Competition Remains Fierce Among Essex Schools

After a few early victories, the Eastern Tech boys lacrosse team hit a skid of games that didn't go so well.

Still, the Mavericks are hovering above .500 at 4-3 after having endured losses to Dulaney, Perry Hall, and most recently, a one-goal setback against Franklin despite a heroic comeback.

"You know, we've had a really tough past few games and have had a bunch of our games postponed or canceled and everything, so we are absolutely ready to get back onto the field after the last few games," Eastern Tech coach Tim Scherer said.

"Against Franklin, we started off a little slow, but I think that we came back really, really well. The guys showed a tremendous amount of heart, but we really need to take that momentum and hopefully build on that this weekend."

That's where Saturday's East Side Challenge Tournament comes into play, providing the Mavericks with an opportunity to get back into the win column opposite Essex area schools Mount Carmel and Chesapeake at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively, in contests to be played at Kenwood.

The event is the continuation of the inaugural year-long sports competition between local public schools Chesapeake, and , along with  private school , which competes in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association.

As part of a two-year trial run, the East Side Challenge began last fall with soccer and volleyball, continued through the winter with basketball and wrestling, and wil run through this weekend with lacrosse, baseball and softball.

"I think that it's a pretty good thing, you know? You're breeding competition between the schools in this particular area," Scherer said. "And that's always a good thing in order to get kids excited about playing games and things like that. Anything that we can do in that respect is good, I think."

Mount Carmel Athletic Director Mike Naunton, also the Cougars' baseball coach, first hatched the concept last spring.

"I sent out an e-mail to the athletic directors at the three neighboring schools, Chesapeake, Eastern Tech and Kenwood. And I said, 'Gas prices are going up, bus prices are getting higher—we should consider doing something together that will save us money and build up local rivalries. Does anybody want to meet for lunch and talk about it?' And everybody said, 'Yeah.'"

Nauton said early discussion started with preseason scrimmages before an in-season tournament was suggested.

"So, we went with the concept of, 'Alright, let's do in-season tournaments. Let's put the same sport at one of our schools so that everybody is there and watching and can see, and hopefully it will bring crowds,'" Nauton said.

The brainstorming continued from there.

"It went from that to, 'Well, let's not crown a champion for each sport, let's make it go all year so that a soccer victory is the same as a basketball victory and that's the same as a lacrosse victory. Then, at the end of the school year, we'll have one champion.' So everybody agreed to give it a two-year trial, and this is our first year," Naunton said.

Nauton is pleased with how things are running so far.

"Generally the crowds have been good, and everyone's been enthusiastic. There have not been any issues on the field or on the courts between any of the schools," said Naunton. "And if you look at the standings, one game separates three schools. It's good competition, there have been good crowds, and the gate receipts have been used to pay the officials. So far, so good."

Naunton believes the enthusiam will carry over into Saturday's competition. Eastern Tech and Mount Carmel are both 7-3 overall, with Kenwood at 6-4 in Challenge contests. Chesapeake is 0-10 heading into the weekend.

"We're hoping that the fall and winter athletes from the schools will be out there this weekend supporting their spring athletes," Nauton said.

The camaraderie among the schools has even extended to off the field. In March, more than 200 athletes from the four schools attended an educational summit at the Chesapeake auditorium.

The summit included an appearance from Towson Univerity football coach Rob Ambrose, talks from sports medicine doctors, and a discussion on the dangers of energy drinks. The summit was organized by Chesapeake athletic director Rod McMillion

"As far as the athletes, they're excited to be involved in the tournament type of atmosphere, but it's grown from not being so much a competition as much as a sense of community in the Essex-Middle River area," Kenwood atheltic director Derek Maki said. "The sports are just a vehicle to bring people together and to get to know each other and to be proud of the area. It's more to show that this area is a viable area and that we have some interesting things going on."


East Side Challenge Tournament Schedule

Saturday April, 23

Men’s lacrosse @ Kenwood

Kenwood vs Chesapeake, 10 a.m.

Eastern Tech  vs Mount Carmel, 10 a.m.

Kenwood vs Mount Carmel, 3 p.m.

Eastern Tech vs Chesapeake, 3 p.m.

Women’s lacrosse @ Chesapeake

Kenwood vs Chesapeake , 10 a.m.

Eastern Tech vs Mount Carmel, 12 p.m.

Kenwood vs Mount Carmel, 3 p.m.

Eastern Tech  vs Chesapeake, 5 p.m.

Softball @ Eastern Tech

Mount Carmel vs Chesapeake, 10 a.m.

Eastern Tech vs Kenwood, 10 a.m.

Kenwood vs Chesapeake, 12:30 p.m.

Mount Carmel vs Eastern Tech, 12:30 p.m.

Baseball @ Mount Carmel

Mount Carmel vs Chesapeake @ Renaissance, 10 a.m.

Eastern Tech vs Mount Carmel @ Renaissance, 1 p.m.

Baseball @ Kenwood

Kenwood vs Eastern Tech, 10 a.m.

Kenwood vs Chesapeake, 1 p.m.

East Side Challenge Results, Sport-by-Sport

Volleyball

Mount Carmel defeated Chesapeake          
Mount Carmel defeated Kenwood           
Eastern Tech defeated Chesapeake           
Eastern Tech defeated Kenwood           

Boys Soccer

Mount Carmel defeated Eastern Tech               
Mount Carmel defeated Chesapeake           
Kenwood defeated Chesapeake       
Kenwood defeated Eastern Tech          

Girls Soccer

Eastern Tech defeated Mount Carmel              
Kenwood defeated Mount Carmel          
Eastern Tech defeated Chesapeake          
Kenwood defeated Chesapeake     

Men’s Basketball

Mount Carmel defeated Eastern Tech               
Kenwood defeated Chesapeake       
Kenwood defeated Mount Carmel
Eastern Tech defeated Chesapeake         

Wrestling

Mount Carmel defeated Chesapeake         
Mount Carmel defeated Kenwood           
Eastern Tech defeated Kenwood           
Eastern Tech defeated Chesapeake