BERLIN- Stephen Decatur’s varsity football team’s season came to a close last weekend with a gut-wrenching 30-27 loss to Worcester County rival Snow Hill in double-overtime.
Decatur rallied late to tie the game and send into overtime during which each team got a chance on offense from their opponent’s 25-yard line. Each team scored in the first overtime period but Snow Hill scored in its second overtime possession while the Seahawks did not for the dramatic 30-27 win.
The loss in the season finale ended any chance for the Seahawks to advance to the state playoffs. Decatur moved up to Class 3A this year for the first time in all sports based on enrollment figures and consequently faced a tougher road to the playoffs. The top four teams in each region and class move on to the state tournament, and going into the final game, the Seahawks were in the fifth spot.
Decatur needed a win over always tough Snow Hill and a loss by Atholton from the western shore to have any chance to make the playoffs, but neither of those outcomes went the Seahawks’ way. As a result, Decatur will stay home and Atholton will move on in the state playoffs. Atholton finished with 68 total points while Decatur ended up with 57.
The disappointing end did little to tarnish what has been a great year for the Seahawks, who finished with a 6-4 record. Among the more satisfying wins for the Seahawks this year were a 56-18 pasting of Bennett, a 28-0 shutout over Easton, and a narrow, 30-17 win over Queen Annes. A couple of games Decatur would like to have back were the narrow 28-24 loss to Parkside and, of course, the 30-27 double-overtime loss to Snow Hill last week in the season finale.
Meanwhile, with the win over Decatur, Snow Hill finished with an impressive 8-2 record and earned a number-two seed in the state Class 1A-East playoff bracket. The Eagles will face third-seeded Cambridge-South Dorchester tonight at home in the first round of the playoffs. Snow Hill beat Cambridge-South Dorchester 27-2 in their regular season meeting with the Vikings back on October 29.