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Cape’s Josh Trout, Jerry Carter and Derek Fanto proudly led their battered team to the halftime locker room down 40-0. Their heads were held high and there was no body language signaling they had been whipped. The cliché holds true: “Winners never quit! It’s not about the score; it’s about the attitude!”
“At halftime I told them they need not feel sorry for themselves because they still had a half to play and the person across the line still wants a piece of them,” Cape head coach Dave McDowell said. “Football can be a cruel game like that. The hitting doesn’t stop just because you’re winning or losing by a lot. You have to play every down as if it is your last – just ask the kids who got hurt and their seasons are done. It’s just that kind of game. We also said let’s win a half.”
McDowell is also dealing with a record number of injuries and a few defections.
With losing comes some kids who walk away for this reason or that but we are now down to kids who want to be out there, McDowell said. “These kids honestly love the game of football. We wish we had a few more but honestly they are great every day at practice, and yes, they come limping out to play.”
The Riders scored on the first play from scrimmage on the Wing-T sweep as Malcolm Yowk raced 52 yards for a touchdown. The Mike Watson kick made the score 7-0 with only 20 seconds of elapsed time.
Vinnie Vazquez returned the kickoff 44 yards. Vazquez was dog tough all game long, catching balls and fighting for yards while running back punts and kickoffs.
And in the second quarter after Duron Harmon busted runs of 88 and 24 yards for a 19-0 Rider advantage, Vazquez asked this reporter, “Is this better or worse than you thought it would be?”
Vazquez then played oblivious to the obvious outcome catching seemingly uncatchable balls, fighting momentum to stay in bounds and fighting for yardage.
Three times in the first half Cape moved into the Rider redzone only to come away empty.
Yowk busted a 67-yard run in the second period and Harmon caught a pass in the flat from John Scleski and turned it into a 59-yard touchdown.
Daquan Harris scored on a four-yard run to make the halftime score 40-0.
The running clock rule was in play the entire second half and the crowd stayed until the end. Vinnie Vezquez finally scored on an 8-yard pass from Jack McPike for the final score of 47-8.
Cape will host St. Mark’s at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Oct 10.
The Spartans defeated Dover last Friday night 38-28 and earlier this season hung a surprising loss on Sussex Central.
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