Lady Panthers Press Their Way To Victory In Playoffs

They didn’t have champagne to celebrate their victory, water bottles would have to do. But the exhilaration of winning a game in the state playoffs, a game few thought they could win, was cause for unbridled joy in the Perryville girls basketball locker room.

     Not many who follow girls high school basketball would have believed you if you said Perryville would be the last Cecil County team standing in the State Playoffs, but they are.

     After closing out the regular season with crushing back-to-back losses on their home court and mired by injury problems, the Lady Panthers came out and pressed the visiting Sparrows Point squad from the opening tipoff with a vengeance.

     They built a solid lead off turnovers and went into halftime with a 19-12 lead. The Panthers backed off of the press and it seemed to allow the Pointers momentum to make a comeback.

     The team effort by Perryville saw eight players hit the scoreboard, with only Ali Jones entering double digits at 13 points to lead all Panther scorers. Savannah Dunn led the scoring for Sparrows Point with 15 points.

     Just as Sparrows Point pulled within a basket of Perryville, the Panthers made a run that would put the game permanently out of reach. Perryville outscored Sparrows Point 15-5 in the final period to salt away a 45-27 victory and a trip to the regional semifinals at Western School of Technology in Baltimore County on Wednesday.

02-27-12 Perryville v Sparrows Point Girls Basketball - Images by Eclipse Sportswire

Perryville Track and Field Makes Impact At Indoor Championships

     Powered by Jordan Dodson’s wins in the Girls 800 and 1500 Meter Races, the Perryville Girls Indoor Track and Field team just missed ending up on the winner’s podium and finished fourth in the 1A Division.

     Athletes from Perryville, Bohemia Manor, Rising Sun and North East competed in the 1A/2A Maryland State Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Prince George's County Sports Complex in Landover, Maryland today, but it was Perryville’s girls who kept turning in solid performances.

     The meet opened with the Girls 4 x 800 Meter Relay.  Meet Champion Boonsboro proved too much for Perryville, but Kaylee Haberkam, Sam Leonard, Tori Antoshak and Merve Akbay got the Perryville Panther squad on the board with a third place.

     Kaylee Haberkam, as a solo act, was next. She cleared 4’10” easily, two inches more than she qualified with, but she had to wait to see where she would place. Boonsboro’s Maggie Sullivan was off competing in another event. When she returned, she was unable to clear 5’0” as well, giving Haberkam the second placing based on missed jumps.

     Jordan Dodson qualified for the 1500m contest almost 43 seconds slower than Boonsboro’s Sarah Zielinski, who also motored through the 3200m contest for a win. But, it was Dodson who battled past Zielinski for the win. Dodson set her sights on Zielinski early in the race. “I knew I could outkick her, if I just kept her close,” she said.  Dodson added the 800 meter win later in the meet.

     The Perryville Boys finished eighth for the meet, with Karl Palmer providing the best result for the Panthers – a second place finish in the 55m Dash.

    Tori Bertrand from North East scored a second place finish in the pole vault in the 2A Division and Rising Sun's Austin Mcginley finished second in the 2A 3200 meter run for the boys.

     Katie Hild rounded out the Top-3 finishes for Perryville and all Cecil County athletes with her third place finish in the Pole Vault.

*****COMMENTARY*****

     What you might not know is that Indoor Track and Field is a club sport. It isn’t sanctioned.  The athletes pay for their own uniforms, they pay travel expenses and they don’t even qualify as a “letter sport” to put a P or B on a jacket or a sweater. But, they all love track and field.  Part of it is a lack of interest countywide in the Winter version of the Spring sport that is very popular. That said, a short-staffed Perryville squad showed up in Landover and faced serious track and field powerhouses and made a great showing for Cecil County.  Maybe their performance will inspire other Cecil athletes to take part in Indoor Track and Field.  The Perryville Panthers should be quite proud of their fourth place finish.

02-20-12 Maryland State Track and Field - Images by Eclipse Sportswire

Lady Elks Pounce Host Perryville 61-18

     Elkton’s Lady Golden Elks wasted no time letting host Perryville know who would be in control of tonight’s matchup.  The Lady Elks sprinted out to a 10-0 lead, held the Lady Panthers without a basket until the three minute mark in the first frame, extended to a 29-2 lead and closed out the half ahead 36-9.

     The Lady Panthers were outrebounded, committed several turnovers that led to baskets and were generally outmatched in tonight’s tilt against Elkton. Leading the Elks in scoring with 19 points was Desiree Foye, followed by Lena Hicks with 16 points. Amber Wood led the Panthers with eights points.

     The Elks finished the game by not allowing a Panther basket in the fourth quarter and winning by a final score of 61-18.

02-15-12 Elkton v Perryville Girls Basketball - Images by Eclipse Sportswire

Elkton Presses Way To 79-52 Win Against Visiting Perryville

     There was no doubt what the game plan for the host Elkton Golden Elks against the visiting Perryville Panthers. Press. Press early, press often and double-team Panther Gabe Sherrod. It worked.  The Golden Elks routed the Panthers 79-52.

     The constant pressure from the outset led to sloppy play on both ends of the court. The first points weren’t scored until three minutes into the game. After that, the Elkton press led to turnover after turnover and the Elks built an insurmountable lead. At the half, Elkton held a 32-19 lead.

     Elkton’s Sterling Cruz led the team with 15 points, but there were four Elks who made it into double-digits.  Perryville’s Gabe Sherrod led all scorers with 20 points.

    The constant pressure by the Golden Elks led to some tense moments during the game, words were exchanged and ended with Elkton getting slapped with a technical foul.  By that point, the decision for Elkton was well in hand, moving them to an 18-2 record, while dropping Perryville to 6-12.

     

02-08-12 Elkton High School v Perryville Boy's Basketball - Images by Eclipse Sportswire

Panthers Outlast Indians For Perryville Win

     It was Cecil County theater on a Friday night, only it was high school basketball in Perryville. The North East Indians has just missed another free throw in the final frame, the Perryville Panthers were up by four points, the clock was under ten seconds and the win was sealed. Then Perryville was slapped with a technical foul, giving the Indians two free throws and the possession.

     The good fortune was all for naught. North East only sank one free throw and, shortly after the inbound pass, Indian Kendall Danglade was forced to step out of bounds. North East never had the chance to put up a game-tying three-point attempt.

     The North East squad missed three free throws in the final period, and that would be the difference in their 63-60 loss to Perryville.

     The Indians jumped out to an early lead with two three-pointers the first period and extended their lead to eight points. It seemed as if having leading scorer Gabe Sherrod on the bench in street clothes might be too much to overcome for Perryville.

     Panther Brian Matthews led all scorers with 17 points. His seven buckets and three free throws in Sherrod’s absence pushed the Perryville to close the gap for good with four minutes left in the game.

     Kendall Danglade and Maurice Dickey each dropped 16 points to lead the visiting North East Indians.

02-03-12 Perryville v North East Boy's Basketball - Images by Eclipse Sportswire

Perryville Wrestlers Pin Their Way To 53-28 Win

     Perryville High School wrestlers won half of their matches by falls to defeat Havre de Grace High School 53-28 in their own gym Wednesday. Of the seven falls, Amos “Buddy” Harlan’s pin at 4:42 in the third period drew the great applause from the dozens of Panther parents, students and fans who made the trip across the Susquehanna for the matchup.  The win in the 138-pound class gave Buddy Harlan his 100^th career victory, putting him in rarified air for Perryville grapplers.

    The other wins by fall for the evening for Perryville were Corbin Porch (108), Justin Harrled (113), Chris Brown (120), Joe Antoshak (126), David Doring (170) and Jake Ritter (182).

02-01-12 Perryville v Havre de Grace Wrestling - Images by Eclipse Sportswire

Bo Manor Fights Back At Home To Beat Perryville

     If the game had ended at the 6:15 mark in the fourth quarter, the story would have been one of a Perryville Panther comeback on the road against the Bohemia Manor Eagles, but it didn’t. The host Eagles outscored the Panthers 19-4 in the final minutes to defeat the Panthers 65-54.

     Led by guard Devon Smith’s 25 points, the Bo Manor squad sprinted out to an early 7-0 lead and extended to an 11-point lead with Perryville standout Gabe Sherrod sitting on the bench.

     Sherrod, who scored his 1,000th career point earlier in the week, came of the bench to post a team-high 22 points and lead the charge. Sidelined for much of the season with an ankle injury, tonight was no different for the senior. He played the remainder of the game with a visible limp that clearly hampered his movement and agility.

     The Panthers were game and took a four-point lead against Bo Manor early in the fourth quarter. The Eagle’s Smith, who didn’t score in the third quarter, woke up for seven points in the final frame to help put Bo Manor back in the lead for good.

01-27-12 Bohemia Manor v Perryville Boy's Basketball - Images by Eclipse Sportswire

Sherrod Drops 30 To Eclipse 1,000 Point Mark, Lead Panthers Past Tigers

     Gabe Sherrod’s 1,000^th career point regained the lead for the Perryville Panthers, who were locked in a back and forth battle with the visiting Rising Sun Tigers. Ahead early, the Panthers kept pushing the ball to Sherrod to get him the 26 points he needed to reach the millennium milestone and it almost cost them the game. After the pivotal basket, Sherrod added in four more points to lead all scorer’s with 30. The Panthers closed out Rising Sun with a 67-60 win.  The Panther lead extended into double digits in the third quarter, but Rising Sun's Nick Spangler and Brandon Aro poured in ten points each in the second half to help Tigers claw their way back into the game.
     The by-product of Rising Sun’s fight from a deficit to the lead was personal fouls, and lots of them. The Tigers ended the game with 25 fouls, three players with five each and Sherrod dropping twelve of his 30 points on free throws.
     The win ended a three-game losing streak for the Panthers and moved them to (5-8) on the season, while the loss moved Rising Sun to a (4-12) record.

01-24-12 Perryville v Rising Sun HS Boys Basketball - Images by Eclipse Sportswire

Lady Tigers Pounce Perryvile 49-27 At Home

Led by Heather Lesniowski’s fifteen points and half-dozen steals, the Rising Sun Lady Tigers defeated the Perryville Panthers 49-27.  With the help of a swarming defense, a relentless press and a double-double by Alyssa Henry, the Lady Tigers were ahead from the tip-off to the final buzzer.  The Tigers were up by eleven points at halftime and continued to extend their lead in the second half.  The win allowed the Tigers to even their record at (5-5), while the Perryville Lady Panthers dropped to (3-4).

01-12-12 Rising Sun v Perryville Girls HS Basketball - Images by Eclipse Sportswire

North East Leads Gate-To-Wire To Defeat Perryville

     The North East Indians came out of the gate scoring eight unanswered points against cross-county rival Perryville and never looked back. They extended their lead to 21-2 and were never headed by the Panther squad.

     The Indians were led by Brandon Smith scoring 19 points on the game and leading all scorers. Guard Kendall Danglade added nine points. The Perryville Panthers were led by Tyrelle Hollingsworth who scored 16 points.

     The final score favored North East 55-39.

01-06-12 North East v Perryville Boys HS BBall - Images by Eclipse Sportswire

Perryville Loses To Patterson Mill On Tiebreaker

     With two wrestlers to go, the Perryville Panthers held a 36-24 lead and could only lose if they suffered two pins.  Minutes later, coaches and the referee were sorting out a 36-36 tie. After going to the third tie breaker, the Patterson Mill Huskies walked away with one extra point and the 37-36 victory.

     The match between Perryville and Patterson Mill was the feature matchup of the three-team meet. The host Elkton Golden Eagles also competed, but with only five wrestlers dressed could not compete for a victory against either rival.

     Behind early pins by Taylor Dimauro, wrestling at 113 pounds, and Chris Brown, wrestling at 120 pounds, the Panthers took an early lead. The Huskies clawed their way back into the match and sealed the victory with those back-to-back pins.


     Although they never had a chance to compete for a win, Elkton’s Timmy Taylor did pin his Patterson Mill foe for a victory.

01-03-12 Perryville, Elkton and Patterson Mill HS Wrestling - Images by Eclipse Sportswire

Storybook Season Ends For Perryville Football

     Perryville High School’s storybook run through the Maryland State 1A Football Championships came to a grinding halt on their opponents 1-yard line.  The Panthers tried to force the ball in four times, only to be turned back by the Dunbar Poets.

     From there, the Poets outmanned the previously undefeated Perryvile squad en route to a 34-11 victory and another state title.