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People In Sports

Henlopen hockey girls ringing the bell in college

September 3, 2013

Geo Tracker - I am the Geo Tracker of local high school athletes now college athletes, except for the subcompact, prone-to-roll-over part. Last weekend it was field hockey with former Henlopen Conference players ringing the bell all over the place. That proved to me that the Henlopen Conference is strong at the top although admittedly lame at the bottom. Jenna Steele (Cape) has a total of five goals in two games for Mary Washington, which beat Rhodes College 6-0 and Hendrix of Tennessee 13-1. Delaware beat Ohio University 5-2 as Jacki Coveleski (Cape) scored a goal for the Blue Hens. Northeastern beat Monmouth 2-1 as Kaci Coveleski (Cape) had an assist. Northeastern later lost to Northwestern 4-2 as Nikki Parsley (Milford) scored a goal and an assist for the Wildcats. The University of Massachusetts beat Maine 2-1 as Izzy Delario scored her first collegiate goal for UMass. Erin Ricker playing for Lehigh (Cape) had a goal and an assist but the Mountain Hawks have dropped games to Fairfield 2-1 and St. Francis 6-3. Maryland opened the season beating New Hampshire 8-4 as Maxine Fluharty (Sussex Tech) scored the first goal of the season for the Terps. Super Max also had a goal in a 5-1 win over Temple University. Alexa Hendrickson of Christopher Newport (Cape) scored a goal for the Captains in an 8-1 win over Hendrix College. Kayla Kraus (Sussex Tech) and Taylor Quillen (Sussex Tech) are both starting for the Lynchburg Hornets, ranked No. 13 in NCAA Division III hockey. Alyssa Mills of Milford is a freshman on the Lynchburg squad.

The zest is diminished - Sir Winston Churchill said those words when he resigned as prime minister of England in 1955. He was 80 years old. I have spent my life around coaches, mostly high school teacher/coaches, and the zest possessed by some is contagious, but the lack of it I call head coach’s disease, and I always advise the coach, “Time to step off if you spend time wondering if you're appreciated or the everyday knickknack paperwork stuff is wearing you out. And stay out of the lives of other coaches and just coach your own kids." Cape’s Gary Montalto, soccer; P.J. Kesmodel, girls' lacrosse; and Bill Collick, football, are all hovering close to 60 or beyond. They have all retired from other careers and are all in at least one Hall of Fame. Athletes don’t care if a coach is 30 or 60; they just want to see zest and passion and fairness and instruction and all that good stuff. I know most parents fully appreciate having kids in programs coached by those three men. I’m a zesty sportswriter with sore feet.

Johnny Football - Johnny Manziel, the Texas A&M quarterback who won the Heisman Trophy as a freshman, appears to be a selfish, arrogant little flag football punk who should be sent packing. Suspended for the first half last Saturday against Rice, Johnny “showed his behind” as the expression goes, by punting the football while wearing headphones as cameras followed his every move. Once in the game he threw for three TDs - I’d have thrown two - and taunted the Rice team until he was benched. Teddy Bridgewater, who threw for five touchdowns for the Louisville Cardinals’ 49-7 win over Ohio University, said after the game, “I’m all about this team executing. At the end of the day, I play the game to build a relationship with guys in the locker room and to win games. As far as individual stats, I couldn’t care less. If I go 0-for-25, I just want to win the game.” Bridgewater is 6-foot-3 and a great kid. Johnny Manziel couldn’t touch his talent or character.

Snippets - Cape football opens at Milford Friday, Sept. 6.  It is the Bucs' Hall of Fame night. Milford does a great job with that. I’m looking forward to seeing who is inducted. Sussex Tech football opens at A.I. du Pont - Tigers were 7-3 in 2012 - then the Ravens host Saint Mark’s, an 8-2 team in 2012. Delaware State football opens at Delaware at 3:30 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 7. I like Battle of the Bypass for this game rather than Route 1 Rivalry.

A sophomore football player at Saint Joseph by the Sea in Staten Island died of heat-related issues during a practice. A report in the New York Post said the coach, Salvatore Ferraioli, resigned a month later when he was arrested in a federal takedown of the Gambino gambling ring. You just can’t make up the truth. Go on now, git!

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