Jeff Savage going into Hornets Hall of Fame

My upended, untenured friend - I won’t be at the Cape football game this Friday night. Instead, I will be at Delaware State University, watching my buddy Jeff Savage being inducted into the Hornets Sports Hall of Fame. Straight from the Hornets’ website: “The 2017 Delaware State Hall of Fame class will include former Hornets head softball coach Jeff Savage, who led the team from 2000 to 2012. Savage is DSU's all-time leader in softball wins, posting a career record of 339-283 (.545), including a 155-51 mark in MEAC contests (.752). He led the Hornets to their lone MEAC championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2008, along with guiding the team to three other MEAC championship game appearances and five MEAC North titles.” Jeff was baseball coach at Cape for three successful and entertaining years (88-92), but he wasn’t rehired after his third year going into tenure, with an administrator saying, “Jeff wasn’t part of the Cape way forward.” That still bothers me, but we did have an untenured pig roast in Jeff’s Milton backyard, where he wore a “Fat Like Me” T-shirt I had given him. Hired by Dave Robinson at Caesar Rodney on the recommendation of my wife Susan (and that is the truth), Jeff became CR’s winningest basketball coach (1992-99), having developed Maryland and NBA player Laron Profit. Grandmom Rose said it best: “Just because you are right, it doesn’t mean you can’t be wronged.” Jeff was also Dover athletic director 2016-17. 

Whack a Gator - Great athletes sometimes find themselves on the wrong end of the “whack the gator” mallet. Every time you pick a new hole to peek out, whack! It starts to get old in a hurry, especially if the whack attack is being enjoyed by an opposing player, supported by fans. Whack! Cape football got whack-a-gatored Friday night, losing 40-0, and the toughest players stay out there like a Timex, taking a licking and keeping on ticking but rarely tocking. I’ve seen players dive overboard, deserting the ship. It’s much like combat. The worst brings out the best in some people. Delaware State soccer lost at Temple Sunday 8-0. My granddaughter Anna’s friend Morgan Glassford (lacrosse first four years) scored her first two collegiate goals. Leslie Fazio of Lewes and Sussex Tech is the Hornets’ goalie. The Hornets are 0-9, and Leslie has stared down every shot. Sometimes sports put a person in the whack-a-gator position, but the solid character people just deal with it. 

Down to Delmar - Delmar hockey plays wide-open, pedal-to-the-floor field hockey. They have never taken the field thinking they were going to lose. Cape has beaten the Wildcats 12 straight times going back to 2009, including four times in the state championship game. State championship final wins for Cape were 2011, 3-2; 2012, 2-1; 2013 1-0; and 2015, 3-1. Delmar won its first state title in 2016, beating Tower Hill in the final 3-0. This young 2017 season began with Cape losing at Dover 2-1, while Delmar has opened up 4-0 with a combined score of 26-1. Coach Jodi Hollomon and her five-person staff are friends with the Windetts of Cape, and there is no revenge theme hovering over the contest Thursday, Sept. 21. Past games are way gone. Just lace up your shoes. This is not a contest, it’s a collision.

Snippets - Booter Ellis (Delmar) is now a senior field hockey player at William and Mary. Booter has basically started since she arrived at W&M. The Tribe plays in the Colonial Athletic Conference. Delaware, No. 6 in the country, defeated No. 2 Penn State on Sunday 2-0. Shay Cannon (Tatnall) is a senior for Penn State. Maggie Delp (Cape) is a senior midfielder for the Blue Hens. Kani Kane (Sussex Tech)  scored three touchdowns in the Blue Hens’ 41-14 win over Cornell. Jamie Jarmon (Indian River) caught eight passes for 84 yards. Brandon Nixon (Cape) and Brent Reed (Cape) both saw action for Delaware. Erin Coverdale (Cape) scored three goals as Franklin and Marshall beat Muhlenberg 3-0. Erin has six goals on the season. Shawn Miller (Laurel), a Division III All-American safety for Delaware Valley University, intercepted a pass against Wilkes University and returned it 31 yards for a touchdown. Tess Bernheimer (Cape) had two goals and two assists for the Drexel Dragons field hockey team, which is currently 3-5 on the season. I’m going to Elite Physical therapy to increase flexibility and escapability on the sidelines. My tail is dragging, but I ain’t no dragon boat. Go on now, git!