No one wanted to lose this game and no one did

I took pictures at Monday afternoon’s Beacon versus Sussex Academy field hockey game played at Delmarva Christian amidst more whistles than a flatbed of headless helmets. There was a high school soccer game being played on an adjacent field, so knowing when to stop and start rested somewhere between intuitive and counterintuitive. Sussex Academy is the upstart on the power grid of middle school hockey while Beacon hasn’t actually lost a game since like forever, but don’t ask coach Patti Jo Mock about it because she may bite your head off or maybe that’s just me. No one wanted to lose this game and no one did, as it was played to a scoreless tie, so no one left totally unhappy or really happy which requires someone to be unhappy. Sports are all about life lessons.

Clicking with chemistry - A permutation of combinations of athletes in team sports requires constant study and re-evaluation of configuration on the part of a coach. Some coaches keep a pat lineup with a regular routine of substitution while others jumble the lineup by the game, looking for that certain chemistry and also not wanting any players to get too comfortable. Last Tuesday in Cape’s upset 1-0 win over a quick and confident Sussex Tech squad, the Vikings were down four of their best players in David Cespedes and Freddie Mendez - with more cards than an UNO deck - and Michael Harmon and Aaron Gehrt out to injury. Nick Prestipino and Mike Johnson, along with Chris Young, left nothing on the field. It was insane. A hard-nosed Alberto Martinez also stepped it up in the midfield, drew a yellow card late on a retaliatory shove and after the game apologized to athletic director Bob Cilento. What a great guy - Cilento’s all right as well.

Let’s play hardball - I am not privileged to insider information on the sports scene even though almost all my friends are insiders. And so I just know stuff - I glean it from half sentences and friends talking in roundabout ways. I’m pretty sure to certain that the relatively new Cape school board is about to get a name to confirm for head baseball coach. And we baseball people know that there is talent in the pipeline and the future is now. A little chatter out there! Swing, batter!

Personals in public - Senior nights and days seem to be the same all over the scholastic sports world, and I know it’s emotional to play a last home game for your school and it’s cool to thank a few people and friends and say you plan to be an anesthesiologist and jazz singer, but the personal insider stuff and leaving personality traits to underclassmen is embarrassing. I feel I’m eavesdropping on a private silliness, but I must say the kids seem to really enjoy it. But if we start letting kids enjoy everything, we’ll never have a chance to build their character. Banquets are good for those types of remembrances but over a microphone, “Remember when I swallowed your cat’s head and your grandmom freaked” just seems too personal.

Money motivated - If you are reading this column and love living in this community, how much would it take to get you to move? How about New Zealand beachfront and you make $1 million a year? Are you gone? Personally I am not. I am staying where I am because my family and friends live here and I like the person I am when I step out the door. The Philadelphia Phillies most likely can’t afford to keep Jayson Werth and I say, “Bye, Jason, you already make too much and can play and live where you want. What difference is 5 or 10 million when you make 25?”

Simply the best - Cape’s junior varsity volleyball coach Pat Niland is just the nicest person and a super coach, along with her partner Stan Iwamoto. Last Tuesday the girls lost an exciting match to Polytech 2-1, fighting off the eliminating point three times before finally falling 20-18. “It was the best match we played all year,” Pat said. The girls finished the season with a 10-4 record. The record is the second best in the 12-year history of the program. Highlights from this match include Megan Grahne, 6 kills, 1 ace, 2 blocks; Megan Hart, 3 kills, 2 blocks, 2 digs; Haley Schell, 2 kills, 3 aces, 11 digs; Shelby Thomas, 3 kills, 2 aces, 1 block, 7 digs; Colleen Simpson, 2 kills, 1 ace, 9 digs; Riley Wagner, 1 kill, 16 digs; Mallory McDonald, 1 kill, 3 digs, 2 assists; Miranda Shatzer, 2 digs, 2 assists; Claudia Ratner, 1 kill.

Snippets - It’s getting down to it for fall sports. Just remember, newspaper rankings have absolutely nothing to do with seeding and pairings in the state tournament. Death row bozo Jeff Landrigan sang the Boomer Sooner song for his final words Tuesday, Oct. 26, joining the ding-dong hall of fame alongside a sociopath from Texas who exclaimed, “How ‘bout them Cowboys?” How about these final words: