After a flawless start to its season, followed by an unusual three-game losing streak, the Cape Henlopen boys lacrosse team defeated Caesar Rodney, 12-9, to win the Henlopen Conference title.
Cape senior Mark Tappan led all scorers with seven goals, while Chris Woodruff chipped in with two goals and two assists.
Caesar Rodney (9-4) jumped out to an early 3-1 lead over their hosts, but Cape then scored twice to tie the game at the end of the first quarter.
It wasn’t until John Young’s goal at 9:28 in the second quarter that the Vikings took the lead for the first time. And then after exchanging the lead twice, Cape took over for good when Tappan scored twice just before halftime.
“I was happy we were able to beat a quality opponent,” Cape coach Jack Lingo said.
Cape out-shot Caesar Rodney, 35-28. Sophomore goalie James Cook had seven saves for the Vikings.
Cape (11-4), the defending state champions, finished its conference schedule with a perfect 7-0 record, while the Riders dropped just their first conference game.
Although thrilled with the win and the conference title, Lingo knows his team’s toughest and biggest games still lie ahead in the state tournament.
“I just told our kids we have bigger games ahead of us,” Lingo said.
Cape followed up its big win over CR with a 10-1 trouncing of Charter of Wilmington.
Senior Kyle Norwood scored four goals and junior Mark Tappan connected on three to lead the Vikings. Cook had 17 saves for Cape.
More Boys Lacrosse: Tower Hill captures Independent Conference title
The Tower Hill boys lacrosse team entered Friday afternoon’s game against conference rival Tatnall knowing that a victory would not only extend its winning streak to 12 games, but more importantly would give them the outright conference title for the first time in the program’s history.
Senior defenseman Tyler Hobbs scored his first career goal during what would prove to be the momentum-changing play of the game as Tower Hill topped Tatnall, 9-6, for the Independent Conference title.
Hobbs scooped up a loose ball and fired a 45-foot shot into Tatnall’s empty net, which was vacated by goalie Bobby Schluter to help advance the ball upfield. The goal would prove to be the game-winner as it put the Hillers up 7-4.
Evan DeMoninicis scored three goals for Tower Hill, while Ripley Nielsen added two goals and an assist. Goalie DeMetrius Murray made 13 saves, including eight in the first quarter to keep the game close.
Austin Beer had a team-high three goals for Tatnall, which fell to 7-6 overall and 6-2 in the league.
Tower Hill (13-2, 7-1) tied for the conference championship in 2005 and ´08.
Baseball: Middletown out-hits Newark in battle of top Flight A teams
Both Middletown and Newark won big on Saturday morning. But neither team had time to rest on its laurels as nine consecutive days of rain forced the Flight A rivals to play their makeup game late Saturday afternoon in Newark.
The teams showed no signs of fatigue, slugging a combined 22 hits and four home runs. But in the end it was Middletown edging its host, 11-8, to take over sole possession of Flight A.
Newark jumped out to an early 5-1 lead, but Kenny Anderson’s three-run homerun in the fourth inning pulled the Cavaliers to within one run. Middletown then took the lead in the fifth inning, scoring four runs on an Eric Husni RBI double and run-scoring singles by Ryan Haas and Chad Kuhl.
The Yellowjackets pulled to within one run, 8-7, when they scored in the bottom of the sixth inning. But Middletown put the game away with three runs in the top of the seventh, enabling junior pitcher Chad Kuhl to get the save for the Cavaliers.
Senior Eric Husni and Kuhl also homered for Middletown. Jake Milstead homered for Newark.
Senior catcher Ryan Haas (5-1) got the win for the Cavaliers, while senior Austin Bartley (4-1) suffered his first loss of the season.
Middletown (12-1 overall, 10-1 Flight A) won the earlier meeting between the teams, 3-1. Newark dropped to 11-3 overall, 9-2 in Flight A.
News and Notes
St. Andrew’s baseball coach Bob Colburn joined the 400-win club on Saturday. The 71-year-old coach became just the third Delaware coach to reach the milestone, joining Larry Wheeler (Delaware Military Academy) and the Rev. Robert Kenney (Salesianum). … Sussex Tech senior Zach Adkins signed a letter of intent to play baseball at Delaware State University. … Glasgow’s Katie Hicken scored her 100th career lacrosse goal in an 18-7 loss to Middletown. … After not winning a game for the past two seasons, the Christiana girls lacrosse team notched its third win of the season with an 18-11 win over Newark. … Zack Edwards struck out seven in leading Lake Forest to a 2-1 win over Smyrna. … Red Lion Christian Academy edged Thomas More, 5-4, when Luke Bailey scored the winning run on a passed ball in the top of the eighth inning. … Caravel senior Eric Buckland pitched a two-hitter with 15 strikeouts as Caravel defeated Dickinson, 5-1. … Middletown senior Elliot Gardner homered twice in his team’s 12-2 win over Caesar Rodney. … Andrew Cooper pitched a two-hitter and struck out 14 in Brandywine’s 3-1 win over Howard.
Jon Buzby is the Delaware correspondent for MaxPreps.com.
