BERLIN- Stephen Decatur’s varsity football team cruised past Worcester County rival Snow Hill, 40-24, last weekend to salvage a .500 season in 2012.

The young Seahawks had an up-and-down year and were sporadic throughout the season on their way to a 5-5 mark. Despite often uneven play, Decatur was in most games and was often just a break here or a good bounce there from winning more games. Looking back, there were only a couple of games the Seahawks were not in until the end, including a 39-13 loss to Kent Island.

Some of the highlights included a 45-0 win over Bennett and a 38-14 win over Parkside. Entering last Friday’s contest with Snow Hill in the traditional last game of the season, Decatur was 4-5 and had long been eliminated from any real hope for a berth in the state Class 3A-East playoffs.

However, despite either team’s record, the traditional rivalry game was Snow Hill is always played with pride and bragging rights on the line for the two county high school football programs and this year was no different. Decatur got up early and cruised past the Eagles to improve to 5-5 on the season.

Almost every year, the game has implications on one or both team’s playoff hopes, but that wasn’t the case this year. Decatur had already been eliminated and Snow Hill, which entered the contest with a 6-3 record, were comfortably in third in the state 1A-East region playoff standings and was going to advance regardless of the outcome.

Last year, the Seahawks rolled the Eagles, 56-20, to finish 7-3 and advance to the state playoffs. In 2010, Decatur beat Snow Hill, 23-13, to advance to the playoffs. Snow Hill won in 2009 and Decatur won in 2008. Snow Hill finished at 6-4 and earned a number-three seed in the state playoffs. The Eagles will face number-two Cambridge-South Dorchester tonight on the road.