By Whitney Metz –
Multiple football players from Arcadia, Northampton, and Nandua High School were selected to represent their schools in the 2021 Senior All-Star Bowl on Dec. 12. The game was hosted by Queen Anne’s County High School in Centerville, Md., and consisted of a North Eastern Shore team vs. the South Eastern Shore team. The players selected to compete were chosen based on their season stats and accomplishments.
Northampton High School was represented by four seniors from their squad: Dustin Splawn, Liam Flynn, Devin Thornton, and Joseph Brown. Splawn was voted the Eastern Shore District player of the year for offense and defense this season. He stood out on both sides of the ball with 65 tackles as middle linebacker and multiple impressive statistics on offense. Splawn had 68 receiving yards with one touchdown and 1,431 rushing yards with 29 rushing touchdowns as a running back. Quarterback Liam Flynn was also selected from Northampton’s offense after recording 838 rushing yards and 424 passing yards. Flynn finished the season with a total of 15 touchdowns. Liam contributed on defense as well with 40 tackles and three interceptions. Finally from the offense at Northampton, center Joseph Brown, who had a great season snapping and blocking for his QB. From Northampton’s defense, Devin Thornton was selected after recording 35 tackles and one fumble recovery during the Yellow Jackets’ record-breaking season.
The seniors selected from Nandua High School were Chayce Wayman, Tyler Green, Umari Bailey, Emory Harned, and Deshawn Johnson. Quarterback and team captain Wayman finished the year with nine total touchdowns, five passing and four rushing. He recorded nearly 1,000 yards of total offense this season. Nandua’s top receiver, Tyler Green, completed a number of catches this season with 415 receiving yards, two receiving touchdowns, 126 rushing yards, and two rushing touchdowns. From the defensive side, Bailey was selected to participate in the all-star bowl as a middle linebacker. Bailey stood out for Nandua’s defense with four sacks, 47 total tackles, and one caused fumble. Johnson was also selected from the defense as a linebacker. He recorded 49 tackles this season and had one caused fumble. The final player selected from Nandua was kicker Emory Harned. He contributed to Nandua’s offense with six extra point kicks and a career long 38-yard field goal.
Finally, the Arcadia Firebirds who participated in Sunday’s game included Brooks Mariner, Jalik Downing, Malcom Dickerson, Anthony Taylor, Josiah Chandler, and Kevin Cropper. Offensive linebacker Brooks Mariner had 54 tackles this season, with two sacks and one fumble recovery. Downing rushed for 743 yards on offense and recorded 32 tackles on defense. Defensive tackle Malcom Dickerson contributed with 36 tackles and on offense he only allowed four sacks while playing on the line. Taylor added to Arcadia’s defense with 26 tackles and eight broken up passes. He competed on both sides of the ball this season with 248 receiving yards as well. The final two players selected from Arcadia played a significant role for the team’s offense. Josiah Chandler finished the season with 527 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns, while Cropper completed 344 receiving yards with four touchdowns.
Each of these players were honored at the Eastern Shore All-Star Bowl and had the chance to show their all-star ability during the game. The South squad,which consisted of these district athletes, took the win over the North in a close game with a final score of 29-20.
