Seventh Heaven: Top Highlights from the Year in Prep Sports

To give everyone a little background, this was my first season covering high school sports. Prior to this year I had really only covered high school football. To expand my horizons and get to see so many different sports and meet so many players and coaches has been amazing.

The first game I covered for Patch was , way back on October 9. You’ll notice there aren’t any quotes in the article. That’s because my finger slipped and I deleted everything off of my audio recorder. Lesson learned on that one. My final game of the season some 30 weeks later was yesterday’s 2A State Final between Lansdowne and North Caroline.

Boy has this been fun. Here are my top seven “moments” from this sports year (in no specific order):

1. Watching Andre Jackson put up 31 at home against Lansdowne. The 6-foot-4 lanky junior put on a clinic in January in victory over Lansdowne. He made virtually every possible shot one can take on a basketball court, including a thunderous two-handed jam off of a rebound. Scooping layups, fadeaway jumpers and three pointers from the corner—it didn’t matter. Jackson seemingly holed every shot he took en route to 31 points. Can’t wait to see what this kid brings to the table next year.  
2. Franklin girls lacrosse hosts team from England. In April, I got to see something that was flat-out neat. The another lax team (St. Bartholomew’s) all the way from Newbury, Berkshire, England. Franklin won the game 19-8, but what really made me appreciate the event was how it was such an eye-opening experience for the St. Bart’s girls—in large part because the Franklin players, parents and athletic staff were such great hosts. In a place where lacrosse is nowhere near as popular as it is in Maryland, the English girls were in awe of the level of play they faced and just how much the community cared about the sport. Great experience all around.
3. Ahmaad Wilson hitting free throws to send Owings Mills to Comcast Center. This moment defined "clutch" for me. With the score tied at 53 and a trip to the state semifinals on the line, the Eagles' after drawing a foul (albeit questionable) and earning a trip to the stripe. The foul shots came with less than a second to play, in a packed Owings Mills gym with fans from rival New Town shouting at the top of their lungs to get Wilson to miss. However, Wilson, only a sophomore, willed himself to embrace the moment, kept his composure and simply got the job done. While he still has many years of basketball ahead of him, there’s no doubt in my mind that Wilson will always remember that moment (as will I). I know it’s been a few months, but it’s still got to sting New Town deep down.
4. Maude McCourry shines in Lansdowne’s region final win over Eastern Tech. Just because this game occurred only a couple weeks ago doesn’t mean I can’t include it here. Let me set the stage for you: Already having lost two games to the Mavericks this year (including the county championship in which the Vikings committed six errors), the one that really counted. McCourry outdueled Eastern Tech starter Jordan Cargile—who one-upped McCourry to snag first-team All-County for the pitcher spot—by striking out six and allowing only one run over seven innings. The junior also got a ton of help from her defense, which committed just one error en route to the 2A State Semifinals. Not to mention, it was head coach Jamie Izdebski’s birthday at the time.
5. Catonsville girls basketball drops overtime thriller even despite Zoey Whittington’s amazingly clutch game-tying three pointer off the glass. This is most likely going to be the only “moment” I include on this list, but was so great, I can’t leave it off. In the region semifinals at Hereford, the Comets trailed by three—that is, until Whittington grabbed the ball and raced up the court. The senior sprinted up court, stopped at the wing and banked home a three-ball to tie the game, sending Comets fans into a frenzy and leaving Hereford supporters simply stunned. Although Hereford came away with the win, I loved how the Comets fought in overtime—even after Whittington fouled out midway through. Players like Rachel Schwaab, Deb Milani and Maddie Hunt (all returning next year) picked up the slack and nearly pulled off the win. It was certainly an emotional game for the Comets players, who saw their season come to an end in crushing fashion.
6. Joe Walsh sinks a game-winning jumper on senior night. Overall the 2010-2011 season was pretty dismal for Franklin boys basketball. However, the Indians' over Catonsville was a different story. Franklin forward Joe Walsh (a positive all season for the Indians) finished with 29 points, 16 rebounds and the biggest shot of the game. In what was a back-and-forth pace for the majority of the contest, Walsh hit the final bucket, a free throw line jumper that gave the Indians a 66-64 victory. Making the moment even better was the first thing Walsh said to me after the game. Rather than take the credit (which I wouldn’t have faulted him at all for doing), Walsh first mentioned the pass he received from point guard Greg Ramsey that set up the play. Selfless. Games and players like that are what makes high school sports so fun to cover.
7. Getting to cover Catonsville’s Tyler Weedon. This isn’t really just one instance, but a series of moments over the course of a season that made me appreciate Weedon as a football player. , the senior was a virtual battering ram, opening up gaping holes for Comets running backs Bobby Turner, Jerome Williams, Josh Hylton and Tyreek Brown, who helped spearhead an absolutely dominating ground game. Weedon simply enjoyed physical contact and dished it out better than anyone I’ve seen. That enjoyment carried over to defense, where Weedon was, arguably, even better, plowing through the offensive line and into the backfield, where his athleticism enabled him to come to balance and make tackles. Sure, he had plenty of pad-cracking hits, but Weedon specialized in making every tackle, not just the ones that draw the oooh’s and aaah’s from the crowd. An absolutely great talent. I’m glad I got to watch him.

I already cannot wait for next season to start. August 13, I believe.