Also, high school basketball rankings; Cape girls win eighth straight; St. Mark's boys top Sals; DMA boys win another.
Highly touted Appoquinimink junior A.J. English III’s initial return from a much-publicized suspension didn’t net the results head coach Spencer Dunkley was hoping for as the Jaguars dropped games to Pencader Charter (64-62) and Red Lion Christian Academy (64-63). English III, last season’s leading scorer in the state, scored 14 and 20 points in the losses.
But last week, A.J., along with his brother, sophomore A’Jen, rebounded with huge games to lead the Jaguars to two wins, 81-67 over Mt. Pleasant and 90-62 against Dickinson. Against Mt. Pleasant, A.J. scored 31 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while A’Jen poured in 28.
Head coach Spencer Dunkley said in an e-mail that the brothers’ performances against the Green Knights were "unreal." Two nights later, A.J. scored 27 points against Dickinson and A’Jen added 23, lifting the Jaguars’ record to 7-5.
So for now, it appears the unrest between the English brothers and Dunkley has been put to rest. Stay tuned.
2. Jan. 25 rankings:
Boys basketball
1. Sanford (10-0)
2. Delcastle (10-1)
3. Concord (10-2)
4. Hodgson Vo-Tech (10-1)
5. Newark (9-2)
Girls basketball
1. Sanford (10-3)
2. Ursuline (6-4)
3. St. Mark’s (8-0)
4. Cape Henlopen (8-2)
5. Dover (6-2)
3. Cape girls win eighth straight: Cape Henlopen blew into Magnolia on Thursday night and handed St. Thomas More its first loss of the season, 59-32, in a nonconference game. Junior guard Meg Bartley scored 24 points to lead Cape to its eighth consecutive victory. On Tuesday night the Vikings soundly defeated rival Indian River 61-35.
4. St. Mark’s downs Sals: In a scene similar to a Friday night game in basketball-crazy Indiana, St. Mark’s played the spoiler in a packed Salesianum gym, running away to a 49-34 victory. Leading 28-16 at the half, St. Mark’s scored the first six points of the third quarter to pull ahead by 17, and then withstood a late Sallies rally. Mike Morsches had a game-high 13 points for the Spartans (10-2). Salesianum dropped to 3-7.
5. Delaware Military Academy captures third win: While three wins might not sound impressive, consider that until this year the Seahawks boys basketball team had never won more than one game in a single season, and some historians say DMA did not win its first true varsity game until this year. DMA, with victories over St. Andrews and Wilmington Christian, moved its record to 3-7 with a 33-31 win over St. Thomas More. Junior center Hunter Baker and sophomore forward Emmanuel Habetwold had eight points each.
Other first-rate performers in the First State
* Coach Don Parsley (Milford): Parsley earned his 200th career wrestling coaching victory with a win over Laurel last week.
* Daniel Prinsloo (Dover): The 6-foot-11 South African native scored 18 points in the Senators’ 66-53 win over rival Polytech.
* Taylor Reynolds (Newark): In addition to dishing out several assists in each game, the 6-1 sophomore point guard scored 11 points in the Yellowjackets’ 47-37 win over Christiana and 12 points in the Jackets’ 76-55 victory at Middletown.
* Crystal Ross (Smyrna): The 6-4 junior center scored 34 points in the Eagles’ 70-33 win over Seaford and 24 in her team’s 66-13 victory over Woodbridge.
Recruiting news
* Calling it the "right fit," Caravel senior Brandon Cheaton has verbally committed to accept a football scholarship from the University of Delaware. The 6-2, 180-pound two-way star is slated to play for Delaware’s defense. He also received offers from James Madison, North Carolina, Syracuse and Rutgers. Cheaton plans to sign his official letter of intent on Feb. 3.
* Tower Hill senior Max Friedman has accepted a baseball scholarship from Georgetown University.
DVR alert
* No. 1 Sanford (10-3) travels to No. 2 Ursuline (6-4) for a Saturday 1 p.m. game.
* The two top girls teams in the Henlopen North Conference battle when Dover (6-4) travels to Smyrna (10-2) for a 7:15 game on Wednesday.
* No. 1 Sanford (10-0) hosts St. Mark’s (10-2) Thursday at 5:15 in boys basketball action.
The buzz
Quote of the week: "Our schools could play chess and it would be a rivalry," Salesianum boys basketball coach Mike Gallagher told The News Journal following his team’s loss on Friday night in a game played in front of a standing-room-only crowd. … Lake Forest boys basketball coach Coleman Morris and Smyrna coach Mike Starkey coached in bare feet on Friday night to raise awareness for Shoes2Share. … Archmere Academy will name its basketball court after Vince Filliben, who won 378 games in 31 seasons before retiring in 1985. … Newark football coach Butch Simpson will speak on the topic of "80 Years of Newark Football" at the Newark Historical Society’s meeting on Jan. 28 at 7:30 at Town Hall. Admission is free and open to the public.
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.
