Page 46 The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch December 27, 2013 Sports In The News Injured Student Honored With ‘Tough Guy’ Worcester Girls Fall To Sabres, 29-21 By SHAWN J. SOPER SPORTS EDITOR BERLIN – Despite falling to old rival Saints Peter and Paul last Thursday, the Worcester Prep girls’ varsity basketball team has much to build on after a solid first half of the season during which they went 5-2. The Mallards lost to the Sabres, 29-21, last Thursday in the last game before the holiday break, but the loss did little to tarnish what was otherwise a remarkable start to the 2013-2014 season. The Mallards opened the season with a 56-2 win over Gunston, fol- lowed by a narrow 28-27 defeat to Salisbury Christian. After that, the Worcester girls reeled off four straight wins, beating Greenwood 60-8, Greenwood again, 57-20, Holly Grove, 50-8, and Chincoteague, 30-3. The Mallards’ average margin of victory during the four-game streak was 50-8. The loss to the Sabres last Thursday brought Worcester back down to earth somewhat after such a hot streak, but the Mallards have much to build on going into the second half. They will return to action after the holiday break with a home game against Salisbury School on Jan. 8. BIS student and Pop Warner standout Cameron Smith, who was seriously injured in a collision with a county school bus in Berlin in October, last week was recognized with an honorary “Tough Guy” award from Atlantic Physical Therapy President and CEO Bob Hammond. Hammond has been recognizing the “Tough Guy of the Week” award for the Stephen Decatur High School football team for a decade. Pictured above, Hammond presents the trophy to Smith. Submitted Photo By SHAWN J. SOPER SPORTS EDITOR Mallards Close Out First Half At 5-1 By SHAWN J. SOPER SPORTS EDITOR BERLIN – Worcester Prep’s boys varsity basketball team closed out the first part of the regular season in impressive fashion last week, beating host Chincoteague, 43-40, to finish with a 5-1 record going into the holiday break. The Mallards edged alwaystough Chincoteague, 43-40, last Wednesday in the last game before the holiday break. For Worcester, the win over the Ponies was the fourth in a row and fifth overall thus far this season against only one loss. The Mallards fell to Salisbury Christian, 51-49, back on Dec. 3 for their only loss on the season. Thus far, the Worcester boys have beaten Gunston, Greenwood Mennonite twice, Holly Grove and now Chincoteague. The Mallards will hit the ground running after the holidays with three games in three days including Chincoteague again on Jan. 7, Salisbury School on Jan. 8 and St. Thomas More on Jan. 10. Decatur Girls Hosting Coleman Tourney By SHAWN J. SOPER SPORTS EDITOR BERLIN – After finishing the first part of the regular season with an impressive 4-1 mark, Stephen Decatur’s girls’ varsity basketball team this weekend will play host to the annual John Coleman Holiday Tournament. The Decatur girls routed Wicomico, 64-30, on Dec. 13 and followed that up with an impressive 53-37 win over Easton last Wednesday. The Seahawks finished the first part of the regular season with a 4-1 mark, their only loss coming to Mardela back on Dec. 11. After a short break for the holidays, the Decatur girls will be back in action this week when they play host to the annual Coleman Tournament. The annual tournament, named for long-time Worcester County Public Schools Administrator John Coleman, has become one of the highlights of the holiday basketball tournament schedule over the years although its configuration has been altered several times. For the last couple of years, however, the tournament has strictly been an allgirls event featuring Decatur, Snow Hill and Pocomoke and this year will be no different. This weekend, Decatur will play host to a roundrobin format with Snow Hill, Pocomoke and at-large invitee Northhampton. The action starts with Decatur hosting Northhampton at 2 p.m. on Friday and the rest of the games will be determined by what happens on the court. Last year, the Decatur girls swept their two games, beating Snow Hill, 77-46, in their opener before edging Pocomoke, 55-45, in their second game. BERLIN – A Berlin student and Pop Warner football player seriously injured in a collision with a school bus back in October last week was recognized with an honorary Atlantic Physical Therapy “Tough Guy” award usually reserved for the top players at Stephen Decatur High School. Started 10 years ago by Atlantic Physical Therapy president Bob Hammond, the weekly ATP “Tough Guy of the Week” award acknowledges the efforts of an individual player, or on some occasions a unit on the team, that do the little things to help the team win that don’t necessarily show up in the box score. Most of the accolades in football at any level are reserved for the glamour guys, the golden-armed quarterbacks and fleet-footed running backs who put points on the board and thrill the crowd, but the weekly “Tough Guy” award is handed out to the Decatur player who best exemplifies the spirit of Seahawk football. Week in and week out during the season, the ATP “Tough Guy” award recognized those players, who are rewarded with a handsome trophy each week. At the end of the season, a “Tough Guy of the Year” award is presented to the player who best exemplified those qualities throughout the year. With the local football season long in the books, Hammond last week announced he had one more “Tough Guy” award to hand out this year. It went to Berlin Intermediate School student and standout Berlin Pop Warner football player Cameron Smith, who exemplified the spirit of the award on the local football fields, but more importantly in his recovery from serious injuries after being hit by a Worcester County Public School bus back in October. Shortly before 3 p.m. on Oct. 25, the 10-year-old Smith was riding his bicycle in the area of Flower Street in Berlin when he collided with a school bus. The school bus was not occupied at the time. The BIS student suffered significant injuries and was flown to Shock Trauma in Baltimore. The school bus driver was not at fault and the incident was an unfortunate accident and no charges were filed in the case. Smith spent a considerable amount of time at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore for treatment of serious injuries to his right leg. He underwent medical procedures and physical therapy. He was presented with the “Tough Guy” award by Hammond last week. Seahawks Finish 3rd At Bayside Meet By SHAWN J. SOPER SPORTS EDITOR BERLIN – Stephen Decatur’s girls’ varsity indoor track team turned in another strong performance at the Bayside Conference third meet of the season last week, finished third overall. The Kent Island girls won the meet with 87 total points, while Sussex Tech was second with 63 and Decatur was third with 55. Layla Fowler had a big day, finishing first in the 500, second in the 300 and third in the 800. Katie Collins finished first in the pole vault, while Kacie Moore was second. Other top finishers for the Seahawks included a fifth in the 55 hurdles for Emily Kolarik, a fourth in the 300 for Christina Romano, a fifth in the 500 for Lauren Bodolus and a sixth in the 3,200 for Alison Alvarado.