Sometimes, youth wins over experience. And that’s exactly what happened Friday night when an underclassmen-laden Tower Hill (Wilmington) team topped Caesar Rodney 1-0 to win the championship of the Delaware High School Soccer State Tournament.
Junior Grace Firestone scored in the 27th minute on a free kick from 25 yards to give the Hillers the game’s first, and what would become only, goal.
Top seed Tower Hill (18-1) has just one senior, Jordan Bills, a starter since eighth grade. Two freshmen and three sophomores round out the starting lineup for a Hillers team that made an appearance in the state final for the first time in school history.
"It means everything for this program," said Tower Hill coach Garry Chandler, who, in 2007, took over the program coming off a two-win season and has led it to the playoffs each of his four years. "It is the ultimate prize for those players who have invested so much time, sweat and effort into building girls soccer at Tower Hill. Hopefully, it goes a long way to placing a firmer foothold on a winning tradition."
Second seed Caesar Rodney, on the other hand, already has a winning tradiiton in place. The Riders are 87-8 in the last five seasons, including appearances in the 2007 title game and semifinals twice in that span. Jazmine Reeves, recently voted state player of the year for the third consecutive year, has led the highly powered Rider offense, but was once again denied a state title after being shut down by a stingy Tower Hill defense in the championship game.
"We spent a lot of time practicing how we were going to defend her because she is such a fast player," sophomore defender Jenny Cusack said after the game. "We tried to push her offsides often, and we were able to do that. I had to cover her a lot because she was on my side of the field. I had to give her respect because of her speed, but I was also able to successfully beat her when the ball was in the air and turn her outside so she couldn’t get a shot on goal."
While Reeves seemed destined to win a title during her career but graduates having never won a championship, Bills, who played as an eighth-grader on that team that won just two games, leaves her mark on a program that was as far away from winning a title as a program can be when she started.
"To come from the bottom as an eighth-grader, to the top as a senior captain of the state champions is something of a storybook end to her high school soccer career," Chandler said in an interview shortly after returning from Bills' graduation ceremony. "This year, because of who Jordan is and all that she has done for Tower Hill girls soccer, each player felt duty-bound to give a little extra for our lone senior. That we made it to the top on Jordan's last lap added another dimension to the achievement."
With a plethora of talented underclassmen returning next year, Chandler can’t help but be excited about the future of his program. Yet, he’s quick to point out that no matter what the future holds, this year’s team will always be special to him, and not just because they won the school’s first state title.
"Those pioneer players from 2007 laid the foundation for trusting in the system and believing in the change of direction for the program," he added. "Having them experience the feeling of a state championship victory with their teammates is the best reward I can imagine."
2. All-state boys lacrosse: Bob Gilmore (Polytech) and Bill Madison (Delaware Military Academy) were named co-coaches of the year by the Delaware Interscholastic Boys Lacrosse Coaches Association. The first-team all-state team is listed below.
Attack: Andrew Blundin (jr., Salesianum), Chas Robino (jr., Tower Hill), Daniel Steele (sr., Cape Henlopen).
Midfield: Eric Kelley (sr., Wilmington Friends), Ripley Nielsen (sr., Tower Hill), Andrew Salvitti (sr., Salesianum).
Defense: Trip Ashley (sr., Tower Hill), Mark Cyron (sr., Salesianum), Ryan Kilpatrick (jr., Salesianum), Tim Voss (sr., Cape Henlopen).
Goalkeeper: Demetrius Murray (sr., Tower Hill), Dan Rogers (sr., Salesianum).
3. All-state girls lacrosse: Bill Eichinger, who led a young and inexperienced St. Mark’s team to the state finals, was named coach of the year by the Delaware Interscholastic Girls Lacrosse Association of Coaches. To see the first- and second-team all-star teams, click here.
First-rate performances in the First State
* Jenny Cusack (Tower Hill): The sophomore defender had the daunting task of shadowing three-time player of the year Jazmine Reeves in the state title game. Cusack did so admirably, holding the high-scoring senior forward to just three shots on goal in the Hillers’ 1-0 win.
* Carolyn Szymanski (Caravel Academy): The highly-touted freshman pitcher struck out nine batters to lead No. 1 Caravel to a 6-2 win over 10th seed Milford in the state title game. The championship was the school’s record eighth as the Bucs reached the title game for the 12th consecutive year.
The buzz
Bill Collick, who retired as football coach and dean of students at Sussex Tech High School after 10 years, has been hired as football head coach at Cape Henlopen (Lewes), pending board approval. Collick, a 1970 Cape graduate and former assistant at the school, replaces Tom Ott, who, in April, was arrested and charged with several sex-related offenses involving a minor female. Collick was the head coach at Delaware State University from 1985-1996 before taking over the Sussex Tech program. He will coach the Gold team in the annual Blue-Gold game June 19.
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.
