If you see a rhino in the road, you got off one exit early

Peddie School soccer - Cape’s 8-0 public school soccer team from Sussex County will go on a great adventure Oct. 3 to play the Peddie School from Hightstown, N.J. It’s 153 miles away. Get off at exit 8 on the Jersey Turnpike. If you see a rhino in the road, you got off one too early. Peddie costs $58,000 per year to board and only $48,000 for day students. The soccer team is 2-4, but they play really good people. The website MaxPreps shows Peddie with a 2-1 loss to undefeated St. Andrews of Middletown. Peddie did beat Princeton Day 2-0, just in case you want to mention that to alumni Steve and Rick Judge. My boyhood friend and high school teammate, Bill Creedon, played at Penn then became football coach and headmaster at Peddie after being in camp with the Cowboys, Craig Morton and Roger Staubach. Creedon was Jeff “Moose” Mohr’s high school football coach and later was headmaster at the Severn School, where he has a building, Creedon Hall, named after him. I emailed Bill when my plaque was lag-bolted onto the Legends Stadium field house and he responded, “Get ahold of yourself.” No, he didn’t; I never told him him because he is Building Guy. Cape lost 3-2 at home versus Peddie last season, but this year should be a great game. They just have to get off the bus ready to play.

Vexing and perplexing - Cape football has been waxed and polished so hard the last three years versus Smyrna that raindrops bead on their helmets. I can’t believe it’s the wide-open, Pop Warner, risky business offense the Eagles run, but I wouldn’t swear it’s not. Coaches at clinics are fond of saying, “It’s not about Xs and Os, but more about Jimmies and Joes.” Cape has good people, lots of them, but the 2-2 Vikings have lost by 40 twice this season, and that shakes a player’s confidence, unless he’s delusional. A much-improved Polytech team (2-2) is lined up for this Friday’s homecoming. Don’t expect the Panthers to roll over for a belly rub. Since the mid-’70s when I got to town, Cape has reminded me of a West Coast team with a San Diego mentality. Great athletes all over the place, but if I had answers, then I guess I’d be out there coaching. It’s a tough business for sure.    

October baseball - Playoff baseball is the best. The one-game Wild Card round begins Tuesday, Oct. 3, with the Yankees hosting the Twins. Then on Wednesday, it’s the Diamondbacks hosting the Rockies. The next round is best of 5. The AL Wild Card winner goes to Cleveland, while Houston will host Boston. The Wild Card winner in the NL goes to the LA Dodgers, while the Nationals host the Cubs. Lots of Latin players. All games begin with the national anthem. Baseball is steeped in statistics and traditions. Some years, “God Bless America” is played in the seventh inning. The Nationals desperately need to win a series, but going through the Cubs won’t be easy. The American League is just a great lineup of teams. Many think the Yankees could make some serious noise if they survive the Wild Card game.

Larry Fitzgerald - The 34-year-old wideout for the Arizona Cardinals, who went to Valley Forge Military Academy then to the University of Pittsburgh, is the personification of professionalism and class at a position which has attracted the most kooky and showboating characters across the pantheon of sports. Fans love Larry - he is a stealthy and smooth operator. The Cardinals (2-2) are at the Eagles (3-1) on Sunday for a 1 p.m. game. The early line has the Eagles as 6 1/2-point favorites. The Eagles follow with a short work week Thursday night game at Carolina, then Monday, Oct. 23, hosting the Redskins. It’s about to get real. 

Snippets - Middle school sports are up and running, from football and field hockey to boys’ soccer and girls’ volleyball, and cross country. A big-game varsity volleyball matchup of undefeated teams is set for Tuesday, Oct. 3, as Delmarva Christian (8-0) travels down to Indian River (7-0). Does the generalized sports fan care about a girls’ volleyball game if they don’t have a relative on the team? Information technology specialists say “no,” but many of them got cut from pickup games in gym class. Find a good story and make it sing; don’t pre-discount the trackpad-clicking fan spinning his swivel office chair. Go on now, git!