After having a 18-6 season last year, Elkton boys basketball team is starting out their season with all their players no time to practice. "We had two days of try outs and that was it. Yesterday (Wednesday, December 14) was our first official day as a team," said Elkton head coach Joe Zang. The Elkton boys basketball team battled against Perryville to gain a 71-67 triumph over visiting Panthers on Wednesday, December 14. "Our expectations last night were to pressure and keep it simple. We knew it would be a win if they did that and they did that. So on that level yes they did but there is room for improvement. A win is always a good thing to be proud of, but this is day one for us. This is our first day as a team," said Zang. Elkton girls basketball team cruised to a 54-21 victory over Rising Sun on Thursday, December 8.
"I couldn't be happier with the way we performed. The team came ready to play this year. We are prepared to take every team one at a time, and we are going to give everything we got, win or lose and we know we are not going to win them all but we are going to try and be competative about it," said Elkton head coach Chris Dunn."We know we are undersized and we set out to be quick and score quick on transitions and we don't want to get into a slug fest." Elktons defense made it hard for Rising Sun to move the ball. "Their press defense was intense. We had a hard time moving the ball across half court. They are quick and they work well together," said Rising Sun head coach Kathy Stoudt. "We need to improve on limiting our turnovers and attacking pressure defenses. That will come with experience." After having a 8-6 season last year, Rising Sun wrestling team is hoping to be a regional qualifier this year.
"We have high expectations, I think we are looking to win out our conference and pick up some tough duals with John Carroll, Bel Air and Dunbar," said Rising Sun head coach Cory Hall. The team lost two wrestlers to graduation, Max Foppiano and Tyler Jones. "Tyler was a big contributor last year and a state qualifier, regional champ and a Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference runner up," Hall said. "Max was a three year varsity wrestler, who placed at Battle at the Bridge (last year). He always kept a smile on his face and was a joy to coach. He was a hard worker and never gave up," said Hall. Coming off an 11-10 season, this is a rebuilding year for the Rising Sun High School girls basketball team.
The team lost four players to graduation last year. "Three of them were starters. We also lost arguably, our best player, Abby Mack, she would have been a senior this year, but had to move to Kansas," said Rising Sun High School head coach Kathy Stoudt. "The only returning starter this year is Liz Zatlava, who will be out for the season with a knee injury." Head coach Stoudt knows that those losses will make this season difficult. "We have lost all five starters. It will be a rebuilding process for us. We are a brand new team. We have a lot of young players, a lot of inexperienced players, so its just about learning the game and growing," said Stoudt. Confidence was in the air in the Elkton wrestling room as the team practiced for the start of the 2016-2017 season. The Golden Elks have six returning wrestlers this year, all of whom are improving.
"You can see their gears working a little more, because now they are learning the things they learned last year, they are learning minor details and now their picking things up that they didn't catch last year," said head wrestling coach Michael Wright. Wright is hoping this season will do as well or better than last year. "If its 1-11 we will be good as we were last year. If we have two wins I will be happy with that," he said. Perryville girls basketball head coach Mike Blizzard is determined to win the Susquehanna title after having a 12-8 season last year.
"As we continue to progress, we certainly don't want to stagnate. We want to continue moving forward. I think our next logical step is to win the Susquehanna title," said Blizzard. The team lost five players to graduation last year. Among the five players they lost two starters, Jill Miller and Jewels Jones. Coach Blizzard is counting on his returning players to strengthen the team. After having a 6-14 season last year, North East girls basketball head coach Chris Hadjis is confident that his team will improve this year.
"I think we are going to have some difficulties because we are young and inexperienced but, I think we will hit our stride when it counts during playoffs and thats what we expect to do anyway," said Hadjis. The team lost five players to graduation last year. Three of which were very important to the team: Tamesha Gaddy who played center, Brianna Christie and Lauren Gill-Jacobs who played as point guards. The team has three returning players this year. Coach Hadjis has one who has the most experience. "When it comes to actual minutes on the floor, junior Jasmine Giles, who is a point guard, is a key player." Elkton girls basketball team will be moving up to compete in the Chesapeake division this year, after posting a stellar record of 23-2 last year.
The coach is hoping his team will do well in their new division this year. "We are going to be small and quick. I fully expect us to be competitive in every match that were in," said Elkton head coach Chris Dunn. The coach expects his team will face some battles in the new division. "We are going to have some hurdles, that are going to be tough to overcome. Hopefully we can build enough character in the team. We are sill going to be young, we only have one senior this year," he said. |
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