Cape’s football post-season permutations or possibilities
Talent versus passion - Austin MacElrevey and RyanThornburg were Cape’s top two runners at the Nov. 2 Henlopen Conference Cross Country meet, finishing third and sixth respectively, making them both all-conference selections. In the springtime when the running gets real, Austin pursues his passion for baseball and Ryan prefers tennis. The focused question: In a forced-choice situation, what should win, talent or passion? If I were the track coach I’d be going after those guys with my best sales pitch, but in my heart I admire them for flying in the face of what others think they should do. Long-term studies of MBAs from places like Stanford and Harvard showed that smart people pursue passion first, often frustrating their parents left holding a $200K bill in exchange for a framed diploma.
Unsettled situation - The Cape football team needs to beat Smyrna this Friday, Nov. 9, to finish 8-2 for the second season in a row then wait for the computers to sort and spit out a power number based on wins and strength of schedule. Cape’s fortunes are being batted about like a calico on a catnip mouse. If the season ended after nine games, Cape would be in the six-team Division I state tournament field. A game to watch this final weekend is Caesar Rodney at Dover. CR wins and Cape gets in because the seven-win Riders would give Cape a bonus point. If Concord loses to Appoquinimink then Cape is in with a win. And if Sussex Tech beats A.I. du Pont or Saint Mark's beats Sallies, then Cape is in with a win. Two years ago, a 5-4 Cape team needed to beat Smyrna at home to secure the first winning season in 10 years. Cape lost. Just sayin'.
The elusive truth - Sussex Tech’s No. 1 cross country runner, Victor Rueda, transferred to Sussex Tech from Milford after the 2011 cross country season. “I want to be a state policeman, and Sussex Tech has a criminal justice major, so I convinced my mom to let me go there," Victor said from the sidelines at last Saturday’s Henlopen Conference Cross Country Championship. Sussex Tech self-reported to DIAA nearly a full year after Rueda entered the school that it might have run an ineligible athlete. A basic element of the transfer rule states that any athlete who transfers after ninth grade must sit out an entire calendar year from any sports he participated in the previous year. Last Friday evening, Victor was informed by his dad that “the school” told him Victor could not run in the Henlopen Conference meet. I spoke with “street clothes” Victor last Saturday during the JV boys' race but he kept leaving the interview to cheer for his Sussex Tech and Milford running friends. There are adults in black hats lurking in the shadows behind this story, but smiling Victor Rueda is out in the sunlight taking the fall for all of them.
Snippets - Madison MacElrevey, sixth-place finisher, and her brother Austin, third, were both named to the All Henlopen Conference cross country team Nov. 2 at Killens Pond.
Since forever I have asked field hockey coaches, “What is a good conversion rate for corners since everyone seems to get so excited?” I’m often told, “Every corner should result in a score.” I checked out corner stats for the University of Maryland this season and the defending NCAA champions are 18 for 163, for an 11 percent success rate.
Lynchburg College won the ODAC conference championship, beating Bridgewater 2-0. Rachel Sadowski, former Cape player, made the all-tournament team.
Mary Washington field hockey, with Jenna Steele from Cape on the team, beat Wesley 4-2 to win the conference championship and get an automatic bid to the Division III NCAA tournament.
Practices for winter sports begin on Thursday, Nov. 15.
The canceling of the New York Marathon at the last minute in the aftermath of the superstorm Sandy disaster cost the city about $350 million in lost revenue but what struck me was all the commentaries referring to stupid people who run 20-minute miles for no good reason, then think they did something.
I want to thank Dr. Jeff Heckert, the Dr. Choy crew and Elite Fitness Physical Therapy, along with Club Fitness trainer Dave Kergaard and my wife Susan for getting me back to fully dysfunctional after a catastrophic ruptured quad detachment from slipping on dog vomit deposited on the kitchen floor in the middle of the night. I’m now “that guy” on the recumbent bike - level 1 - listening to shuffle mode music while watching closed captioned news of eight flat screens simultaneously while sneaking peaks at other people’s heart rates. Go on now, git!
