Cape football drops opener to Central 26-17
The Cape Henlopen football team gave the Golden Knights of Sussex Central all they could handle in a close 26-17 game to open a pandemic-shortened season.
Cape started the game off with an electrifying 70-yard romp by Chancler Johnson. The excitement was short-lived, as the play was called back on a holding foul.
Central got on the board first as the Vikings defense stiffened and held the powerful Knights offense to a 28-yard field goal. Cape matched the kick with a 33-yard field goal from Hank D’Ambrogi that cleared the goal post with room to spare.
The two teams traded touchdowns and went into the halftime break 11-9. The Golden Knights added two more scores to build a 24-9 lead with 10:20 left in the game.
The Vikings pulled close when they moved the ball downfield and Jaden Davis plunged in from the one. A slippery ball made the extra-point snap go astray and holder Kurtis Wells ran around the end and powered in for the two-point conversion to pull Cape within one score at 24-17 with 7:41 left in the contest.
Central’s final tally came on a snap over the head of punter D’Ambrogi for a safety, and the game ended at 26-17.
“I thought we played tough,” said Cape third-year coach J.D. Maull. “We needed that first touchdown to give the kids the belief that we could win. No one pointed fingers, though. We had some first-game jitters. The kids played hard. We didn’t break. You know, we’re pretty good and we’re pulling it together. We’re getting there.”
Davis finished the game with 62 yards on 14 carries and 23 yards in the air, scoring two touchdowns. Daniel Saez ran for 33 yards on three carries. D’Ambrogi ran for 23 yards on five carries. Wells scored on a two-point conversion.
D’Ambrogi, who is also Cape’s quarterback, went 6-for-17 in the air for 69 yards. Isaiah Fillyau pulled in a pass for 20 yards. Wells snagged a pass for eight yards, while Jordan Baines caught a pass for seven yards.
Cape also had a good showing on the defensive side of the ball as LT Messick delivered with 7.5 tackles and had a fumble recovery. Kurtis Wells made 6.5 tackles and caused a fumble. Nate Horn made five individual tackles. Lucas Ruppert made 4.5 tackles while Jaden Davis, Chancler Johnson and Daniel Saez brought down four Central ball carriers. Jordan Baines, Ethan Felker, Keishawn Mansfield, DyQuan Snead, Isaiah Fillyau and Jack Schell teamed for 14 tackles. Fillyau was credited with two fumble recoveries.
“Both teams played hard and really battled,” said Central coach John Wells. “I thought that both teams could’ve played better and cleaner, but attribute that to lack of scrimmages and no summer camps. It was really good for the players and coaches to get out there and compete.”
The road doesn’t get any easier for the Vikings as they host No. 2 Smyrna next week.
“We’re going from a running team in Central to a passing, no-huddle team in Smyrna,” said Maull. “It’s a tough schedule, but we’ll do OK.”
