The Ramstein Royals took the Division I football title with a stunning 17-0 shutout victory against Wiesbaden that brought the title back to Ramstein. ()
The Ramstein Royals took the Division I football title with a stunning 17-0 shutout victory against Wiesbaden that brought the title back to Ramstein. ()
Naples' Aundrea Hall, second from right, celebrates a kill against Wiesbaden in the Division I title match at the DODDS-Europe volleyball championships in Ramstein, Germany, Nov. 1, 2014. Naples, last year's Division II champion, lost 19-25, 25-11, 25-14, 23-25, 16-14 in an exciting match. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
In October Wiesbaden senior Jenna Eidem cruised to her fourth European girls golf championship in as many years. (Jennifer Svan/Stars and Stripes)
Ansbach's head coach Marcus George on the sidelines during the 2014 DODDS-Europe Division II football championship against Hohenfels in Kaiserslautern, Germany, Nov. 1, 2014. ()
Patch's Marissa Encarnacion returns a shot from her teammate Marina Fortun in the girls single final at the DODDS-Europe tennis championships in Wiesbaden, Germany, Oct. 25, 2014. Encarnacion won the match 6-1, 6-1. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Wiesbaden's Cierra Martin, center, battles Naples' Jessica Wheeler at the net as teammate Andriana Ibanez watches. Wiesbaden beat Naples 19-25, 25-11, 25-14, 23-15, 16-14 for the Division I title at the DODDS-Europe volleyball championships in Ramstein, Germany, Nov. 1, 2014. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Patch's Kelvin Brown goes to the basket between Wiesbaden's Kelsey Thomas, left, and Justin Whatley in the Division I title game at the DODDS-Europe basketball championships in Wiesbaden, Germany, Feb. 22, 2014. Patch beat the Warriors 60-56. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Isabella Lucy of Naples gets a shot off against AFNORTH's Sarah Phillips at the DODDS-Europe soccer championships in Kaiserslautern, Germany, May 22, 2014. Naples won 2-0 to defend their title. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Ramstein celebrates after a Matt Sharpy double in the bottom of the ninth. The runs gave Ramstein a 2-1 win over Patch in the DODDS-Europe baseball championships in May 2014. (Matt Millham/Stars and Stripes)
Ana-Marija Vasileva of Brussels drives against Sigonella's Sydney Moore in the Division III girls final at the DODDS-Europe basketball championships in Wiesbaden, Germany, Feb. 22, 2014. Brussels won 38-31 in overtime. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Here are the top 10 stories from an eventful 2014 in DODDS Europe high school sports:
1. Ramstein buries Europe’s best offense. The fact that the Ramstein Royals defeated the Wiesbaden Warriors for the 2014 DODDS-Europe Division I football championship was not inherently shocking. It was the way it happened.
Wiesbaden’s electric offense, fueled by an unmatched collection of speedy, skilled playmakers and running the same diverse playbook that bested Ramstein in 2013, met its match in a Royals scheme authored by defensive coordinator Carter Hollenbeck. The upshot: a stunning 17-0 shutout victory that brought the title back to Ramstein.
Disbelief filled the air as the game’s final minutes ticked away and that surreal zero persisted on the scoreboard. Even on the Ramstein sideline.
“I didn’t feel real comfortable until I saw two seconds,” Ramstein coach Carlos Amponin said. “Because I was pretty sure they couldn’t score three times in two seconds.”
2. DODDS-Europe evens things out. In the fall, DODDS-Europe athletic director Karen Seadore announced a sweeping divisional realignment affecting all of the organization’s sports excepting football.
Naples, Vicenza and SHAPE, formerly the largest schools in Division II, were moved up to Division I. Baumholder and Alconbury, only recently moved to Division II, were shuffled back to the familiar Division III level. The Division I and III fields received a needed jolt, while the overcrowded Division II herd was thinned.
Response to the decision was primarily positive, at least in public comments from the affected schools, and the move paid dividends just weeks later when Wiesbaden beat fresh divisional foe Naples in a stellar five-set girls volleyball final.
3. Eidem caps four-star career. One of the most dominant careers in the history of any DODDS-Europe sport came to an appropriate end in October when Wiesbaden senior Jenna Eidem cruised to her fourth girls golf championship in as many years.
Eidem won the title by a staggering 42 points under the modified Stableford scoring system, easily capturing her fourth championship in as many high school seasons and bringing an emotional end to her reign over the DODDS-Europe links.
“Four years ago I never, ever thought this would happen,” Eidem said. “I’m so happy.”
4. George collects football wins mark, D2 title. Ansbach football coach Marcus George came into the season as one of DODDS-Europe’s most accomplished leaders. But his achievements this fall took him to another level.
In September, George’s Cougars bested rival Bitburg 50-8. As significant as it was on its own merit, the victory registered as the 164th of George’s career, which moved him ahead of Aviano’s Ken McNeely on an unofficial ledger of career victories.
Ansbach kept up its winning ways all the way to the Division II European title game, where it unseated defending champion Hohenfels in a controversial 30-20 victory.
5. Panthers hoard championships. Even as it stayed in the mix for most DODDS-Europe major team-sport titles — and won its share — Patch was all but ubiquitous on the final days of the organization’s less-celebrated European championship tournaments.
Last winter, individual champion Caelyn Miller and close runner-up Maggie Ehmann led the Panthers to a team marksmanship victory, while six Panthers won solo titles in delivering the school a wrestling championship.
A new school year brought more of the same. Jordan Holifield coasted to his second boys golf title; Marissa Encarnacion fought back from injury in time to claim the girls tennis title; and distance runners Mitchell Bailey and Julia Lockridge combined for a Patch cross-country sweep.
6. Wiesbaden girls hold court. Nobody could handle the ladies of Wiesbaden on the hardwood in 2014 as the school produced a matching bookend set of worthy team champions.
In February, Stars and Stripes girls basketball Athlete of the Year Cierra Martin and fellow All-Europe stars Catherine Klein and Crisheena Rolack led Wiesbaden over Patch in the title game.
In November, Stars and Stripes volleyball Athlete of the Year Leah Rojas and fellow All-Europe stars Adriana Ibanez and Ellen Tafoya led Wiesbaden over Naples in the DODDS-Europe title match.
7. Panthers edge Warriors in instant-classic boys hoops clash. The teams spent the season on a collision course. And when they finally collided, the impact was fantastic.
The Patch Panthers were the defending European champions grittily guarding their turf. The Wiesbaden Warriors were the undefeated fresh contenders to the throne.
Battling on Wiesbaden’s home floor, the teams entered the final minute of regulation tied. Patch’s Brendan Jones, later named the Stars and Stripes boys basketball Athlete of the Year, drove to the rim, drew a foul and drained two free throws. Multiple Wiesbaden tries at a go-ahead three-pointer went awry. Panthers guard CeJay Ferguson finally gained possession and rushed full-court for a title-clinching layup as time expired.
8. Lucy leaves with Naples dynasty intact. Wildcats girls soccer star Isabella Lucy won as many titles as one can win in a high-school career.
The Wildcats’ 2-0 title-game defeat of AFNORTH in May delivered the program its fifth straight European championship. Lucy, the 2014 Stars and Stripes girls soccer Athlete of the Year, was around for the last four of them before graduating.
“I had so much confidence in my team. I knew that no matter how we played it would be a great season,” Lucy said. “But the fact that I’ve been on a championship-winning team four years in a row, it’s such an exhilarating feeling. I can’t even describe it.”
9. Patch, Ramstein shine bright on the diamond. Two of the titans of Division I sports waged their final battles of the 2013-14 school year on the baseball and softball fields of Ramstein Air Base in May. Appropriately, both schools came away as champions.
In baseball, Matt Sharpy hit a two-out double in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Royals a 2-1 victory over Patch and the 2014 European championship.
At the same time, on the opposite side of the installation, the Panthers were capping their unbeaten softball season with a convincing 8-2 title-game defeat of host Ramstein behind the brilliant pitching of Colleen Fenton and Amber Marvin.
10. Brussels dominates small-school hoops scene. The Brigands of tiny Brussels American School always make the most of their fleeting time on DODDS-Europe’s biggest stages. The basketball tournament in February in Wiesbaden was a notable example.
Brussels owned the morning portion of the marathon day of title games, sweeping the D-III boys and girls championships.
First, sister act Ana-Marija and Teodora Vasileva and the Brigands girls outlasted archrival Sigonella for a 38-31 overtime win. Immediately after, senior star Javaughn Harrison and the boys bested Incirlik 41-33.
