Also: Cylc to roam sidelines at Brandywine; Charter girls take control of Flight A; Delcastle boys avenge lone loss in high school basketball.
Sanford fans were treated to watching three of the state’s top players — junior Trevor Cooney, sophomore Andre Horne and senior Anthony Myles — this week as teams returned to the hardcourt after a week-long layoff due to weather cancellations.
The undefeated Warriors hosted Hodgson on Tuesday night. The Silver Eagles entered the game with a 13-game win streak of its own and were looking to knock off the state’s top-ranked team.
Instead it was Cooney treating his home fans to a show, pouring in 19 points to lead the Warriors to a 60-53 win to keep its perfect record intact. The highly-touted Horne led the Silver Eagles with 17.
Sanford then hosted Polytech, and perhaps the state’s top senior in Myles, on its Hockessin campus Thursday night. Polytech fought hard to the finish, but the Warriors got a last-second, follow-up tip-in by Stephen Poarch to narrowly escape with a 51-49 victory. Cooney scored 13 points in the win, while Myles was held to 10.
2. Feb. 22 rankings:
Boys basketball
1. Sanford (18-0)
2. Delcastle Vo-Tech (16-1)
3. Hodgson Vo-Tech (16-2)
4. Concord (13-4)
5. Dover (14-3)
Girls basketball
1. St. Mark's (16-0)
2. Sanford (15-4)
3. Smyrna (15-2)
4. Charter (15-3)
5. Ursuline Academy (10-8)
3. Cylc returns to the sidelines: Larry Cylc has been hired as football coach by Brandywine, becoming the fourth head coach in five seasons to try and resurrect a football program that was winless in 2009 and had just one win in ’08. Cylc has won 130 games with four different schools, coaching at Archmere Academy, Caravel, Hodgson Vo-Tech and A.I. du Pont. Cylc’s Caravel teams won Division II state titles in 1989 and ’90.
"It’s a big challenge and I’ve decided to give it a shot," said Cylc, 54, who served the past two years as defensive coordinator at St. Georges Tech. "I think the Brandywine school district is a great community, and I believe that the talent is there to be successful."
4. Charter girls take command of Flight A: A stingy Concord defense held the Charter School of Wilmington to zero field goals in the first quarter of their Thursday night Blue Hen Flight A conference game. But the Force returned the favor, holding the Raiders to zero field goals in the fourth quarter and just five total points in the final 11:10 as Charter held on for a 26-23 victory. With the win, Charter (15-3) takes a one-game lead over Concord (14-3) in the conference standings.
5. Delcastle boys avenge lone loss: Junior forward Terrance Bobb-Jones scored a game-high 19 points to lead Delcastle to a 54-43 win over Newark in a Blue Hen Flight A game at Newark on Friday night. The teams were tied at the half, but Delcastle outscored Newark 30-19 in the second half to pull away for its ninth straight win. Tyrice Carter-Hall led the Yellowjackets (13-4) with 11 points.
First-rate performers in the First State
* Corey Crawford (Dover): The senior guard scored 27 points, including going 10-of-10 from the foul line, to lead the Senators to a 67-62 win over Caesar Rodney in a Henlopen North Conference game Saturday.
* Vincent Glover (Seaford): The talented senior celebrated his senior night by scoring 25 points in a 60-44 win over Lake Forest in a key Henlopen South game on Friday.
* Michael Lapointe (Delmarva Christian): The senior guard scored 30 points in his team’s 68-65 overtime win against Gunston Day (Md.).
* Natalie Stella (Wilmington Christian): Stella, a sophomore forward, scored 20 points, including hitting 8-of-10 from the charity strip, in her team’s 61-41 win over Wilmington Friends.
DVR alert
* No. 1 meets No. 2 in Hockessin on Monday at 5:30 when Sanford (18-0) hosts Delcastle (16-1) in what could be a preview of the boys state championship game.
* On the girls side, No. 1 St. Mark’s (16-0) travels to No. 2 Sanford (14-4) for a Friday 5 p.m. game.
The buzz
* Rosters for the 55th annual DFRC Blue-Gold All-Star Football Game, which will be played June 19 at Delaware Stadium, were announced last week. For more information, including rosters, visit www.blue-gold.org/football.
* Ticket information and rosters for the March 20 Blue-Gold Delaware High School All-Star Basketball Games, which benefit Best Buddies Delaware, can be found at www.bestbuddiesdelaware.org. The games are held at the Bob Carpenter Center with the girls tipping off at 5, followed by a Philadelphia Eagles Celebrity Benefit game at 6:30, and the boys game at 8. Comcast Sportsnet’s Derrick Gunn will serve as master of ceremonies.
Jon Buzby is the sports columnist for the Newark Post, a freelance writer, and occasional color commentator for the 1290 AM The Ticket High School Football Game of the Week. You can reach him at jonbuzby@hotmail.com.
