’s sophomore goalkeeper Sarah Cantrell simply saving everything that came her way, totaling eight saves on the day as she continued to impress in Perryville’s fifth clean-sheet win of the year.

“Our defense and our keeper just keep on working every game,” Myers said. “Sarah’s just back there talking, directing the field, calling everybody off, making the saves she’s supposed to make. … She’s just playing phenomenal right now. We talked at the beginning of the year, after her season last year, and it’s like, wow, she could be the best keeper in the county.”

The second half

was déjà vu for both squads as Rising Sun continued to out-shoot Perryville, but was unable to put the ball in the net, while both Murrell (64th minute) and Marcinkevich (67th minute) got on the board again to make it 4-0 in favor of the Panthers.

Marcinkevich undoubtedly had the goal of the night in the 67th minute when – after chasing down a pass from Murrell – she barely got a shot off in the nick of time with a defender on her back and Lynch attempting a slide tackle at her feet. She collided with Lynch’s legs a split-second after tapping the ball, causing her to do a flip and collapse on the ground while the ball hurled toward an empy net for the score.

Perryville’s big night was only made more special given that it was senior night for Kylie Narvell, the team’s lone senior, who has been a pivotal member of the Panthers throughout their ups and downs over the past four seasons.

“Kylie is amazing,” Myers said of his senior. “She just works. She’s at every practice. This preseason, she took over the entire summer workouts and everything. She was there

working with our junior class and everything to kind of keep them going. … She got hit pretty hard in her knee in the last game, so she’s got a pretty good bruise there, but she's like, ‘I'm not sitting this one out, I’m going in.’ And she’s just out there working every minute she’s out there.”

Not only had the Panthers not earned the county sweep in years, but their kryptonite had always been the Tigers, a team none of the players on this year’s roster had conquered.

“It was good to finally have a chance against Rising Sun,” said Narvell, “because I know, especially from my freshman year, there's really never been a chance except with other teams.”

“To finally go out there and prove to (Rising Sun) that we have a good team and we’re filled with juniors,” said Murrell, “so we have a solid team for next year, too. We're a team to beat in the county, it's not just them.”

‘These girls were ready’: Panthers shut-out Tigers, 4-0, to earn county sweep

photos by Duane Goldsmith

Micklas leads Indians to 3-0 win over Golden Elks

By Kevin Phillips

ELKTON–North East re-

ceived a strong defensive effort throughout its lineup as it prevented host Elkton from establishing any kind of rhythm when the Golden Elks possessed the ball in the teams’ UCBAC Susquehanna Division girls’ soccer showdown Wednesday night.

With the defense holding down the fort on the back end, the Indians constantly pressured on the attack, resulting in three shortrange goals, two of which came from Allyson Micklas, in a 3-0 victory over Elkton.

“We were playing defense as a team. We had 11 players on defense,” North East head coach Tom Decker said. “We started by shutting it down up top. The midfield played their part of the defense, and when it gets to the defense, they’re

able to clear and do what they need to do.”

After a methodical first 10 minutes of the game in which neither team could impose their will over their opponents, the Indians slowly tilted the action to their attacking side of the field. Whenever it did lose possession of the ball, it was only temporary as North East regained it quickly by pressuring Elkton and forcing turnovers, preventing any consistent counterattack by the Golden Elks.

Offensively, the Indians took advantage of their short range opportunities, starting with Micklas tapping a Katy Hammer pass over the goal line in the game’s 34th minute to make it 1-0.

“I saw my teammate set the ball up, and then, I saw the open space. My friend, Katy (Hammer), just chipped it over,” Micklas said as she mimicked what

she did when she scored her first goal. “It was more of a round kick or a tap in to the side.”

North East took that 1-0 lead into the second half, and just three minutes after the halftime break, Maddie Krasman made it a two-goal game when she scored on a Hammer pass along the goal line.

The Indians put the game out of reach when Ashleigh Peace sprung Miklas for a breakaway goal in the 74th minute to make it 3-0, and North East’s strong offensive night was a result of the team putting the right touch on the ball.

“We’re realizing that the small touches and small balls are going to make the difference in the playoffs, so we’ve been working on trying to make that happen,” Decker said. “You saw today what we can do when we get small touches.”

photos by Jessica Peace

ELKTON SENIOR NIGHT FOR GIRLS SOCCER

Photos

Photos by Megan Steimer

Written by: Heather Dotson

Pictures by: Heather Dotson, Sarah Fitzpatrick, Kristie Weber, MJ Devonshire

The Cecil Wolfpack regular season may have came to an end Saturday, but the playoffs are just heating up. This past week was action packed on and off the field for the Pack, with their homecoming formal, games on the road and an appearance in the Elkton Halloween Parade.

Flag Football closed out their final game with a win, making them undefeated for the season.

9U were on their home turf this past Saturday, as they hosted the Bel Air Terps. Khaalis Coppock-Bey Jr. had two touchdown runs racking up over 100 yards rushing in the game. Syncere Judge also had two touchdowns receiving, thrown by Quarterback Bryson Queen. Judge ended with over 100 yards receiving for the day as well. Bryson Queen added a two yard touchdown and a twopoint conversion to help put the Pack up. Jayceon McClain also had some fantastic runs on the day. Coach Sheldon would like to give special recognition to the defensive line, which was anchored by David Sailman, Logan Taylor, Kyrhee Washington, Jayceon McClain and Joe Beidman. Final score was 33-6.

11U fought hard to end as Quarterback O’Mari

WOLFPACK REPORT:

Ray dominated the running game Saturday, as he rushed for two touchdowns and threw for a few critical receptions to Noah Coursey and Noah Blailock. Blailock also contributed some key blocks, which resulted in touchdowns. The defense made some key stops at the right moments, which gave them the big win over Bel Air 13-6. They end regular season with a record of 7-2 and first place in the league. They will be the team to watch as they head into the playoffs.

12U had a great game on the road as they welcomed the return of Jordan Hickman. His hard work and attitude plays a big part on the team, as his absence impacted the team greatly in recent games. Quarterback Isaiah Yates was on fire throwing precision passes to his many receivers, connecting with Jeremiah Marshall for a big touchdown. Mark Price was a stand out in picking up blocks throughout the game. Dallas Thompson and Antonio Perdomo also had some stand out moments, catching everything thrown their way. The Pack fell short in the end, but their spirits remained high and never gave up. The 14U Pack remain undefeated with a record of 9-0. They beat Bel Air in a close game with a score of 12-10 Saturday Night under the lights.

Chris Benson contributed a

touchdown along with Kolby Dunn who rushed for the other. They will be the team to beat as they continue into the playoffs.

The Cecil Wolfpack Cheer Squad also competed in their first cheer competition Sunday, Comp In The Swamp at Swamp's Edge, hosted by Perry Hall. Be sure to look for updates in next weeks issue.

1. MYTHOLOGY: What are the Nereids in Greek mythology?

2. LITERATURE: Which 19th-century English novel has the subtitle, “The Parish Boy’s Progress”?

3. ACRONYMS: In printing, what does the acronym DPI stand for?

4. GEOGRAPHY: Which city lies near the largest natural harbor in the world?

5. ANIMAL KINGDOM: How does a bat find its prey?

6. HISTORY: Who is the youngest person to win a Nobel Peace Prize?

7. LANGUAGE: What does the Latin prefix “super-” mean in English?

8. LAW: What is double jeopardy?

9. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: Who founded the American Red Cross?

10. MEDICAL: What vitamin deficiency causes night blindness? © 2022 King Features Synd., Inc.

10. Vitamin A.

9. Clara Barton.

8. Prosecuting a person twice for the same offense.

7. Above, over (supervise, etc.).

6. Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan, who fights for children's rights to education, was 17 when she won the award.

5. Echolocation (sending -high-fre quency sound waves).

4. Sydney, Australia.

3. Dots per inch.

2. "Oliver Twist" (Charles Dickens).

1. Sea nymphs.

Answers

SPORTS

C H A M P I O N S

WALLACE AND SERIO CLAIM COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS, RISING SUN TAKES TEAM EVENT

By Victor Henlsey

MIDDLETOWN, DE - Back

Creek Golf Club wasn’t necessarily a golfer’s paradise last Wednesday, but that didn’t faze Cecil County’s best. Battling through frigid temperatures and howling winds, 40 of the county’s top golfers descended upon Middletown, Delaware, for the annual Cecil County

Invitational, the final regular-season event of the year for six of the county’s high schools.

To no one’s surprise, Noah Wallace, North East’s junior phenom, took both the tournament’s top men’s and overall spots, shooting a 2-under total of 69, eight strokes better than Rising Sun freshman Lucas Kilgore, who snagged second place with a 77 (+6).

Rounding out the top three overall scorers was Rising Sun senior Tyler Hogue with an 82 (+11).

“Noah really brings out the competition in you,” Hogue said when asked about being paired with Wallace. “You know he’s better than you and he’s going to win, but it brings out that drive in you to really try to beat him and play your best and score as low as possi-

ble just to see how low you can get.”

Despite the Indians finishing with the top overall scorer in Wallace, it was actually the Tigers – aided by the performances of Kilgore and Hogue – that won the team portion of the county championship for the thirdstraight season, shooting a six-player combined total of 524, 59 strokes ahead of North East in second place.

“They played extremely well today,” said Tim Kerns, the Tigers’ head coach, of his team. “This is really the first time this season that they’ve had wind and cold and conditions to deal with. They came out and put together some of their better rounds of the season – and, in some cases, it was their best round of the season. I think maybe we need to play in this kind

of weather more.”

Rising Sun had three of the top four overall scorers with Kilgore, Hogue and Johnny Waldridge (fourth-place, 85, +14), along with sub-100 performances from Bradley Deitz (93, +22), Jake Eckman (93, +22), Laidon Jordan (94, +23) and Ben Adams (99, +28), while Tyler Stout shot a 114 (+43).

continued on D-2

RISING SUN, SERIO AND WALLACE CLAIM COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS

Kilgore surprised even himself with his second-place finish, with his round of 77 acting not only as one of the top scores of the day, but a personal competitive best for him. And he did it all on a tough course with even tougher elements to fight through.

“The course really was playing tough today with the wind and the cold,” Kilgore said. “The ball wasn’t traveling as far. … I was trying to come out here and shoot a 3-under bogie score, so an 85-88.”

“Lucas put everything together today,” Kerns said of his freshman. “He really played his game. He’s shown flashes throughout the season and it all came together today. … This was not the easiest layout, especially in the weather conditions, so he played very, very well. There’s a lot to look forward to with him.”

Cementing a firstplace finish in the women’s bracket – and clocking in at sixth-place overall – was Tome junior Karina Serio, who shot an 88 (+17), despite feeling under the weather and still having to deal with the high, frosty winds.

“It was miserable (out there), but you just have to stay in the moment,” Serio said. “I think when it comes to any tournament, I just want to make myself proud. So, stay in the moment, make a good shot, something you can go to sleep knowing that you did your best.”

Serio said that while she didn’t hit the score she’d hoped to, she was especially proud of her putting, an aspect of her game she strove to improve upon.

“Usually, my putting is really bad and my biggest weakness,” she said. “Last night, my dad and I went to the golf course and that's all

we did was putt, putt, putt, putt, and that’s what matters.”

As a team, Tome placed fifth with a five-player total of 576 as Serio was the only sub-.500 score, with Spencer Cain (104, +33), Will Shocky (119, +48), Nick Hocker (128, +57) and Cavender McCoy (137, +66) following behind her.

However, the star of the show – and the player that’s helped to revitalize golf in Cecil County – was Wallace, weathering the winds and coming out on top with one of his best performances of the season, shooting a 69 (-2) just a few weeks out from his District VII Championship win at Geneva Farms on Sept. 20.

Wallace’s masterclass was on display as early as hole No. 5, when he hit a 290-yard drive on a short par 4, then hit an eight-foot putt to make eagle, setting the tone for the rest of the round.

A few holes later, on No. 8, he birdied on a par 3 to get him to 2-under in a

moment he deemed “pretty big” for his eventual 2-under finish.

While the course inevitably tried to trip him up by trapping him in a handful of bunkers, Wallace managed to escape most of the time, going 3-of-4 on sand saves as his short game continued to be superb.

“He's got the composure, he's got the skill set. I mean, he's just a machine out there,” said Seth Grimes, the Indians’ head coach, of his junior. “Nothing will faze him, nothing will throw him off of his game.”

Down the stretch, he missed a couple of crucial putts on holes No. 16 and 17, taking his score from 4-under to 2-under, but he redeemed himself on the final two holes, finishing the round strong to take home the victory.

The Indians finished in second place as a team, earning a six-player total score of 583, a nearly 50-stroke improvement from last season’s county championships.

continued on D-3

photos by Scott Serio

Behind Wallace, Wyatt Cudmore (89, +18) and Brandon Kristovich (91, +20) both had sub100 rounds, while Addison Groce (102, +31), Zac Conger (112, +41), Bryson Keithley (120, +49) and Logan Richardson (134, +63) rounded out the Indians’ scores.

“Some people came in and had some great scores for themselves, a couple didn't play the way they wanted. But as a team, we improved again,” Grimes said. “That’s the best finish we've had in a long time in the county, being second place. … Noah did what he wanted to do and it just shows that we've grown.”

Taking third place on the day was the Perryville Panthers with a total of 590, with Andrew Kidd’s score of 84 (+13) being good enough

for fourth place overall, followed by Owen Kilduff (93, +22), Jared Eldreth (98, +27), Lucas Umbarger (102, +31), Michael Phillips (104, +33), Julien Howes (109, +38), Hayden Kenney (110, +39) and Aiden Zimmerman (116, +45). The Bo Manor Eagles were fourth as a team, shooting a 598, just eight strokes lower than Perryville. Topping the Eagles was Braden Paris (95, +24), Colin O’Neal (99, +28), Noah Ruleau (99, +28), Brody Means (100, +29), Jake Vaughn (107, +36) and Bryce McCoy (130, +59).

In last place was the Elkton Golden Elks with a five-player total of 627 behind the performances of Simone Foye (115, +44), Makhi Harkins (115, +44), Carly Esterling (124, +53), Juliette Suter (131, +60) and Isabella Morton (142, +71).

Next up, Wallace and Hogue will take the trip to College Park, where they’ll represent Cecil County at the MPSSAA 1A/2A Golf State Championships on Tuesday and Wednesday, where Wallace will attempt to defend his 2021 crown and Hogue hopes to end his senior season with a bang.

“I'm happy for him to be a part of this journey, just to watch him play and say he's part of our program is a great thing,” said Grimes when asked about Wallace.

“I think he's great for Cecil County, it just brings some more light to the scene. It's awesome to see Tyler (Hogue) this year, in his senior year, get down there, too, so now we're representing with a couple of players down there.”

continued from D-2

photos by Scott Serio

Photos

Eagles stun Tigers on senior night to prevent county sweep, end decade-long streak

By Victor Hensley

CHESAPEAKE CITY - Four

years ago, a group of Bo Manor freshmen joined the school’s field hockey team and set a goal for themselves: beat every team in Cecil County at least once by the end of their senior year. With the team fresh off of a 2-11 season in 201819, a goal that lofty – given the talented field hockey teams the county’s known for – seemed a little farfetched.

That is, until the Eagles got one step closer last Wednesday.

On an emotional, action-packed senior night, Bo Manor (7-4-1) stunned the Rising Sun Tigers (7-4) by earning a hard-fought victory, 2-0, that not only squashed the Tigers’ shot at the county sweep, but also ended the Eagles’ decadeplus-long losing streak to their cross-county rivals.

“This is a team we haven’t beaten in a long time,” said Lizzy Lynn, one of Bo Manor’s five seniors, when asked about the Tigers. “We know that, just watching who they played and who they beat, that we beat practically the same teams. And so we're like, ‘They're at our level.’ We knew it was going to be tough.”

Despite the daunting challenge in front of them – and the immense pressure it could’ve brought along with it – the Eagles had no trouble getting up for a game of this magnitude.

Defensively, Bo Manor stifled Rising Sun’s attack for most of the evening, allowing just one shot on goal as it strove to keep the Tigers out of its circle and keep its goalkeeper, freshman Sophie Azoulay, from having to make too many difficult saves.

“Hannah (Tuck-

er), Katie (Scott) and Lizzy (Lynn) have done an amazing job of keeping people out of the circle,” said Caitlan Gartland, the Eagles’ head coach. “Lizzy, I don’t know how many times she just picks it off, she takes it up as far as she can, and they’re so, so solid and reliable that way.”

This Eagles’ defensive showcase was far from a flash in the pan, however, as they’ve been shutting down opposing offenses for weeks.

Bo Manor hasn’t allowed a goal in nearly a month, since Sept. 26, when it suffered a lopsided loss to Oxford Area, 12-0.

Since then, the Eagles have been nearly perfect, keeping teams out of the cage and the circle as a whole, limiting any sort of scoring chances and wearing down opposing attackers.

The big emphasis for Gartland and Bo Manor over the course of the team’s hot streak: possession.

Against Rising Sun, Bo Manor not only managed to keep them out of the circle, but controlled possession for all 60 minutes, racking up five penalty corners to the Tigers’ three in the process.

“We preach a possession game,” Gartland said. “You can't score if you don't have possession. I think our defense was critical. Rising Sun moves the ball really, really beautifully. I just think that our defenders were able to read that and pick it off and step confidently in towards it.”

Offensively, the Eagles wasted no time drawing first blood as freshman Lia Beaudet slotted a shot into the left corner of the cage less than seven minutes into the opening quarter, giving her team an early 1-0 advantage.

Then, the Eagles’ defense kicked in, holding onto the one-goal lead for most of the contest.

But, in what was undoubtedly crunch time for Rising Sun, Bo Manor junior Gabby Rhoades banged in a point-blank goal right past Tigers goalkeeper Anna Callaghan to give the Eagles some much-needed insurance, 2-0, and put the game on ice.

For Gartland, this year’s senior class has a special place in her heart, being the first group she’s coached for the entirety of their careers.

The tears were inevitable.

“These five [Lynn, Scott, Tucker, Maddy Usher, Aly Strusowski] are so special,” Gartland said. “I’ve been crying since preseason. I came in with a really clear coaching philosophy: I wanted to turn this 1-12 team into a winning program. And they bought into that immediately and put in the work. And they're not just hard-working kids who have high expectations for themselves and others, but they have fun. They love to be together, year-round. … I'd like to have four more

years with them.”

The Class of 2023 may have checked one box off of its list by beating Rising Sun, but one team still remains: the North East Indians, who the Eagles lost to earlier this season, 3-0, and haven’t conquered since 2016. They could have one more shot at the Indians in regionals, however, which begin this week.

On the other side, Rising Sun lost four of its last five games to end the regular season as the team appears to be limping into regionals after playing a

brutal schedule down the stretch. With as talented a group as they have, though, the Tigers don’t seem to be worried.

“Every game is a stepping stone,” said Katie Keyes, the Tigers’ head coach. “We have a long time until our next game, so our goal is to look at this game – and the other games we won and lost – and try to improve on those things (we didn’t do well). … The whole season is building toward playoffs, so, mentally, that’s where we need to focus.”

photos by Jacki Taylor

SCENES FROM NORTH EAST FIELD HOCKEY vs TOME OCTOBER

Photos by Jacki Taylor

Photos by Jacki Taylor