Page 46 The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch November 8, 2013 Sports In The News Decatur Boys Fall In 3A-South Playoffs By SHAWN J. SOPER SPORTS EDITOR Seahawks Edge Rams WithHuge Comebck BERLIN – Stephen Decatur’s boys’ varsity soccer teams hopes of a deep run in the state 3A-South playoffs ended last Friday with a loss to top-seeded Northern on the road in Calvert County. The Seahawks entered the 3ASouth tournament as the numbertwo seed in Section I and earned a first-round bye. Decatur cruised past visiting Northeast of Anne Arundel County at home last Tuesday, 5-1, to avance to the Section I final against top-seeded Northern. However, the Seahawks could get little going against in the Section I final on the road last Friday and fell to Northern, 2-0, to close out what was otherwise a highly successful 2013 season. Kristick, Urban Shoot WellAt States By SHAWN J. SOPER SPORTS EDITOR This week’s Atlantic Physical Therapy “Tough Guy of the Week” award went to quarterback Justin Meekins, who led the Seahawks’ comeback victory over Parkside. Pictured above are Coach Bob Knox, Meekins, Bobby Hammond and ATP President and CEO Bob Hammond. Submitted Photo BERLIN – Two Stephen Decatur varsity golfers carried their team’s mantle into the state championship finals at College Park last week and performed well against some of the best high school players from around the state. Decatur’s outstanding varsity golf team enjoyed another highly successful season this fall, capturing the Bayside Conference and District VIII championships. The Seahawks sent five golfers to the state tournament in College Park last week to compete against nearly 150 of the top high school golfers in Maryland. Three of them, Brooks Holloway, Delaney Iacona and Danny Parker, did not make the cut after the early rounds, but Matt Kristick and Andrew Urban advanced to the final round. Kristick shot an 82 in his first round and followed that up with a 75 in his second round to finish tied for 19th overall with a combined score of 157. Urban also played well in the finals, shooting an 81 in his first round, followed by an 89 in the second round for a combined score of 170. By SHAWN J. SOPER SPORTS EDITOR BERLIN – Stephen Decatur’s varsity football team won its fourth straight game last Friday, beating Parkside, 25-24, but it certainly didn’t come easy. The Seahawks fell behind early, lost prolific running back and scorer P.J. Copes to a shoulder injury, and saw its deficit widen in the second half before mounting a ferocious comeback led by a gutty performance by quarterback Justin Meekins to pull out the narrow 25-24 win over Parkside. Since falling to Easton, 28-14, on Homecoming in early October, the Seahawks have now won four in a row to improve to 6-3 and more importantly started to solidify a post-season berth. Parkside’s Dalonte Waters, who rushed for 295 yards and three touchdowns, got the Rams on the board first with a 68-yard TD run for an early 7-0 lead. Meekins answered with a 62-yard touchdown run of his own and Austin Dundore converted the extra point to tie the game at 7-7, which is how the first quarter ended. In the second quarter, Waters busted loose again for a 52-yard touchdown run to stake the Rams to a 14-7 lead at halftime. Early in the third, Waters dashed 55 yards for his third touchdown of the game and pushed the Parkside lead to 21-7. The Rams would add a field goal in the third to take a 24-7 lead into the final quarter. Trailing by 17 points with a quarter left in the game, the Seahawks began their furious comeback attempt. Meekins pulled Decatur to within 11 points with a 10-yard TD run to cut the lead to 24-13 but the extra point failed. Shortly thereafter, Meekins hit Demond Henry with a 16-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 24-19 with just under 10 minutes remaining in the game. After both teams swapped turnovers, the Seahawks dug in with a defensive stand and forced Parkside to turn the ball over on downs with about five minutes left. Meekins then hit Shawny’e Jones with a 46-yard TD pass to put the Seahawks ahead, 25-24. Decatur went for a two-point conversion in an attempt to extend its lead to three points, but the effort failed and the lead remained 25-24. After trailing the Rams by 17 going into the fourth, the Decatur comeback was complete, but there was still work to do. Parkside drove down to the Deca-tur 24-yard line with time running down. However, a fourth-down pass sailed incomplete and the Seahawks held on for the dramatic 25-24 win. With the win, Decatur improved its bid for a post-season berth with just one game remaining. The top four teams in each region in the state advance to the state playoffs and the Seahawks sat firmly in third place when the point standings were updated this week in the 3ASouth region. Huntingtown is firmly in first with 86 total points, followed by Lackey in second with 69. Decatur sits in third place with 63 total points, while Thomas Stone is in fourth with 58. Thomas Stone and Lackey play each other on Friday. Meanwhile, Decatur finishes the regular season with its annual finale against Snow Hill on the road tonight. Almost every year, the game has implications on one or both team’s playoff hopes. Last year, the Seahawks beat the Eagles, 40-24, to salvage a .500 record but fell short of the state playoffs. Two years ago, however, Decatur needed a 56-20 win over Snow Hill to finish at 7-3 and earn a three-seed in the state playoffs. The Seahawks face the Eagles on the road tonight at 6. Decatur Volleyball Bows Out Of Tourney By SHAWN J. SOPER SPORTS EDITOR BERLIN – Stephen Decatur’s varsity volleyball team made a quick exit out of the state 3A-South region tournament last week, falling to Northeast of Anne Arundel County, 3-1, in its opening match. The Seahawks entered the 3ASouth Section I tournament as the number-four seed and faced fifthseeded Northeast in the first round at home last Friday. Northeast took the first game, 25-14, but Decatur rebounded and won the second game, 25-22. However, Northeast then swept the next two games, 2518 and 25-17, to advance. Northeast then upset top-seeded Bennett, 3-2, in the second round to advance to the sectional final. For Decatur against Northeast, Sammi Quilter had 13 digs, Kayla Heinz had six assists and Taylor Black had five kills and two blocks. Where Are They Now? TORI WHIGHAM By SHAWN J. SOPER SPORTS EDITOR The following is the latest installment in an occasional series about the progress of standout local student-athletes who have gone on to succeed at the next level in their college careers. BERLIN – Former Stephen Decatur women’s soccer standout Tori Whigham has already made a big impact as a freshman at Francis Marion University in South Carolina and was named Division I Independent Player of Week by College Sports Madness. Whigham, who was a key component of Decatur’s highly successful girls’ varsity soccer team last year, was named Division I Player of the Week by College Sports Madness for the week of Oct. 28-Nov. 3, largely for her outstanding performance during Francis Marion University’s regular season finale. Whigham, an Ocean City native, scored two goals in the Patriots’ 3-2 season-ending overtime win over The Citadel. Whigham twice tied the match, scoring in the 40th minute to knot the game at 1-1, and again in the 52nd minute to tie the game again at 2-2. The Patriots ultimately won the game on a penalty kick just over five minutes into the first overtime session.