By Jon Buzby
MaxPreps.com
David Lynch, athletic director and football coach at Suitland High School, was tragically killed in a two-vehicle crash in Prince George’s County in the early morning hours on New Year’s Eve.
Lynch, 43, was making a left-hand turn when his Dodge Magnum was struck by a north-bound car at approximately 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning. Lynch was rushed to a local hospital where he died of injuries sustained in the accident. The driver of the other vehicle suffered a broken leg.
After guiding his team to the Class 4A state finals in two of his first three years as head coach, Lynch, who began coaching in 1996, routinely led his team to the state playoffs – including this past season’s 8-3 campaign – and won state championships in 2004 and 2006. His career record stood at 117-33.
A candlelight vigil attended by hundreds of supporters was held on the Suitland football field on Friday night to celebrate Lynch’s life. The common theme surrounding the event was Lynch’s role not only as a football coach, but that of a father figure.
"He did not do his best work on this field," Ed Shields, president of the Prince George's County Coach's Association, said. "His best work was done with those kids. Football was secondary to him. This was the only guy that I know from top to bottom who cared about those kids."
Suitland High School’s principal, Mark Fossett, announced at the vigil that the football stadium will be re-named David ‘Nick’ Lynch Memorial Stadium in his honor.
Basketball: Capital City Classic
Our Lady of Mount Carmel sharpshooter Ricky Meekins led his team to a 60-54 win over host Annapolis in the Capital City Classic Championship.
Meekins nailed five 3-pointers to lead the Cougars to the holiday title.
In the girls bracket, Joppatowne used a game-high 20-point performance by Brittany Thornton to narrowly defeat Annapolis, 57-52, in the title game.
Annapolis, down by as many as 20 points in the second half, rallied behind freshman Kelly Rinard’s 13 second-half points (18 total) to tie the game before Thornton’s three-point shot with 22 seconds left put Joppatowne ahead to stay.
Girls Basketball: Sister act leads South Carroll
Melissa Heim scored eight points and grabbed 10 rebounds and her younger sister, Nicole, added 15 points to lead South Carroll to a 50-35 win over Holy Child in the championship game of the Magruder Holiday Basketball Tournament.
Tianna Quiambao-Panas chipped in with nine and Kayla Louder added eight points and nine rebounds for the Cavaliers.
“Everybody played well today,” South Carroll coach Liz Padgett told the Carroll County Times. “[The win] means a lot. We’ve got a tough schedule coming up and this should give us some confidence going into that.”
Boys Basketball: Calvert Hall downs Towson Catholic
Sean Holmes sank two clutch free throws late in the game as Calvert Hall withstood a late Towson Catholic rally to secure a 59-54 win on Friday night in a Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference basketball showdown.
The Cardinals (12-2) were led by John Graham’s game-high 25 points.
The Owls (6-6), who trailed most of the game before starting the fourth quarter with a 6-0 run to knot the score, were led by Levi Noel’s 16 and Devin Spencer’s 12 points.
Boys Basketball: Loyola upsets John Carroll
Loyola senior Matt Rum’s six consecutive free throws with less than 30 seconds to play proved to be the difference as the Dons started off the new calendar year with a 53-48 upset win over visiting John Carroll in a hotly-contested Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference game.
Loyola’s win was even more important following its two consecutive losses to end 2008 in the National Jesuit Christmas Classic, held in Washington, D.C.
Senior forward Terrance Garvin added 12 and junior point guard Mike Fitzpatrick chipped in with nine points to raise the Dons’ record to 9-3 overall, 4-1 in the MIAA A Conference.
For the Patriots (11-5, 2-4), senior forward Isaiah Philmore recorded a double-double, scoring 23 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
John Carroll was forced to foul with just over a minute to play and pulled within two points, 47-45, before the William and Mary-bound Rum sank his six straight shots from the charity stripe.
Boys Basketball: Washington edges Mardela in overtime
Janell Stanley scored 17 second half and overtime points to lead visiting Washington to a thrilling 66-63 win over Mardela on Friday night.
The Warriors held a five-point halftime lead but a tenacious full-court press created several turnovers and enabled the Jaguars to scratch and claw their way back into the game.
Stanley finished with a game-high 27 points, drawing praise from his coach.
"He's tough. Tonight was one of his best nights," Washington coach Vic Burns told The Daily News. "Offensively, he was great and he didn't try to do too much. He just fed off his teammates."
Kody Jacoby scored 25 points for Mardella, including 14 in the fourth quarter to help force the game into overtime.
Jon Buzby is the Maryland correspondent for MaxPreps.com.
