Archmere Academy’s seniors entered Saturday’s first round of the Delaware High Schools boys lacrosse Tournament having never won a playoff game and with a monumental task ahead of them — facing a talented Charter team.
But in the end it was two Auks’ sophomores — Austen Freeborn and Chris Thompson — scoring two goals each that gave the seniors their first playoff win, a 5-3 victory over Charter.
Senior Jim Bowers scored the game-winning goal with 11:15 left in the fourth quarter to advance No. 10 Archmere into the quarterfinals, where they will meet No. 2 Salesianum (14-0).
Senior Andrew Michalowski scored two goals for No. 7 Charter (13-4).
More Boys Lacrosse: Playoff highlights
* Senior Joey Fragomele scored four goals and assisted on four others to lead No. 5 Tatnall over No. 12 Newark, 11-6. Sophomore Austin Beer added three goals and two assists for the Hornets (9-7), who advance to face No. 4 Cape Henlopen (11-5).
* The sixth-seeded Wilmington Friends Quakers got three goals from junior midfielder Eric Kelley and two goals apiece from sophomore midfielder Wesley Carr and senior midfielders Bryan Radacosky-Pentoney and Grant Walczak to advance to the quarterfinals with a 14-0 shutout over No. 8 Concord (11-6). Friends (10-6) will face No. 3 St. Mark’s (11-5).
* Junior attack Erik Hoffstadt tallied a hat trick and added three assists to lift Caesar Rodney to a 12-4 win over Sussex Tech (12-6). Senior Ryan MacLeish also had a hat trick for the Riders, who advance to face No. 1 Tower Hill (14-2).
Tuesday’s boys lacrosse quarterfinals
(8) Caesar Rodney (12-5) at (1) Tower Hill (14-2), 7:30 p.m.
(5) Tatnall (9-7) at (4) Cape Henlopen (11-5), 5 p.m.
(10) Archmere (13-4) at (2) Salesianum (14-0), 5 p.m.
(6) Wilmington Friends (10-6) vs. (3) St. Mark’s (11-5), at Tower hill, 5:30 p.m.
Girls Lacrosse: St. Mark’s scores late to nip Charter
No. 4 St. Mark’s narrowly escaped the quarterfinal round of the Delaware High School girls lacrosse state tournament when Delaware’s all-time leading scorer Courtney Schweizer scored her seventh goal of the game with just 28 seconds left to lead the Spartans to a thrilling 11-10 victory over No. 5 Charter.
Midfielder Morgan Rispoli scored five goals for Charter (15-2).
St. Mark’s advances to Tuesday’s semifinals against No. 1 Cape Henlopen (14-2-1).
More Girls Lacrosse: Playoff highlights
* No. 3 Tower Hill entered Saturday’s first round of the girls lacrosse state tournament as three-time defending state champions, and quickly proved it might once again be the team to beat, downing Brandywine, 18-7, to advance to Tuesday’s semifinals against No. 2 St. Andrews (14-3). Juniors Katie Applegate and Emily Schuckert scored four goals apiece to lead the Hillers (13-3).
* Top seed Cape Henlopen led from start to finish behind junior Kaci Koveleski’s three goals, and her freshman sister Jacki’s five assists, to lead the Vikings to a convincing 16-2 victory over No. 8 Concord (11-6). Cape will face No. 4 St. Mark’s (14-3) in Tuesday’s semifinals.
* Junior midfielder Lucinda Caldwell scored a game-high seven goals in leading No. 2 St. Andrew’s over No. 7 Wilmington Friends, 17-4, in Saturday’s quarterfinals. Senior midfielder Perrin Downing scored twice for Friends (10-6). St. Andrew’s advances to face No. 3 Tower Hill (13-3).
Tuesday’s girls lacrosse semifinals
All games at Bill Billings Stadium, Middletown
Times to be announced
(4) St. Mark’s (14-3) vs. (1) Cape Henlopen (14-2-2)
(2) St. Andrew’s (14-3) vs. (3) Tower Hill (13-3)
Basetball: Middletown wins Flight A Championship
Senior Elliot Gardner (5-0) struck out nine and helped his own cause by hitting a home run as Middletown blanked William Penn, 11-0, to win its first-ever Blue Hen Flight A baseball championship.
“The kids were very excited about winning and getting the automatic berth into the tournament,” said Middletown coach Scott Smith, whose team lost to Salesianum in last year’s state title game. “They are really looking forward to getting back into the tournament and competing for the state title.”
Seniors Eric Husni, Kenny Anderson, and Ryan Haas, along with juniors Chad Kuhl and Adam Stein, all hit homeruns for the Cavaliers. Juniors Matt Ainsworth and Sean Simmons each doubled for Middletown (15-1, 12-1), which heads into the last part of its schedule this week.
“We finish up with St. Marks, Charter and Caravel,” Smith said. “I like the competition going into the tournament. It’s going to be good test for us.”
Sports schedules slashed for 2009-10
At a meeting last Thursday the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association voted to reduce next year’s sports schedules by 10 percent.
The measure was in response to expected school budget cuts across the board as Delaware Gov. Jack Markell attempts to bring the state out of a multi-million dollar deficit.
“The DIAA Board of Directors discussed the issue at length before taking the final vote,” said Kevin Charles, executive director of the DIAA. “Board members were aware that several member schools’ athletic budgets had already been reduced significantly for the 2009-10 school year.”
Some schools are estimating a savings of up to $6,000 per year by making the change.
Football will be the only sport not affected due to its already number of low games (10) and the fact that for most schools it is a money-generating sport.
Schedules will be cut as follows: baseball (20 to 18 games); basketball (22 to 20); softball (20 to 18); and all others (16 to 15).
School superintendents, who originally pushed for the reduction, changed their minds at a recent meeting and backed off their demands to implement the change. However, the DIAA felt strongly that if they did not make the change across the board, schools would reduce the number of games on an individual basis to save money, resulting in scheduling imbalances across the state.
“[The DIAA] considered leaving the issue of cutting schedules up to each individual school,” Charles added. “In the end, the Board felt strongly that is was in the best interest of the membership to take a unified approach to scheduling reductions. This will allow all member schools to recognize a savings in their athletic budgets and keep all schools on a level playing field.
“The Board will re-evaluate the situation over the next two years and should the economy improve will consider restoring the lost games.”
News and Notes
Caesar Rodney’s Joey Babuca signed a letter of intent to play baseball at Delaware State University. … Justin Perillo was 4-for-4 with two home runs and five RBI to lead Tatnall to a 17-11 win over Tower Hill, clinching the Diamond State Conference Championship. … Vinnie Cautillo struck out 10 batters to lead St. Elizabeth to an 8-2 victory over St. Andrew’s. … Tyler Hyrcak hit a three- and two-run homerun to lead St. Mark’s over Brandywine, 14-4. … Tyler Hawthorne went 4-for-5 with five RBIs to lead A.I. duPont to a 17-9 win over Charter.
Jon Buzby is the Delaware correspondent for MaxPreps.com.
