Category: Sports

Sports

Centennial Suffers Tough Loss on Senior Night

Words: Shawn Kruhm

Photos: Melissa Notti

On Monday, October 14, the Centennial Field Hockey team celebrated their seniors in one of their last regular season home games. 

Juniors on the Varsity team made individual posters for their senior teammates. The seniors walked out in all red and princess crowns as they were announced from the press box. 

Unfortunately, the girls were defeated by River Hill High School with a final score of 3-0. 

Regardless of the score, Centennial played great offensively. The Eagles had possession for much of the game, creating many opportunities, but the girls struggled to finish. 

“Despite our loss, the entire team fought until the end to support the seniors in one of their final games on the team,” said senior Sara Ferrara. 

The Field Hockey team will host Glenelg High School in their final home game of the regular season tomorrow at 3:30pm.

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For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.

Sports

Centennial Boys’ Varsity Soccer Dominates on Senior Night

Words: Joey Sedlacko

Photos: Sara Ferrara & Eliza Andrew

The Centennial Boys’ Varsity soccer team faced off against opponent Long Reach High School on Thursday, October 10, defeating the Lightning 4-0 after a strong all-around performance from the Eagles.

Before the game, senior players and their families were recognized for their commitment to the soccer program. Seniors Ryan Zaman, Kyutae Sim, Darian Avery, Zach Grable, Rob Hix, Elliott Keppler, Radwan Mezghanni, Toby Moser, and Kieran Senisi were all honored.

The Eagles’ offense took advantage of scoring opportunities in the first half. Juniors Bryson Baker and Kevin Salazar, as well as sophomore Sammy Molz, each scored a goal to put the Eagles up 3-0 going into halftime.

The defense for Centennial continued their solid play from previous games and held their opponent to zero goals for the third straight match.

A goal by senior Elliott Keppler sealed the victory for Centennial.

“It was a very good team win. We made smart decisions and played calm in the back. We also controlled the midfield well and finished our chances,” said Baker.

With this win, the Eagles are now 5-3. In their next game on October 15, the soccer team will face River Hill High School, the toughest opponent in the county.

 

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Sports

Bull Run Interview with Coach McCoy

Podcast by: Casper Ambrose, Julia Stitely, Noelle Deal, Keith Hitzelberger

The Wingspan media team interviews Cross Country coach Kevin McCoy on Centennial’s participation in The Bull Run.

 

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For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.

Sports

Centennial Field Hockey Defeats Wilde Lake in Pink Out Game

Words: Shawn Kruhm

Photos: Noorie Kazmi

On Friday, October 4, the Centennial Field Hockey team hosted Wilde Lake High School in hopes of acquiring their third win of the 2019 season. The team wore pink socks, hair bows, and eye stripes to promote breast cancer awareness. Players and parents held a tailgate following the game in support of the cause.

The girls not only won the game, but they shut out Wilde Lake with a final score of 11-0. 

Despite Wilde Lake’s few opportunities on offense, Centennial senior goalie Casey Stratton made several impressive saves. 

Due to the Eagles high offensive possession time, they were able to create countless scoring chances. Seniors Sara Ferrara and Eliza Andrew played exceptionally well, as they finished the game with four combined goals.  

Despite the team’s early struggles this season, they improved dramatically and will take these next two weeks to prepare for playoffs. 

“We knew coming into the game that Wilde Lake’s Field Hockey program has improved from previous years, so we had to work together as a team to break their five game winning streak,” said Andrew. “We came out with intensity at the start which continued throughout the rest of the game.” 

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For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan. 

Sports

Centennial Golf Continues to be Overlooked

Words: Jeramy Stavlas

Photos: Noorie Kazmi

Walking around the hallways of Centennial High School during the fall sports season, a typical student will hear about the soccer team’s huge win, the football team’s latest game, or the field hockey highlights. One thing no student ever hears of though is the Centennial golf team’s outstanding performance. 

This season, the Eagles’ boys and girls teams have each won five of their six matches, only losing to the perennially good Marriotts Ridge team. Led by seniors Ty Sams and Morgan Taylor, the Eagles look to capture this year’s county championship. Not only are they winning their matches, the competition isn’t even close, highlighted by a 52-0 win over Long Reach by the girls, and an 80-29 win over Hammond by the boys. 

Centennial’s recent loss to Marriotts Ridge was upsetting for the Eagles as it was their biggest match of the season yet, but they will still go on to play in the county championship, seeking their revenge. According to seven-year head coach Stephen Lee, this is the team’s best chance to defeat Marriotts Ridge, who is competing for their sixteenth-straight county title. 

Lee believes this is the strongest team he’s had in all his years of coaching by far.

“We play as a team of four, so usually we have a good one and two, but the three and four aren’t quite there to support them. This year our number three and four and actually five are all right within that mix.”

Coach Lee believes the students’ minimal focus on the golf team is due to the school having a small team and a lack of understanding for the sport. He also says that due to a short season, it’s hard to gain attention from students as they’re more focused on starting school.

“We already had two matches before school even started,” Coach Lee said. “We’re wrapping our season up pretty soon, and everybody is just getting into school.”

Team captain Ty Sams has played for the team all four years of high school and has made the all-county second team twice. He is currently competing for his third appearance in his senior year. In that time, he has represented the Eagles at states twice. Sams says he’s not bothered by the lack of attention surrounding the golf team.

“It doesn’t really phase me much,” he commented. He is more focused on making sure he plays his best, whether he gets recognition or not. “Some of my friends, they mess around and say that golf isn’t a sport, but then I take them out to the course and they struggle to get the ball in the air, so it kind of humbles them after they see that.”

Over the past couple years, the team has slowly started to draw more interest as many underclassmen are joining the team and making a big impact early in their high school careers. Freshman Erin Jeong has stepped into a top-two role on the girls’ team this year, and quickly fit in with her new teammates.

“At first I was really nervous because I had never played before and it’s my first year of golf, but my team was really nice, so it was really fun this year,” Jeong said.

Jeong believes that if the team is able to continue their success through the end of the season, more students will hear about the team schoolwide, and some might decide they want to start playing for the team in future seasons. “If we get the county championship, we can maybe convince other students to play golf.”

With a bigger roster and a county championship, the Centennial Golf team could possibly start to get the recognition they deserve.

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For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.

Sports

Centennial Varsity Football Loses Close Homecoming Game Against Aberdeen

Words: Joey Sedlacko

On Friday, September 27, the seats were packed to watch the Centennial Varsity Football team take on Aberdeen High School for their homecoming game. The Centennial defense held strong throughout the game, but a touchdown for Aberdeen late in the fourth quarter sealed the 12-6 win.

The Aberdeen offense was productive on their first drive of the game, scoring first with a rushing touchdown. However, the Centennial defense settled into the game and made crucial stops on fourth downs.

Centennial went into the second quarter trailing 6-0, but multiple long running plays by sophomore running back Praise Bright changed the momentum of the game. The Eagles were able to capitalize on Bright’s running success and score a one yard rushing touchdown to tie the game 6-6.

Neither team was able to produce anything offensively in the third quarter. It wasn’t until 4:52 was left in the fourth quarter when Aberdeen broke the tie with a touchdown that would eventually win them the game.

Although Centennial did not achieve the win, senior Anthony Matthews is looking at the positives the team can takeaway from the loss.
“For the first time this season, we played as a team. In the past couple of games we would start out slow in the first half and pick it up in the second half, but this week I feel like we played all four quarters. A couple mental mistakes cost us the game,” said Matthews.

Next Friday, the Centennial Varsity Football team will take on Southern High School on the road.

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For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan. 

Sports

Centennial Football Continues to Improve Despite Tough Loss to Loch Raven

Words: Joey Sedlacko

Photos: Noorie Kazmi

On Friday, September 20, Loch Raven High School handed Centennial Football their third loss of the year by a score of 29-12. The Eagles had their highest scoring game so far this year, but a strong offensive performance in the third and fourth quarter for Loch Raven secured the victory.

In the first quarter, the Eagles were able to disrupt the Loch Raven offense. They held Loch Raven to just a field goal and went into the second quarter trailing only 3-0.

However, Loch Raven opened up the scoring in the second quarter and extended their lead to 16-0 after scoring two touchdowns. For Centennial, the offense was having success moving the ball down field, but could not seem to get the ball into the end zone.

After halftime, Loch Raven continued their strong offensive performance. Centennial was able to cut the lead to 22-6 after a two yard rushing touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

Late in the fourth quarter, senior quarterback Malik Chester threw his first touchdown pass of the game, but it was too late for the Eagles to comeback and the Eagles lost by a final score of 29-12.

The Centennial Football team looks to win their Homecoming game this Friday, September 27, when they take on Aberdeen High School.

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For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.