Athletic committee to discuss naming field and retiring numbers
Plugged nickel - The Cape Henlopen school board’s Athletic Committee will meet in the high school office conference room at 6:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 19. The process and procedure for the naming of a field (Cape’s turf field two) will be discussed and knocked around like a hockey ball inside the scoring circle. The committee will also hear from an enthusiast who wishes to see a couple of basketball numbers retired. Cape has no policy in place for naming fields or retiring numbers, so this meeting should be pretty darn close to interesting. I will be there to listen and to throw in my two cents, which after 30 years covering Cape sports, is now worth a plugged nickel, and who you calling Buffalo Head? The meeting is open to the public, so come and listen, and you may even get to speak.
Coolspring Turkey Bowl - This game of tackle with no equipment has been played every Thanksgiving morning for the last 42 years. The 2012 game will begin at 9:30 a..m on the field behind HOB with the player draft, which always seems to result in former Cape nose tackle Larry Oliver playing quarterback in his McNabb jersey for one of the teams. There is a reading of the rules by Commissioner Anthony Hopkins, then a prayer circle as the Rev. Debra Ryder calls down Jesus to watch over the players. Two years ago Peter Cox - a sideline comic - ended the prayer with a "Gobble gobble” instead of an "Amen," arguing, “That’s the way we turkeys do it.” Chico Beckett is always the chief referee and last word.
Get used to winning - My older brother Tom sits up in Lower Bucks County, Pennsylvania and marvels at the success of the Cape girls' teams because his great-niece Anna plays field hockey and lacrosse. He asked me, “Do they ever get bored with winning all the time?” He knows the answer, and so do all of us. The more you win the more you take ownership of titles and the harder you work to defend and stay on top. It's like the fatter you get, the fatter you want to be. Actually it’s nothing like that. I quit coaching when I became consumed with the results and failed to enjoy the process. Sportswriting is much easier than coaching; I can spin it any way I wish, just like my own life.
Snippets - Tricia Colucci, a sophomore defender on the Catholic University soccer team, was named first-team defense to the 2012 Landmark Conference women’s soccer team. Tricia lives in Rehoboth and is a former Cape player.
J.D. Maull, head coach of the undefeated St. Georges Tech football team, was voted Blue Hen Flight B Coach of the Year. J.D. told his friends by email “We got coach of the year,” meaning his entire staff.
Gen. David Petraeus, 60, former head of a spy agency, not only failed the basic CIA sneak-around test, but now real runners are after any authentication that he’s some kind of hard-core runner who can crank out six-minute miles at altitude over craggy surfaces while having a casual conversation. Only two runners broke a six-minute pace in the Dogfish Dash 5K, and just three broke a six-minute pace in the 10K. It’s like me claiming I can bench 400 pounds instead of 300, which I can’t either.
You ever get asked a direct personal sports question and find yourself reluctant to give an honest answer on the grounds that no one could misrepresent an athlete who “used to dunk” better than you?
Cape wrestling coach Chris Mattioni said his team looks solid from 125/130 up but he’s having a hard time recruiting lightweights with middle school experience to stay with the sport. Most people forget that back in the day, Bill Collick was Cape’s head wrestling coach. I used to see boys doing the perp walk, their heads hidden behind food trays, hoping he wouldn’t recruit them from the lunch line.
In 2005, Cape football beat A.I. du Pont 21-14 to snap a 17-game losing streak. A transfer lacrosse player from Saint Andrews, Mitch Whitman, showed up and was quickly a beastly legend in Henlopen Conference football. In an overtime 29-21 home win versus Caesar Rodney, Whitman had four touchdowns and 190 yards. In the 2006 last game after a scoreless first half, Sussex Central defeated Cape 28-0; it was the first undefeated Central team since 1970 when John Marvel was captain. John Marvel coached Sussex Tech softball to the state championship last spring then split for Delmarva Christian. Check out Cape Gazette's archives feature; it's awesome.
Go on now, git!
