Seahawks Drop a Tough One to Bennett

BERLIN- Stephen Decatur's varsity football team's winless streak slid to four last week with a tough loss to Bennett, 14-13, in the Clippers' homecoming game last Saturday.

After winning their first two games of the season in impressive fashion, including a 34-20 romp over Rising Sun in the opener and a 39-12 pasting of Washington in week two, the Seahawks have not found their way back into the win column in a month. The streak, which climbed to four last Saturday with the loss to Bennett, has included a couple of games in which the Seahawks were simply overmatched, such as the 36-8 drubbing at the hands of Queen Anne's, but two of the losses in the streak have come by a single point, including the nail biter dropped to the Clipper's last week.

With a lucky break or big play or a fortunate bounce here or there, Decatur could easily be 4-2 instead of 2-4 and last weekend's lost to Bennett illustrated the point. After a scoreless first quarter, the Seahawks got on the board first on a 24-yard scoring strike from Andrew Brickey to Kyle Leslie. The extra point was good and Decatur took a 7-0 lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, Bennett capped a long drive with a four-yard touchdown run and successfully completed a two-point conversion to take an 8-7 lead. In the fourth quarter, Decatur capitalized on a Bennett turnover to set up a scoring drive to retake the lead. Delonte Tate dashed 55 yards to take the ball down inside the Bennett five-yard line and Brickey punched it in from a yard out to put the Seahawks up 13-8. Decatur lined up for a two-point conversion, but after a penalty opted to try an extra point instead. The extra point missed wide right and the lead remained at five points.

The Clippers came right back on their next drive with a touchdown to take a 14-13 lead, but following a trend in the game, missed their two-point conversion attempt. Decatur got one last chance and nearly made good on it after Brickey hit Leslie on a 49-yard bomb to take the ball down inside the Bennett 13-yard line. After two incomplete passes, Decatur set up for what would have been a 31-yard game-winning field goal, but Seahawk kicker Hayes Almand's attempt sailed wide left and Bennett escaped with a 14-13 win on homecoming.

With the loss, Decatur's record fell to 2-4 on the season, while Bennett improved to 5-1. The game, which is always big for the two schools as a Bayside Conference match-up, took on added importance because Bennett moved up to Class 3A this year and is now one of the teams Decatur is battling with for a possible state playoff berth.

While the Seahawks have gone through a tough stretch of their schedule, there is still plenty of time to right the ship. Decatur played Easton last night at home in a game played too late to be included in this edition. They will face Parkside and Wicomico at home over the next two weeks before finishing with the always-tough county rival Snow Hill on the road in the regular season finale.