Cecil County Sports Weekly Vol 2 Issue 38

SPORTS

Panthers Spoil Homecoming Party For Indians With 21-7 Win

By Victor Hensley

NORTH EAST - On a misty, chilled evening last Friday, hundreds of fans packed the house at North East High School for its annual homecoming game, where they created an excitement-filled atmosphere, bringing the energy and dabbling in all

of the typical homecoming festivities.

While the crowd never wavered in supporting their hometown Indians (05), the Perryville Panthers (3-2) pulled up and spoiled the party, downing North East, 21-7, in a defensive dogfight.

“We definitely fed

off of (the crowd),” said Taylor Slaughenhoupt, the Indians’ head coach. “It was the first time we were able to break out the black uniforms since we had the blackout. It was a great atmosphere. Our students and fans did a really, really good job being behind us.”

The Panthers were

due for a big defensive performance, and fortunately for the visiting fans in attendance, that’s exactly what they got.

Just a week after allowing Rising Sun to score 40 points in a 21-point loss – which included Tigers quarterback Gannon Russell gashing them for 145

yards and four scores on the ground – the Panthers gave up just seven points to the Indians, keeping the offense off the board entirely.

“Tonight, we tackled, we got off blocks and we got aligned right,” said Sean Sandora, the Panthers’ head coach. “Last week against Rising Sun,

we knew they were going to run the ball because they’re a good run team. But we just came out and made an effort this week in practice to tackle. We tackled all week long and we had a very good week of practice, so that was our emphasis.”

As has been the continued on A-6

‘I just fell in love’: Rising Sun softball star Jordan Lynch commits to Virginia Tech

By Victor Hensley

RISING SUN - As midnight approached on Aug. 31, many families around Cecil County were tucked into bed, resting up for the impending first day of school the next morning.

The Lynch family, however, was wide awake, sitting around their kitchen table, staring at the phone in front of them. Moments after the clock struck midnight, signaling Sept. 1, the phone rang. Jordan Lynch picked it up.

On the other end was Sydney Romero, assistant softball coach at Duke University.

Romero was the first of many coaches that texted, called and FaceTimed Lynch mere minutes after her recruitment period opened up at midnight on Sept. 1, allowing her to speak with teams and set up formal meetings.

“While she’s on the phone with Sydney, she got six or seven text messages from six or seven schools,” Renie Lynch, Jordan’s mom, said proudly. “That was kind of cool. So within the first, I’d say 10 or so minutes of Sept. 1, she’d been contacted by six to eight coaches.”

Jordan, a junior at Rising Sun and the No. 10 ranked player in the Class of 2024 by Extra Inning Softball, set up five visits with schools following a whirlwind day of calls with coaches, but in the end, needed just two of them before she made her decision.

CECIL COUNTY SPORTS WEEKLY

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 38

October 4, 2022

PUBLISHERS:

Sam Dixon

Duane Goldsmith

Natalie Goldsmith

MANAGING EDITOR/ SPORTS EDITOR:

Sam Dixon cecilcountysportsblog@gmail.com

717-538-0843

ASST. SPORTS EDITOR:

Victor Hensley victorgrayh10@gmail.com

336-688-8344

PHOTOGRAPHERS:

Becky Young

Deb Koehler

Duane Goldsmith

Heather Dotson

Jacki Taylor

Jessica Montanez

Karina Serio

Kena Koch

Kristie Weber

Natalie Goldsmith

Sam Dixon

Scott Serio

Susan Burkholder

WRITERS:

Andrew Barbin

Heather Dotson

Karina Serio

Kevin Phillips

Megan Steimer

Sam Dixon

Scott Serio

Victor Hensley

ADVERTISING:

Sam Dixon cecilcountysportsblog@gmail.com

717-538-0843

MAILING ADDRESS: Cecil County Sports Blog, LLC.

c/o Natalie Goldsmith 79 Williams Lane Conowingo MD, 21918

Copyright 2021-2022. Cecil County Sports Blog, LLC. Cecil County Sports Weekly is published every Wednesday in Cecil County, Maryland. All rights reserved. No part of its content my be reproduced without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

GUILD MORTGAGE MALE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: GUILD MORTGAGE FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:

TY PATCHELL

PERRYVILLE PANTHERS FOOTBALL JUNIOR

Ty Patchell got his first start on the Varsity Squad this week against the North East Indians. Ty went on to throw for 111 yards and three touchdowns in the win, an impressive statline for a junior starting his first varsity game.

We expect to see alot more of Ty Patchell this season.

NELE SCHUNKE

WEST NOTTINGHAM RAMS VOLLEYBALL

JUNIOR

Nele Schunke is a Junior from Berlin, Germany enrolled for the year at West Nottingham Academy. In Germany she played Handball “since she was two” so she adapted quickly to Volleyball which she had not played before coming to the United States. She had an incredible game this week facing the Tri-State Crusaders and helped her team win the first two sets with some great digs and energized a once struggling team.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK PAGE IS SPONSORED BY:

DO YOUR PART... VOTE ON NOVEMBER 8

INTERESTED IN ADVERTISING AND SUPPORTING OUR COVERAGE OF LOCAL ATHLETES? CALL 717-538-0843 TODAY FOR MORE INFORMATION ON GETTING YOUR BUSINESS LISTED IN THIS NEWSPAPER!

SPORTS STANDINGS SPONSORED BY:

High School Varsity Football Standings

7 DAY SPORTS SCHEDULE:

Monday October 3

rillo 7 aces, 4 kills A. Widdoes 4 aces, 5 digs

Providence 3 FCA

P: A. Rash 2 aces, 11 assists

M. Unruh 6 aces, 14 digs, 7 kills R. Vanleer 2 aces, 3 kills

September 28

Elkton JV 0

Havre de Grace JV 2

Elkton 0

Havre de Grace 3

E: K. Gitau 5 digs A. Smith 4 digs M. Ewing 4 kills

Cecil College 3

Rowan College 0

CC: A. Wagner 8 kills, 4 digs

S. Klinger 22 assists 2

PV: E. Burchett 17 digs R.

2 aces, 13 digs, 5 kills R. Racine 3 digs, 8 kills A. Green 15 assists, 9 digs

TS:

P: R. Vanleer 5 digs, 7 kills A. Rash 4 aces, 13 assists, 6 digs M. Unruh 1 ace, 22 digs, 5 kills

TS: E. Harris 3 aces, 1 block, 11 kills T. Davis 14 digs B. Thomas 15 digs, 7 kills J. Harris 3 aces, 14 assists, 10 digs A. Slagle 14 assists A. Criddle 9 kills

Tome (MS)

RS- J. Tracy (1), J.

WNA- I. Buenacasa (2)

Aghanya (2) L. Kabaliisa (3) I. Campusano (1) Own

(1)

WNA- M. Fernandez (1) I. Buenacasa (3) R. Lopez (1) E. Graziosix (1)

WNA- N. Ferrarix (1) GIRLS SOCCER

(MS)

T: B. Widdoes 4 aces, 1 kill A. Bullerman 2 assists, 1 block,

2 kills L. Wagenknecht 1 ace, 4 kills

Tome 2 Rosedale Baptist 3

T: L. Carrillo 3 aces, 33 assists, 5 kills G. Bradfield 3 aces, 14 kills A. Carrillo 3 aces, 7 kills Cecil College

CC

CC: A. Wagner 13 digs, 10 kills L. Davis 15 digs, 8 kills

C. Lenk 6 kills S. Klinger 27 assists, 9 digs

FIELD HOCKEY

26

(2), C. Burkhardt (1),

Pietuszka (1), B. Aiman (1), A. Jones (1)

RS- C. Burkhardt (2), D. Pietuszka (1), J. Tracy (2), J. Perrine (1), B. Aiman

Field Hockey

Elkton vs Rising Sun

Perryville vs Havre de Grace

Golf

Bo Manor/Elkton/Aberdeen/Edgewood/Havre de Grace @

Perryville

Rising Sun/C.M. Wright @ North East

Boys Soccer

Middle School Cherry Hill @ Rising Sun

Middle School Elkton @ Perryville

Middle School Tri-State vs Rosedale Baptist

Girls Soccer

Rising Sun @ Havre de Grace

Bo Manor vs Aberdeen

Elkton vs Joppatowne

North East vs Perryville

Middle School Cherry Hill @ Rising Sun

Middle School Elkton @ Perryville

Volleyball

Tri-State vs Rosedale Baptist

Cecil College vs Harcum College

Tuesday October 4

Cross Country Bo Manor/Fallston @ Bel Air

Elkton/Havre de Grace @ North East

Perryville/Harford Tech @ Patterson Mill

Rising Sun/C.M. Wright @ North Harford

Field Hockey Bo Manor vs Tome

Boy Soccer Bo Manor @ Aberdeen

Elkton @ North East

Perryville vs Edgewood

Rising Sun vs Joppatowne

Cecil College @ College of Southern MD

Volleyball Bo Manor @ Rising Sun

Elkton vs Harford Tech

North East @ Edgewood

Perryville @ C. Milton Wright

Providence @ Odyssey Charter

Tome @ Aquinas Academy

Tri-State vs Providence

WNA @ Delaware Valley

Volleyball

Wednesday October 5

Cecil College vs Montgomery College

Thursday October 6

Field Hockey

JV Rising Sun vs Bel Air

Rising Sun vs Bel Air

Football

JV Elkton @ North East

JV Perryville vs Edgewood

Perryville vs Edgewood

Golf

North East/Rising Sun/Bel Air/C.M. Wright/Fallston/Harford

Tech/North Harford/Patterson Mill @ Bulle Rock- Chesapeake Division Tournament

Boy Soccer

JV Bo Manor vs North East 10/6

Bo Manor vs North East 10/6

Elkton @ Rising Sun 10/6

Perryville @ Joppatowne 10/6

Cecil College @ Chesapeake College

Girls Soccer

Perryville @ Edgewood

Volleyball Bo Manor @ Bel Air

Rising Sun @ North Harford

Middle School Providence @ Bethany Christian

Middle School Tome @ St. Anne’s Episcopal

Friday October 7

Field Hockey Bo Manor @ Aberdeen

Football

Bo Manor @ C. Milton Wright

Elkton @ North East

Rising Sun vs Aberdeen

Golf

Elkton/Perryville @ Bo Manor

Boy Soccer

Middle School Bo Manor @ Cherry Hill

Middle School Elkton @ Rising Sun

Middle School Perryville @ Kent County

Girls Soccer Bo Manor vs Patterson Mill

Elkton vs Joppatowne

Middle School Bo Manor @ Cherry Hill

Middle School Elkton vs Rising Sun

Middle School Perryville @ Kent County

Volleyball

Elkton vs North East

Perryville @ Patterson Mill

Providence @ Freire Charter

Joppatowne serves Bo Manor 1st loss of season, 48-14, behind

By Victor Hensley

JOPPATOWNE - On the opening possession last Friday, the Bo Manor defense had the Joppatowne offense on its toes.

The Mariners had the ball on 4th-and-17 in Eagles territory and were set up to go for it.

Once the ball was snapped, Bo Manor appeared to have read Joppatowne like a book, flooding the backfield and putting immediate pressure on Mariners’ quarterback Anthony Wilson, but instead of going down, he stepped up and fired off an 8-yard completion, which turned into an even larger gain and an improbable first

down.

Later that drive, the Mariners scored a touchdown on a 2-yard fourth-down conversion, taking a one-score lead just a few minutes into the first quarter.

Joppatowne (4-1) went on to hand Bo Manor (4-1) its first loss of the season, 48-14, behind 384 yards of total offense and five scores on the ground.

The Eagles stalled on the ensuing drive, giving the ball right back to the Mariners, who drove down the field once again to go up 12-0 with all of the momentum on their side.

“The first drive really kind of set the tone,” said Vincent Ricci, the Eagles’ head coach. “If they don’t get that first fourth down (conversion), I really think it’s a completely different game. … It was a huge play, even if it was only three minutes into the game.”

Bo Manor proceeded to give up more points (48) than it had in any game since Oct. 2021 against Fallston (63), a stat aided by the strong performances of the Mariners’ ground attack, namely Wilson (7 carries for 57 yards and 2 TDs) and running back Steven Robinson (12 carries for 102 yards and 2 TDs).

“Their running back and quarterback had really good finishing points on their zone read and they were getting some good kickout blocks by their guards,” Ricci explained. “They were just running

the ball pretty well. … A lot of (the mistakes), especially on defense, were just us misaligned by one or two feet and when you have an explosive offense, that's all they need.”

The Mariners led the Eagles at the half, 26-7, with Bo Manor getting on the board on a rushing touchdown by Jake Koehler (10 carries for 24 yards and a TD).

Then, to start the second half, Eagles quarterback Angel Grenado (6-of-14 for 92 yards, 1 TD and 2 interceptions) threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Swyka to cut the Mariners lead down to 26-14.

But as the half progressed, the Eagles continued to give the Mariners a short field to work with as they began racking up points, scoring 22 unanswered to seal the 48-14 victory.

With the loss, Bo Manor’s perfect record came to an end, but the Eagles will look to right the ship this week in a road game against C. Milton Wright (3-2). Joppatowne will host Green Street Academy (2-1).

“Sometimes, maybe a loss can help you a little bit,” Ricci said, looking at the positive. “There’s really only two ways to go. You either sit on it and sulk or you learn from it and build on it.”

5 rushing TDs

Tigers need 4th-down stop, late TD to outlast Fallston on the road

By Victor Hensley

Sometimes, you’ve simply got to have faith in your best players.

Late in the fourth quarter against Fallston last Friday, Rising Sun Head Coach Clem Vaughan had a decision to make. On 4th-and-3 with about two minutes to play, leading by a point on their own 47-yard-line, the Tigers were a first down away from essentially icing the game. He originally decided to punt it away, citing it being the safer option.

But his players disagreed.

“(Fallston) calls a timeout to stop the clock and we’re sitting over there debating on what to do,” Vaughan recalled. “I’m like, ‘We’ve got to punt, we’ve got to punt, it’s too close, we’ve got to punt,’ and once they called timeout, the kids

came over and were like, ‘Coach, we can get this.’”

With the Tigers’ special teams unit having come alive these last couple of weeks, playing lights-out in the process, Vaughan put trust in some of his best guys. Rising Sun (3-2) lined up to punt, faked it and converted on a run play that saw the entire offensive line push forward for the first down, putting the game away and sealing a 29-28 win over the Cougars (3-2) in a nail-biter.

“Fallston is a really good team and I kind of knew going in that it was going to be a tight, whoever-has-the-ball-last type of thing,” Vaughan said. “It was quite the fourth quarter.”

Earlier in the final period, Rising Sun starting quarterback

Gannon Russell had given the Tigers a one-point lead on a 24-yard touchdown pass to Sam Ehrhart on 4th-and-6, who made a defender miss and ran another one over,

barreling into the end zone. Russell – a jack-of-all-trades – hit the pressure-filled extra point to give the Tigers their 29-28 advantage.

It was Russell’s fourth time finding the end zone on the night, having thrown a 16-yard touchdown to Caleb Leffew in the first quarter, followed by a pair of rushing touchdowns in the second and third quarters.

“Our mantra is, ‘Nobody stops us on offense, we only stop ourselves,’” Vaughan said. “That’s the way we always feel, the way we carry ourselves. … If we play clean – and we really did play a clean game – then we shouldn’t get stopped.”

Despite Fallston primarily running an up-tempo offense – something Vaughan said his defense wasn’t familiar with – the Tigers were able to stifle the Cougars’ attack, holding them to their second-lowest point total of the season and even forcing a pair of turnovers to get them off-kilter.

Vaughan credited his team and coaching staff for a great week of practice, where they zoned in on the fast-paced Cougars offense. And it clearly paid off.

“It’s a challenge to get ready for it,” he said. “But we were able to make plays in certain spots that helped us win the game.”

Rising Sun looks to push its winning streak to three games when it hosts the Aberdeen Eagles (0-5) this week, while Fallston aims to stop its two-game skid in a tough road matchup with the Bel Air Bobcats (5-0).

NORTH EAST INDIANS FOOTBALL

Panthers Spoil Homecoming Party For Indians With 21-7 Win

case for most of the season, North East continued to prove themselves as a defense-first team, finding success against their opponents’ best players but struggling to muster anything of note on the offensive end.

Despite the two-score loss, the Indians actually bested the Panthers in the turnover battle, forcing five takeaways to Perryville’s one.

The difference? North East came up empty on four out of five of their post-turnover possessions, failing to capitalize on nearly all of their potentially momentum-shifting takeaways.

“We put ourselves in position, but we just shot ourselves in the foot,” said Slaughenhoupt.

“Sometimes, the football gods just ain’t in your favor, and that’s kind of what happened.”

In the first half, the Indians forced fumbles on the opening play of two separate Panthers drives, both of which landed them in Perryville territory.

But, on both occasions, North East’s ensuing possessions ended in punts, an anticlimactic ending to a pair of near-perfect chances to find the end zone.

Meanwhile, Perryville found its groove midway through the first half, with junior quarterback Ty Patchell tossing a pair of touchdown passes to give the Panthers an early two-score lead.

Patchell’s first touchdown came on a great throw – and an even better catch – down the right sideline by wide receiver Kyle Richards, who outplayed the defender and fell into the end zone for the 25-yard touchdown.

Then, on the opening drive of the second quarter, Patchell threw a pass over the middle intended for one receiver, but the ball flew through his hands, past a North East defender and somehow found the bread basket of a perfectly positioned Zach Ayers, one of Perryville’s top skill position players, who turned upfield and took the slant pass 41 yards for the score.

Patchell went on to throw for 111 yards and three touchdowns in the win, an impressive statline for a junior starting his first varsity game.

“He came in and has done some cleanup action for us the last two weeks, but he had a

great week of practice and made a heck of a throw to Kyle Richards (tonight),” Sandora said of his young quarterback. “Ty’s always got great composure in practice, never really gets rattled. He did a very good job making the throws that were there. … We’re proud of him.”

Perryville got a strong start from junior running back Ethen Gunter, too, who torched the North East defense on the ground to the tune of 104 yards (on 16 carries), along with a screen pass in the third quarter that he managed to take 40 yards to the house and give the Panthers a 21-0 lead.

North East’s biggest play of the night came on the first play of the fourth quarter, however, when the Indians’ defensive line corralled Patchell in the backfield on fourth down and looked to bring him down for a sack. But, at the last second, the ball squirted out from Patchell’s grasp and into the hands of Indians senior defensive lineman Josh Sullivan, who sprinted down the field and got some crucial blocks along the way, allowing him to stride into the end zone as the crowd went wild.

After the game, Slaughenhoupt let out a joyful chuckle when asked about Sullivan’s big moment. “It was a big lift because,

right before that, we were talking about how, defensively, we needed to make a play,” he explained. “And out of all the guys to make the play and go however many yards that was. I can’t even lie, I was laughing my butt off watching him run down the field. … But he works hard. And he has improved a lot. He’s a good player. It was just great to see him be able to do that.”

Despite the boost that Sullivan’s touchdown could’ve brought the Indians, they still couldn’t find any success offensively for the remainder of the quarter, resulting in the 21-7 win for the Panthers.

This week, North East aims to find their first win as it hosts the Elkton Golden Elks (32), while Perryville hosts the unbeaten Edgewood Rams (5-0) for one of its toughest challenges of the season.

ELKTON GOLDEN ELKS FOOTBALL

‘It’s a good wake-up call’: Arundel’s physicality trips up Elkton, 37-7

By Victor Hensley

ELKTON - Brian Pearson just happened to be in the right place at the right time – and made an unforgettable play in the process.

Mere minutes into Elkton’s battle with the Arundel Wildcats last Friday, a pass from Arundel’s quarterback bounced off of an Elkton defender’s hands – missing an easy interception – and then popped up into the air off of the arm of the intended receiver, giving it just enough hang time for Pearson to get under it.

He proceeded to bolt down the field and take it 78 yards for a picksix, giving the Golden Elks a 7-0 lead.

However, some teams are just too strong to go down without a fight, as was the case for Arundel (4-1), who shook off the early blunder and proceeded to score 37 unanswered points to down Elkton (3-2) by 30 points, 37-7.

“We jumped out to a 7-0 lead, and then we just couldn’t get

it going after that,” said Matt Feeney, the Golden Elks’ head coach. “I will say, the score isn’t really indicative of how well our defense played. The field position battle was just not on our side. Arundel’s defense was lights out. That’s one of the better defenses we’ll see this year, I’m sure.”

Keeping with the defense-heavy theme, the Wildcats first got on the board in the second quarter thanks to an Elkton safety, which was part of a larger scoring barrage that featured a pair of touchdowns to push their lead to 17-7 at the break.

In total, Arundel held Elkton to just 121 yards of offense, 83 of which came through the air as the Golden Elks struggled to run the ball, racking up just 38 yards on 26 carries (1.5 yards per carry).

“They were just really, really physical at every point,” Feeney said of Arundel’s hard-hitting defense. “Our guys ran into a physicality that they hadn’t run into this year, even against Edgewood.

Edgewood was physical, but not nearly as physical as this team was. It’s a good wake-up call.”

Elkton was unable to muster a point in the second half, while Arundel rattled off a few more touchdowns to put the game well out of the Golden Elks’ reach.

Looking back at the game a day later, Feeney singled out Pearson for an incredible night, praising him for his never-give-up playstyle.

“He left it all out there last night, man,” Feeney said. “Every time he touched the ball, he was fighting for every yard. He made big plays on both sides of the ball. He had the pick-six. He also had a couple of good runs for us on offense. He just scrapped. He was the guy last night.”

Elkton has a chance to get back in the win column this week against the North East Indians (0-5), while Arundel hosts the Northeast Senior Eagles (1-3).

Titans Sweep Indians in Battle of North East, Improve to 8-1 Overall

By Megan Steimer

NORTH EAST - It was a short road trip for the North East Indians as they traveled to face the Tome Titans in non-conference volleyball action Tuesday afternoon. The Titans came away with their fifth win in a row, taking down the Indians 25-10, 2517, 25-19 in straight sets.

Tome had a sol-

id performance in set one, jumping out to a 21-5 lead before North East called a timeout to regroup and formulate a way to get some more points on the board.

“We started off slow” said Indians’ setter Rachel Mullins, “As the game went on, we got a little more energy and started running plays.” Mullins and outside hitter Emily Fleming each recorded a kill

after the timeout, but Titans’ captain Katy Bullerman and lone freshman Ainsley Carrillo knocked in a couple kills of their own to finish out set one for a 1-0 lead.

Fleming and Bullerman once again exchanged kills early in set two. Seven lead changes followed as both squads grinded it out on the court in what would be a more evenly matched

game. “I think we played really hard” noted Fleming when reminiscing on the set, “We had some great tips and kills.” At one point, North East led 10-7 before a series of passing errors tied the game at twelve. Carrillo rotated to the back line for Tome, rattling off five service points to put her team ahead

Tigers spoil Golden Elks’ court debut with ace-filled 3-0 sweep

By Victor Hensley

ELKTON – Some things change, and some things remain the same.

That was the case last Tuesday, when Elkton debuted its brand new gym floor in a highly anticipated volleyball matchup against

in-county foe Rising Sun, a rematch of last year’s 2A East Region I semifinals, which Rising Sun won, 3-0.

However, the immaculate new playing surface hardly had an effect on the series between the two squads, with the Tigers (3-2) playing spoiler to the Gold-

en Elks (1-4) in a 3-0 sweep, keeping their years-long winning streak against their Elkton counterparts intact.

“We’re just going to keep going, trying to play our game,” said Logan Bowers, the Tigers’ head coach. “We don’t have a lot of tremendous power, but we’ve

got a lot of hustle. … We continue to get better with our fundamentals.”

A few days after a way-too-close win over the Perryville Panthers (0-6) on Sept. 23 – which saw the Panthers claw their way

WNA Rams Volleyball Program continues to improve with addition of Junior Nele Schunke

Titans Sweep Indians

18-13. The Titans’ serving proved too much for the Indians as Tome went on another short service run behind Ashley Widdoes three aces, capturing a game two win and a 2-0 match lead. “Our communication wasn’t great” said Bullerman, “But it only takes one kill, one good pass or one good set to get back into it. We started cheering for each other and it really brought morale back.”

With the match on the line, North East needed a game three win to stay alive. Mullins surprised the Titans serve receive, recording back-to-back aces to start set three. She tacked on a few more points after finding holes in Tome’s defense— pushing a deep corner ball where the Titans could not attempt a return.

Down 7-2, the Carrillo sisters made a crucial play out of the middle when setter Alivia found younger sister Ainsley for a kill, then outside hitter Grace Bradfield for another. “This game was really tough,” Alivia noted, “We had a great start, I just think we need to work on consistency.” A couple of North East hitting errors gave the Titans their first lead midway through the set as both teams settled in for another back-and-forth battle at the net. Fleming and Bullerman traded kills yet again— each outside hitter securing a point with tips over the block. Despite coming within one point to tie, the Indians couldn’t regain momentum and trailed the remainder of set three before eventually falling to the Titans 25-19. When asked how her team remains focused even when behind,

the Tome setter replied, “When morale is down, you just have to celebrate every point, every little win.”

Bullerman led the Titans with a game high eight kills followed by Ainsley Carrillo with four kills and seven aces. Widdoes led the defense with five digs to go with her four aces at the service line. Fleming led the North East offense with six kills while Mullins finished with five assists, four aces, and a kill. Tome will hit the road on Friday to play Rosedale Baptist followed by a Saturday tournament at Greenwood Mennonite to cap off a busy three game week while North East will search for their second win when they host Joppatowne Friday, September 30th followed by an away game at Edgewood on Tuesday, October 4th.

Tigers spoil Golden Elks’ court debut with ace-filled 3-0 sweep

back from a 2-0 set deficit to tie it at 2-2, forcing the Tigers to eke out a fifth-set win – Rising Sun found itself in a similar position against Elkton.

Shortly after an impressive 25-12 second set victory, the Tigers stumbled to start the third as the Golden Elks kept it close. Rising Sun hopped out to a 3-0 lead, but that was quickly shortened to 3-2 following an exhilarating blocked shot at the net by Elkton’s Danielle Rogers, one of the Golden Elks’ front-line staples.

The rest of the set was back-and-forth, with Rising Sun hanging onto anywhere between a one to three-point lead.

“These girls, they have this ability to work hard no matter what,” said Kimberly Brown, the Golden Elks’ head coach. “I wouldn’t say scrappy because they know what they’re doing – when I think of ‘scrappy,’ I think of just flopping all over – but they work really hard on defense … because they almost have something to prove. They play with some of these girls on club ball, so they always want to show like, ‘We’re good. We deserve to hang with everybody else.’”

However, momentum shifted completely when Tigers junior Carolyn Dutterer came up to serve. From there, Rising Sun won four straight points – including an ace on a powerful serve from Dutterer – to take a 15-9 lead.

Then, a few points later, Rising Sun junior Madelyn Norman-Wilson took her spot in the service zone, rattling off a pair of aces en route to six straight Tigers points, giving them a match point opportunity at 24-11.

Rising Sun proceeded to win back-to-back sets by the same score, 25-12, and secure the 3-0 victory, its first sweep of the season.

“They just stayed focused,” Bowers said of his team’s ability to weather the Elkton storm. “We lost a little bit of concentration and let them back in, it shouldn’t have been as close partway through the match as it was, but they just stayed focused.”

Bowers may not describe his team as having tremendous power just yet, but that doesn’t mean it’ll stay that way.

The pieces are already there, including outside hitter Kendra Waters, one of Rising Sun’s two sophomores, who continues to hit dynamic, power-packed

shots that make it difficult for her opponents to keep up.

As has been the case all season, she had her fair share of electrifying moments against the Golden Elks, giving plenty of reason for Bowers to be excited about her development.

“I brought her up last year as a freshman just for playoffs, and she played and did really well,” Bowers said of Waters. “She’s just progressing every day and she works really hard. She’s one of the two sophomores [with Isabel Severson] and I think, come next year, they’re going to be a force to be reckoned with.”

Production from the service zone continues to be a key component to Rising Sun’s success this season, too, with the Tigers sending 23 aces in the Golden Elks’ direction.

“Traditionally, we’ve had good serving teams, but last year, we slacked off on it,” Bowers said. “We’ve really focused this year on getting back to having hard serves and difficult serves. … I’ve got a lot of really good servers, they just don’t always have the confidence in themselves. And tonight, they came out, we were able to cut them loose and let them serve the way I know they can serve.” While a 3-0 loss to

an in-county rival might not have been the ideal way for Elkton to open up play on its new floor, Brown said the impact of the project cannot be understated.

“I think it’s even more exciting than it should be because we spent so much time at the middle school,” Brown said with a smile. “While it was great that they let us in there and everybody was so welcoming, it wasn’t our space. So it’s really nice to be in our space. We’re proud to play in this gym.

“There’s no worries that we’re going to hit a soft spot or a dead spot or cut our finger on a hole in the ground,” she added, laughing. “It’s exciting to be here. It’s bright. It’s beautiful. And we’re excited to have so many home games in a row so we can start winning on this floor.”

Elkton looks to earn its first win on its new floor on Monday against the Harford Tech Cobras (3-2) in the first of its four-game homestand, while Rising Sun hosts the Bo Manor Eagles (6-2).

THANK

Photos by Sam Dixon

RISING SUN CROSS COUNTRY TEAM CELEBRATES SENIOR NIGHT

By Amanda Callaghan

RISING SUN - Rising Sun’s

senior meet on Wednesday, September 21st was an absolute success! It was the last home meet for RSHS

seniors Amanda Callaghan, John Ferry, David Green-

plate, Savannah Lacey, Kaitlin Perry, Eli Mackie, Eli Weston, and Emily Wishart.

It was a strong meet for Rising Sun’s teams. The race was tight against cross country rival Harford Tech and Elkton, held at Rising Sun High School and over-

lapping into Calvert Regional Park. Rising Sun’s girls team edged out Harford Tech with 24 points to Tech’s 31! Senior Emily Wishart finished second, followed by sophomore Katie Callaghan in third, senior Amanda Callaghan in fifth, senior Savan-

nah Lacey in sixth, and senior Kaitlin Perry in eighth.

Rising’s Sun’s boys team had a close loss to Harford Tech, falling just short with 31 points compared to Harford Tech’s 26. Senior John Ferry earned second, with sophomore Nik Haraldsson

in fifth, senior Eli Mackie in seventh, freshman Anthony McGonigle in eighth, and sophomore JB Lightner in ninth. Elkton also had a great race! Their girls team was led by junior Mattea Marra in 10th, with sopho-

more Sage North in 22nd.

Senior Brendan Singer of Elkton was first for his team in 20th, leading senior Isaiah Daly in 27th, freshman Beau Kammerzelt in 28th, and junior Nathan Wooster in 32nd.

Eli Weston

John Ferry

Eli Mackie

Kaitlin Perry

Amanda Callaghan Emily Wishart

Savannah Lacey David Greenplate

physical part of the game, but the mental part, too, because that’s just as important.”

When Jordan was in 7th grade, she joined the organization that propelled her to softball stardom: the Lady Dukes.

Founded in 2016 by Duke Head Softball Coach Marissa Young and her husband, James Lamar, the Lady Dukes is a premier travel softball organization based out of Durham, North Carolina, with teams competing in multiple divisions ranging from 8U to 18U.

Jordan Lynch commits to VT:

On Sept. 12, just 12 days after her recruitment opened, Jordan announced via Twitter that she was committing to Virginia Tech.

“So happy to announce that I’ve committed to Virginia Tech to further my academic and athletic career,” Jordan wrote. “Thank you to all my coaches, teammates, and family for making this possible and supporting me. GO HOKIES.”

Before visiting Virginia Tech from Sept. 9-11 – a visit that included meetings with coaches, tours of the athletic facilities and a trip to the Hokies’ football game against Boston College – Jordan had an unofficial visit with Duke and had official visits scheduled with Texas, Ole Miss and Rutgers the three following weekends.

But, once Jordan got to Blacksburg, Va., it didn’t take long for her to realize she was in her new home.

“Virginia Tech was my second visit and I just fell in love with it there,” Jordan said. “Everyone was so nice and so welcoming and they made me feel so at home. We also went to a football game there and that was so much fun. I love the atmosphere there. I just love the school as a whole. It’s great.”

Despite Jordan’s official recruitment period lasting just 12 days, her status as a highly sought-after recruit didn’t happen overnight.

Instead, it took years of hard work, dedication and repetition to mold

Jordan into the star she is today. And it all started with those closest to her.

‘Softball and baseball is what we do’

When you hear Renie Lynch tell it, it’s tough to imagine a world where Jordan never picks up a bat.

“I don’t want to say she didn’t have a choice, but she didn’t have a choice,” Renie said, laughing. “We were putting a ball in her hand when she came out of the womb, pretty much. We put her in other sports and she plays other sports, but softball and baseball is what we do.”

Jordan comes from a long line of talent on the diamond.

Her dad, Ed Lynch, played professional baseball in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization and her mom was a Division I softball player at Troy University in Alabama and a former Rising Sun softball state champion in 1997.

Even her brother, Matthew Lynch, is a Division I baseball player for Towson University, having graduated from Rising Sun in June.

From a young age, Jordan’s parents encouraged her to play softball, spending extra time coaching her, enrolling her in travel leagues and, eventually, sending her to camps across the country to hone her skills.

“My parents have been really big in my growth since I was in middle school,” Jordan said, “because they’re always working with me. Not only on the

a player and a person so much since 7th grade, obviously,” Jordan said with a laugh. “But especially in the player aspect because just being a part of a big team like that where everyone is a really good player and you’re all rooting for each other, it’s really important.”

‘We’re going to win it this year’

When asked why Virginia Tech should feel lucky they won the Jordan Lynch lottery, the star junior herself didn’t hold back.

CECIL COUNTY PARKS & RECREATION EVENTS CALENDAR

Adult Soccer- Fall League

The Adult Indoor Soccer League will be a competitive league playing games on Sundays, beginning October 2nd at the Cecil Arena. Games will be played on Sunday nights beginning between 6:00 – 10:00pm depending on the number of teams registered by the deadline. Rosters, with a signed waiver for each player, and $400 registration are due before teams will be scheduled. The Team Captain/Representative must COMPLETE the Adult Soccer League Waiver/Roster

As of September, the Lady Dukes had at least 31 combined players committed to Division I schools from the 2022, 2023 and 2024 classes, a testament to not only the quality of its players, but its ability to showcase their talent to schools around the country. The summer before Jordan’s 7th grade year, she attended Duke’s annual softball camp, which would become an annual staple in her travel circuit. After earning an award from coaches – one that Renie said was likely along the lines of “Most Athletic Camper” –she was invited to play for the Lady Dukes that summer. However, because of the Lynch family having their own organization, Maryland Legends, and Jordan living so far away from N.C., they declined.

The next year, after Jordan’s second appearance at Duke’s camp, she decided to join the Lady Dukes, traveling with them to a tournament in Georgia and nationals in California, but because of her size, she didn’t see the field often. That is, until one day, an error in right field caused Lamar to substitute Jordan in for the right fielder.

“She runs out there, she throws two runners out and has two triples in that game,” Renie said, “and she hasn’t come out of the game since.”

Jordan would go on to become one of the Lady Dukes’ top prospects, flying across the nation each summer for tournaments and camps from Kansas to Colorado to Oklahoma to Missouri, among others. Since joining the Lady Dukes, Jordan said she’s seen a stark improvement in her game, her confidence and her ability to be a leader both on and off the field.

“I’ve matured as

“I’m a very versatile player, I can play anywhere on the field,” Jordan said. “I always tell my coach, ‘If you need me in the outfield, infield or to catch, I’m always there to do whatever you need me to.’

“I’ve also been making a lot of improvements to my hitting,” she added. “I’ve been hitting for power more and I just feel like I come up big in clutch situations.”

To confirm Jordan’s clutchness, all you need is one mind-blowing statistic: In 72 at-bats with the Lady Dukes this summer, she struck out just three times, meaning she put the ball in play – or walked – a whopping 96% of the time.

At Rising Sun last season, Jordan led the team with an incredible .650 batting average, illustrating her knack for getting on base.

She’s been one of the cornerstones of a Rising Sun team that made it all the way to the MPSSAA 2A State Championship Game last season, falling just short in an eight-inning, one-run loss to the Calvert Cavaliers.

However, with Jordan still having two years of high school eligibility left to play both soccer – where she’s the team’s goalkeeper – and softball, she said she plans to make the most of her remaining time with the Tigers. That includes winning a softball state title and cherishing her junior and senior years.

“I think we’re going to win it this year,” Jordan said confidently. “I'm very hopeful this year. I think that ever since last year, when we went through that whole playoff run together, that helped build us as a team and I think we're going to come out on top next year.”

Form online before submitting payment. Teams will also pay ref fees of $20 per game given to staff on-site. If your team cannot make your scheduled game, and did not give a timely notice your team will have to pay for the refs time. Roster forms and waivers can be requested by emailing Ricky Duggal at rduggal@cecilcountymd.org or visit cecilrec.recdesk. com to register.

Elementary Movers- Soccer

Elementary Movers Soccer will be offered for 6 weeks this fall in various Elementary Schools across Cecil County. Movers will consist of six (6) weeks of practices, one (1) practice per week, with a Play Day at the end of the program. Practices will run from dismissal until 5:00pm at the school. Practice will be held weekly on Mondays. End of Season Play Day scheduled for November 19th at Calvert Regional Park. Teams will only have a maximum of 25 players, so register early to ensure your child’s spot! Visit cecilrec.recdesk.com for registration or for a list of participating schools.

6V6 High School Boys and Girls Soccer League

Cecil County Parks and Recreation will be offering Boy’s High School 6v6 at the Cecil Arena. Minimum of 8 players and a max of 12 per roster. Teams will be self-coached. Teams must wear the same color shirt; each team should bring a white and team color shirt each week. CCPR will supply a referee. Any player, or team, unable to play within the rules, deemed to be a danger to other players, or involved in altercations will be removed from the league without a refund. Games will be held on Friday nights at the Cecil Arena between 9 pm and 1 am. Please remember this is a NO CLEAT facility, turf shoes or sneakers only. The games will start at 9 pm. The registration fee is $35 per person. 6 -week league. Games begin on November 11th.

**Registration Deadline is November 11th at 2:00 pm

***Players must be on a team. There are no free agents. Please indicate your team name at the time of registration.***

High School Boys and Girls Futsal League

Cecil County Parks and Recreation will be offering Boy’s High School Futsal league. This is a modified game of soccer played indoors on a hard surface with a weighted ball. Teams will consist of 4 outfield players and one GK. Minimum of 8 players and a max of 10 per roster. Teams will be self-coached. Teams must wear the same color shirt; each team should bring a white and team color shirt each week. CCPR will supply a referee. Any player, or team, unable to play within the rules, deemed to be a danger to other players, or involved in altercations will be removed from the league without a refund. Games will be held on Sunday evening. Please remember this is a NO CLEAT facility, turf shoes or sneakers only. The games will start at 6:00pm The registration fee is $45 per person. 6 -week league. Games begin November 13th.

**Registration Deadline is November 11th at 12:00 pm

***Players must be on a team. There are no free agents. Please indicate your team’s name at the time of registration. ***

North East Jr. Wrestling Program

The North East Wrestling Program is for wrestlers ages 5 and up. Held at North East Middle School, wrestlers will practice Monday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings starting November 7th from 6 - 8:30 pm for all ages. The registration fee for the season is $100.

For additional information, contact Rose Brunner at 443309-9028. To register visit cecilrec.recdesk.com.

Under the Seas

Come dive into the fun with our Under the Seas Preschool program. Join us for games, activities, and art projects. Learn all about the animals under the sea, through movement and exploration. The program will run for a total of four weeks on Saturdays, beginning on October 1st.

1) October 1st

2) October 8th

3) October 15th

4) October 22nd

*If the class fills up, please join the waitlist- if we have enough kids we will run a second class as needed*

Soft Sticks Lacrosse

Soft Sticks Lacrosse is a six-week skill-based instructional clinic that will focus on teaching lacrosse fundamentals and stick skills to boys and girls who are new to the sport. This program is for ages 4-8 and will run from 8:00 am - 9:00 am on Sunday mornings. Every participant will also receive a starter stick and program t-shirt!

The Registration Fee for this program is $40 per participant. The program will be taught at the Cecil Arena, to register please visit cecilrec.recdesk.com.

Adult Field Hockey

Cecil County Parks and Recreation will be hosting an Adult Field Hockey League this fall for players ages 18 and up. Games will be played at Calvert Regional Park on Thursday nights from 7:00pm - 8:00pm. Games will be 8v8 on a short-sided field and 25 minutes in length. The league will run for 8 weeks, October 6 - November 17. Players will register individually and be randomly placed on teams. No team registration. League cost will be $60 per player, this includes referee fees for the season. Players must provide their own equipment (sticks, mouth guards and shin guards). Please register on cecilrec.recdesk.com or call 410.656.5125 for more information!

CECIL COUNTY WEEKLY SPORTS

By Victor Hensley CHESAPEAKE CITY –

When two heavyweights collide, you can feel it. The tension wafting through the air, the weight of every movement, the sheer strength of each side dealing blow after blow, both refusing to go down without putting up the fight of their

lives.

Cecil County saw all of that and more at its own heavyweight title fight last Thursday, with the Bohemia Manor Eagles (4-1-1) hosting the Perryville Panthers (6-0) in a fast-paced, backand-forth men’s soccer slugfest that saw the Panthers inch out a narrow victory, 1-0, over their in-coun-

ty foes to remain perfect on the season.

Perryville’s bread and butter continues to be its defense, which did everything it could to keep Bo Manor away from the net in a game that featured just seven total shots on goal.

“The most solid thing about our game is our backline,” said Chris Tome,

the Panthers’ head coach. “We’ve scored 28 goals and gave up three (this season), so that says it all right there. Our backline is tough. Finnegan (Tome) is doing a really good job in goal, so we’re not conceding too many and, fortunately, that’s what got us through tonight.”

While Bo Manor had a stellar defensive per-

PERRYVILLE GIRLS DEFEAT BOHEMIA MANOR 4-2

formance of its own – holding the Panthers to their lowest-scoring game of the season, having scored no fewer than four goals in any of their previous five matches – the offense simply wasn’t clicking, despite a few opportunities.

In 80 minutes of game time, the Eagles mustered just two shots on

goal, both of which came on long-distance free kicks and were easily saved by Finnegan Tome in goal.

“I’m pretty pleased with the way we played,” said Andy Mitchell, the Eagles’ head coach. “Is it the very best we’ve played? No. … One of the things

THIS WEEK IN SPORTS:

Perryville narrowly defeats Bo Manor, 1-0, in clash of the unbeatens

Pietuszka penalty kick enough for Tigers to get 1-0 win over Indians

By Kevin Phillips

NORTH EAST–Rising Sun

and host North East engaged in a physical defensive battle in which both teams struggled to generate quality scoring chances throughout.

The Tigers made the best out of their highest quality chance when Dylan Pietuszka scored on a penalty kick in the first half and held on from there to earn a 1-0 victory over the Indians in UCBAC boys’ soccer action Wednesday night.

“They played well as a unit. Obviously, it’s not a one-man job, so I think that was a key,” Rising Sun head coach Dylan Aiman said of his team’s defensive play. “It was proper positioning, playing as a team, playing as a unit, and playing for each other, getting a lot of help from the midfield players as well.”

The Tigers had a slight edge of possession for the first 20 minutes of the game, but the Indians’ kept the defensive shape near the goal, preventing the Rising Sun from creating high quality shots.

However, after a blocked North East shot ricocheted to Pietuszka near midfield in the 25th minute, he hit two hard kicks to spring himself ahead of the defense. As he was about to take a shot, he was fouled in the box, prompting the penalty kick opportunity.

“The defense did a great job clearing the ball, and I got the ball in the midfield,” Pietuszka described what happened to set up his penalty kick. “I pushed it past the defenders and went hard for it, and I ended up getting fouled from behind.”

Pietuszka was tabbed to take the kick, and he took a few seconds to

catch his breath after sprinting 50 yards just moments before.

Once Pietuszka gathered himself, he knew what he was going to do, and he converted the penalty kick with a shot to his right to give Rising Sun a 1-0 lead.

“I took some time. I was definitely nervous. I knew these games are big, and they’re usually one goal. I knew I had to capitalize on it,” Pietuszka said. “That’s usually the spot I go to, and I was pretty confident that the goalie was going to go that way too. I knew I could beat him on that side that way.”

The teams combined for eight total shots on goal as each time either team would move the ball down the field, the defense would maintain its discipline and position to prevent any runs past the back line, keeping the score at 1-0 for

the remainder of the game. A reason why the Indians may have struggled offensively was that it played a double overtime contest the night before and did not have its full energy against the Tigers, but North East head coach David Hamilton commended his team’s defensive effort Wednesday.

“Fantastic. We came off a double overtime game against North Harford last night, so they were very leggy. They didn’t play well. They didn’t get to the ball quick enough,” Hamilton said. “It was a tough game. It was defensively solid. I give our player of the match to my keeper (Gavin Hawley). He was solid in the back. He really did well. It was defensively very good.”

clash of the unbeatens

we need to learn is how to defend and then counter attack, not just go all out one way or the other.”

Mitchell said that for most of the game – namely in the second half – the Eagles struggled to control midfield as the Panthers kicked it into gear, which made it tougher to not only create offensive opportunities, but also prevent Perryville from putting pressure on their backline.

However, after nearly 32 minutes of scoreless soccer, Perryville found its golden shot.

In the 33rd minute, Panthers forward Evan Beynon found himself toward the left corner of the pitch with an Eagles defender on him. Using his footwork – and a little bit of speed – Beynon got himself free long enough to launch a lofty crossing pass to John Alexander, who hit an off-balance shot directly into the center-right portion of the net for the goal.

With that go-ahead shot, the Panthers took a 1-0 lead.

“My right leg, which

is my main leg, was kind of sore from a few practices earlier and I was kind of stuck with the fact that I would have to use my left a lot more today,” said Beynon. “But luckily, I was on the left side for almost all of the game and there was that left-foot cross that went to him (for the goal).”

For much of the game, Tome said, the Eagles forced the Panthers to play quicker and less methodically, taking away their style of play so that they felt obligated to conform and go toe-to-toe with a faster-paced Bo Manor offense.

Alexander’s goal, however, was one of the few possessions that had a Perryville stamp on it: a slower pace, smart moves and even better passes. And it clearly paid off.

“The way that we play, we end up in the corner a lot,” Tome said. “I try to teach the boys if we can take space into the corner and fill in the space behind, then we can own the ball in the offensive third.”

In the second half, Perryville was almost fully in control of possession, allowing the Panthers to sprinkle

in a couple of shots here and there, forcing the Eagles to make saves.

In the 58th minute, Perryville’s James Abrams earned a free kick near the top of the penalty box. He proceeded to send it just high, hitting the crossbar in the process, but the ball found its way back in his vicinity a couple of touches later. He then made a slide tackle to knock the ball away from an Eagles defender and into the air toward the goal, forcing Bo Manor goalkeeper Ryan Linkous to leap into the air and make a save, punching the ball behind the net.

It was one of Linkous’ few highlight saves on the evening.

“Ryan Linkous, he put on quite the show,” Mitchell said of his junior goalkeeper, “knocking balls over, knocking them out, picking them back up again, dialing them out to the side to keep them from getting a rebound. He did a phenomenal job working to not give them anything else.”

The Eagles had a few moments down the stretch, either with throughball passes finding their way

to a breakaway player or corner kicks leading to potential point-blank goals – all of which made the Bo Manor-themed crowd collectively hold its breath – but came up just short each time.

In the end, Perryville came away with a victory in a tough, physical battle with arguably its biggest competition in the county this season.

And, after a 5-7 season last year, it doesn’t hurt that the Panthers have already surpassed their 2021 win total.

“In the beginning of the season, (our goal) was the county sweep,” Beynon said. “We just wanted to try and beat whoever’s close, then beat the new teams. … We just wanted to take it one game at a time, one team at a time, and try to get as far as we can.”

Perryville will strive to keep its perfect season intact with a date against the Edgewood Rams (1-5) on the road this Tuesday, while Bo Manor looks to avenge its first loss when it visits the Aberdeen Eagles (0-6).

Photos by Sam Dixon

Photos by Duane Goldsmith

SCENES FROM TOME BOYS SOCCER vs RISING SUN SEPTEMBER 26, 2022

Photos by Duane Goldsmith

Top Female Finishers:

Rising Sun’s Boys’ and Girls’ Teams Win at Cecil County Invitational

By Amanda Callaghan

ELKTON - September 27th

was the annual Cecil County Invitational! Elkton, Perryville, Bo Manor, North East, and Rising Sun gathered at Meadow Park for the yearly invitational to determine which runners and teams would be the best in Cecil County.

With a new course looping in both Meadow and Hatchery Parks, this invitational was a blast! The course was well-marked and the meet was exceptionally well organized, with all of the participating teams receiving Gatorade corresponding with the school’s colors. It was a great atmosphere for competition and county comradery.

The girls’ race was run first and was won by sophomore Leanna Rogers, finishing in a speedy 20 minutes and 24.86 minutes. She was followed by Rising Sun’s Emily Wishart in second (22:00.00) and Skylar Pizzulli of Bo Manor in third (22:14.86). The Rising Sun girls' team won the race with only 15 points, defending their title from last year’s invitational. After Emily Wishart, Amanda Callaghan

was 5th (23:20.61), Kaitlin Perry 6th (23:29.38), Isabelle Griffith 8th (27:28.12), and Bella Chavis 12th (28:41.11).

The boys' race was just as thrilling, with Rising Sun senior John Ferry (18:04.25) winning the race in a sprint-off against Bo Manor’s Evan Wakefield (18:07.52). Third place was taken by North East’s Daniel Katz (18.41.75). The Rising Sun boys’ team had a surprising upset over last year’s invitational champions, Bo Manor. Rising Sun finished with 39 points, barely beating Bo Manor with 41. Following John Ferry from Rising Sun was Niklas Haraldsson in 7th (19:21.22), Landon Milloway in 8th (20:28.72), Anthony McGonigle in 9th (20:29.84), and JB Lightner in 14th (21:02.79).

One of the most impressive feats from the invitational was that both winners of the races, John Ferry and Leanna Rogers, are in their first years of cross-country running. Neither are new to running, however, as they both ran the 3200, 1600, and 800 during the 2021 outdoor track season. We are sure to see many more fast races

out of these runners, as well as from all of the other runners in the girls' and boys' races!

Rising Sun’s boy’s and girl’s coach, Jill Mckay, was very proud of both of her team’s accomplishments. “Rising Sun's boys' and girls' teams have been growing in size and in grit.” she said. “We have had freshmen come out asking, ‘what events are in cross county?’ to leading the county and including other-primary-sport athletes (like basketball players) who realize that cross county will help them for their other sports. (Communication with other coaches helps here, too).

“RSHS has 8 seniors who have been amazing leaders on the team, each in their own unique way. Cross Country is an all-inclusive sport; all are welcome. On race day, there is nowhere to hide. The work shows. Personal bests are rewarding. Each course offers its own unique challenges, mental and physical.

“While our athletes have been successful in XC, even more important are the life skills they are

learning: grit, perseverance, the importance of encouragement when faced with a challenge, and that nothing is impossible. Each cross country athlete (in the history of cross county) has learned that they are tougher than they realized and that they can do (and be successful) at really hard things.

“The key is consistency. Keep showing up and putting in your best effort. These kids are truly inspiring! As Whitney Fleming writes, cross-country athletes ‘restore your faith in humanity.’ I never read a more true statement.” McKay expressed.

All of the Cecil teams will meet again at UCBAC Championships on October 25th, held at Brantwood Regional Park. Elkton, Perryville, Bo Manor, and North East will also race each other at the Susquehanna Division Championships on October 11th in Perryville Park. Rising Sun will race at the Chesapeake Division Championships on October 11th, held at the Churchville Recreation Center. Best of luck to all of the teams in their future races!

Top Male Finishers:

Leanna Rogers - North East

Emily Wishart - Rising Sun

Skylar Pizzulli - Bohemia Manor

John Ferry - Rising Sun

Evan Wakefield - Bohemia Manor

Daniel Katz - North East

1. TELEVISION: Which TV cartoon show featured a Great Dane as part of the mystery-solving team?

2. MOVIES: Which 1970s movie’s tagline is, “You’ll never go in the water again”?

3. HISTORY: What was the nickname for American soldiers in WWI?

4. MEDICAL TERMS: What is dysphonia?

5. U.S. PRESIDENTS: How many state capitals are named after U.S. presidents?

6. ANATOMY: What part of the brain controls language and hearing?

7. PSYCHOLOGY: What is the fear represented in metathesiophobia?

8. GEOGRAPHY: How many countries are in the United Kingdom?

9. FOOD & DRINK: What are the two main ingredients in a meringue?

10. U.S. STATES: Which state is home to General Sherman, a sequoia more than 2,000 years old?

© 2022 King Features Synd., Inc.

10. California.

9. Egg whites and sugar.

8. Four: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

7. Fear of change

6. Temporal lobe.

5. Four (Jackson, Mississippi; Lincoln, Nebraska, Madison, Wisconsin, and -Jef ferson City, Missouri).

4. Having a hoarse or raspy voice.

3. Doughboys.

2. "Jaws."

1. "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?"

Answers

Cardiac Cats: Callaghan’s go-ahead goal fuels Tigers’ comeback win vs. Indians

By Victor Hensley

RISING SUN – Katie Callaghan stood at the 20-yardline, frozen in time.

As the Rising Sun sophomore watched the ball slice into the back corner of the cage, seemingly in slow motion, she rotated toward her teammates, gave them a thunderstruck glance and

extended her arms high into the air.

Then, everyone darted toward her, screaming in celebration.

Callaghan’s quick strike just 53 seconds into the fourth quarter acted as the go-ahead – and eventual game-winning – goal for the Tigers (4-0) in last Monday’s victory over the North

East Indians (4-2) at Calvert Regional Park.

“Honestly, I don’t remember much, I was just in the moment for most of it,” Callaghan said when asked to describe her game-sealing score. “I saw the opening, the ball was in the center of the circle, and I just took the shot. I saw that she was running at me, so I snuck it

in between her legs.” Callaghan’s goal caused an eruption of emotion for a Rising Sun squad that trailed, 1-0, for much of the afternoon.

But not only had the Tigers earned a gritty, comeback victory over their in-county rival, they’d done so against an Indians team that had gotten the best of

them in each of the last two seasons, with Oct. 2018 being the last time Rising Sun won a game in the series.

Callaghan confirmed the Tigers’ drought was on the team’s mind ahead of Monday’s matchup.

“I’m really happy with (the win) because our team, in general, has been

really looking forward to this game because we’ve lost to this team a lot of times,” she said. “And I’m really proud that we found our skillset and our encouragement and what we needed to win this game because it really means a lot to us.”

In the first half, the continued on D-2

Cardiac Cats: Callaghan’s go-ahead goal fuels Tigers’ comeback win vs. Indians

Indians were in control of nearly every aspect of the game.

The Indians managed the pace, the shot distribution and – once midfielder Kelsey Jennings drew first blood in the opening quarter on an assist from midfielder Megan Thompson – the score.

North East had numerous chances to add to its lead in the second quarter, including a shot that ricocheted off of the right post, but Rising Sun goalkeeper Anna Callaghan held firm, making saves when necessary, diving for loose balls and working in tandem with her defenders to protect the striking circle, despite the Indians having an overwhelming advantage in penalty corners.

“Anna did a phenomenal job,” said Katie Keyes, the Tigers’ head coach, after the win. “She was aggressive, she made a ton of stops, but also, she played smart and very quick on her feet and was able to get up after she made

saves.”

The second half was a totally different story, however, with Rising Sun being the primary aggressor for the third and fourth quarters.

The Tigers led the way in penalty corners throughout the second half and began putting pressure on Indians goalkeeper Tess Keatley, who weathered the storm nicely for much of the third period.

With seven minutes to go in the third, North East even had a potential goal waved off on an official’s whistle, which would’ve given the Indians a game-changing 2-0 lead.

Instead, about five minutes later, Rising Sun’s Bella Figaniak got the Tigers on the board with a pointblank goal that came in the middle of a scrum deep inside the striking circle after Keatley fell to the ground, leaving Figaniak with a wide-open opportunity.

Her goal acted as the backbone for Callaghan’s go-ahead shot, which came just 2 minutes,

33 seconds later as the Tigers had suddenly shifted the momentum entirely in their favor.

“I told my players they did a great job persevering because North East did score first,” Keyes said. “They just decided they were going to step it up and play and … they came out on fire in the second half.”

Down the stretch, the Indians had their fair share of scoring chances, but each time they’d get inside the striking circle, shots were either being deflected, saved or fired narrowly off the mark. The scoreless second half wasn’t for a lack of trying on their part.

“I’ll tell you what, they hustled and they didn’t stop,” said Kendie Sandridge, the Indians’ head coach. “The last minute and 20 seconds, they were pushing and pushing and pushing, but they just couldn’t capitalize at the end of the day on those small little touches inside. But that’s going to happen some days. Scoring is hard.”

With the comeback

victory, Rising Sun improves to 4-0 on the season, the team’s best start over the last decade.

But having faced just one Cecil County team so far, the Tigers are still far off from their end-of-year goal.

“I’m really excited because we’re trying to get the county sweep this year and we haven’t had that in past years,” Katie Callaghan said. “I feel like that’s really going to boost our confidence because this is usually the hardest team to beat. And doing that is really going to boost how we think as a team, how we work, because we’re going to go out in these games and we’re going to know that we can do it.”

Rising Sun will look to continue its perfect season this Monday against the Havre de Grace Warriors (1-5), while, after a short break, North East will aim to get back on track on Oct. 10, also against Havre de Grace.

Photos by Jacki Taylor

5

FLASHBACK

By Mick Harper

1. Name the group that had a No. 1 R&B hit with “Just to Be Close to You” in 1976.

2. Who released “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word”?

3. The title of which song was a phone number that prompted thousands of prank calls across the country?

4. Who released “Every Breath You Take”?

5. Name the song that contains these lyrics: “I love every movement, And there’s nothing I would change, She doesn’t need improvement, She’s much too nice to rearrange.”

Answers

1. The Commodores. The song, written by Lionel Richie, topped the R&B charts and stayed there for two weeks.

2. Elton John, in 1976. John and his writing partner Bernie Taupin wrote the song in minutes after John had fiddled briefly with a melody and lyrics.

3. “867-5309/Jenny,” by Tommy Tutone in 1981. Callers only needed to add in any area code to the number. Years later many people were still receiving prank calls.

4. The Police, in 1983.

5. “Poetry in Motion,” by Johnny Tillotson in 1960. This chart topper has been covered widely around the globe, including releases by artists in Sweden, Germany, Finland, Chile and Czechoslovakia.

(c) 2022 King Features Syndicate

Photos by Sam Dixon

STRANGE BUT TRUE

By Lucie Winborne

* In 1962, former MLB catcher Harry Chiti was traded from the Cleveland Indians to the New York Mets for “a player to be named later.” After a poor showing, Chiti became that very player, making him the first ever to be traded for himself.

* The average person will grow 590 miles of hair (including nose hair) in their lifetime.

* Speaking of hair, prior to L’Oreal’s launch of the first mass market hairspray in 1960, women had to choose between slicking their hair down with a greasy brilliantine or using a mechanical sprayer to coat it with shellac dissolved in a solution of water and alcohol. Thank you, L’Oreal.

* When it comes to landing an effective punch, boxers have nothing on the mantis shrimp, the strike of which has been clocked at about 50 mph and described by Science as accelerating faster than a .22-caliber bullet. Take that, Mike Tyson!

* Forks were once considered a sacrilegious tool by the church.

* In 1898, nearly 75% of Alabama’s entire annual state revenue came from convict leasing to private railways, mines and large plantations.

* Brazilian doctor Heron Werner uses 3D printing to help blind parents feel their baby’s ultrasound results.

* David Wayne Oliver, “the Santa Claus Bank Robber,” walked into a Colorado Springs bank claiming to be armed, stole an undisclosed amount of money, and took the bag out to the street, tossing cash into the air while shouting “Merry Christmas.” He then proceeded to a Starbucks to watch the resulting commotion while waiting for his arrest.

* In an effort to limit the Dalai Lama’s power, China has banned Tibetan Buddhist monks from reincarnating without government permission.

(c) 2022 King Features Synd., Inc.

SCENES FROM BOHEMIA MANOR FIELD HOCKEY vs OXFORD - SEPTEMBER 26, 2022

Photos by Megan Steimer

MOMENTS IN TIME

The History Channel

* On Oct. 21, 1797, the USS Constitution, a 44gun U.S. Navy frigate, is launched in Boston Harbor. She was built to fight Barbary pirates off the coast of Tripoli and won the nickname “Old Ironsides” during the War of 1812, when British shots merely bounced off Constitution’s sides.

* On Oct. 19, 1931, David Cornwell, known as spy novelist John le Carre, is born in Poole, England. He published his first spy novel, “Call for the Dead,” in 1961. The novel, like his second, “A Murder of Quality” (1962), featured spy George Smiley.

* On Oct. 22, 1957, in Saigon, Vietnam, 13 American military personnel are wounded in three terrorist bombings. During America’s official involvement (1964-1973), over 3 million armed forces were deployed to Vietnam, resulting in 58,220 deaths.

* On Oct. 20, 1968, 21-year-old Dick Fosbury sets an Olympic record at the Mexico City Games when he high-jumps 7 feet, 4 1/4 inches. Fosbury’s unique jumping, known as the Fosbury Flop, was described in the press as “a guy falling off the back of a truck.”

* On Oct. 18, 1974, singer Al Green is attacked when an ex-girlfriend pours a pot of hot grits on his back while he was in the bathtub. Green was left with severe injuries but also a spiritual awakening. By 1976, Green had become an ordained Baptist minister and established a Memphis church.

* On Oct. 17, 1986, President Ronald Reagan signs into law an act that approves $100 million in humanitarian and military aid for Nicaraguan Contras with a goal of overthrowing the Sandinista government. Shortly afterward, however, the Iran-Contra scandal was revealed wherein the U.S. had sold missiles and arms in secret deals with Iran and $30 million were diverted to the Contras.

* On Oct. 23, 2002, nearly 800 people in a Moscow theater are taken hostage by 50 Chechen Army rebels. Russian special forces surrounded the building and pumped in a gas that rendered the terrorists and hostages unconscious. During the subsequent raid, 120 hostages were killed as well as most of the rebels.

(c) 2022 Hearst Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Scenes from this weekend vs the Perryville Panthers

RISING SUN TIGERS JR FOOTBALL

Photos By: Jessica Montanez

CECIL WOLFPACK JR FOOTBALL

Written

The stands were packed as the Pack had a make up game against Havre De Grace this past Tuesday night. After an exciting game on the road, the 9U Pack brought home a win with a 34-0 shutout. Both Jayceon McClain and Bryson Queen contributed a touchdown with 2 extra points. Khaalis Coppock Bey Jr. dominated the running game with a touchdown and put up the extra points up for his team.

The weekday games continued Friday night under the lights as 12U visited Fallston. Even with the team being depleted with injuries, Isaiah Yates had an interception on defense and a 70 yard touch

down pass to Jeremiah Marshall. During the first three defensive possessions the Pack were dominating the field, but injuries caught up to team as they fell to the Cougars 34-7. 9U were on the road once again Saturday night taking on Middle River in a disappointing loss. Bryson

Queen led his team with a 60 yard touchdown pass to Syncere Judge, but the Pack came short in the end, with a final score of 24-8. Due to recent weather, any Cecil Wolfpack games that were cancelled this past Saturday will be rescheduled. All games will resume this weekend October 8th @Calvert Regional Park. Be sure to save the date for the Wolfpack Homecoming Games, being held October 15th.

by: Heather Dotson

Photos by: Heather Dotson, Vince Douglas, Laura Dotson

SportsQuiz

By Ryan A. Berenz

1. Name the actor (“The Rifleman”) and writer who played basketball for the Boston Celtics and baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Chicago Cubs.

2. In January 2021, the University of South Carolina Gamecocks dedicated a statue of what women’s basketball star on the school’s campus?

3. At halftime of Super Bowl I, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Len Dawson was photographed with a cigarette between his lips and a bottle of what soft drink at his feet?

4. Mark Philippoussis, a pro tennis player who reached the U.S. Open final in 1998 and the Wimbledon final in 2003, hailed from what country?

5. What TV sports reporter and personality was a member of the University of Florida Gators Dazzlers dance team from 1997-2000?

6. In boxing, which traditional weight class is heavier: bantamweight or welterweight?

7. Who invented the removable cleat for football shoes in 1922 and was founder of the company that created the first plastic football helmet in 1939?

Answers

1. Chuck Connors.

2. A’ja Wilson.

3. Fresca.

4. Australia.

5. Erin Andrews.

6. Welterweight, at 140-147 pounds (bantamweight is 115-118 pounds).

7. John T. Riddell.

(c) 2022 King Features Syndicate, Inc.

Scenes from this weekend vs the Perryville Panthers

RISING SUN TIGERS JR FOOTBALL

Photos By: Duane Goldsmith