The business of coordinating a successful scholastic football program from bottom to top is sophisticated and complicated, an adjunct to the educational program of the student athlete. And for some kids, athletics comes first, so to protect that approach to teenage life, coaches must work extra hard to keep kids eligible.
The questions, “How is your football team” or “What is wrong with your football team?” beg the response, “Which football team are you talking about?”
Cape Henlopen, like virtually all Northern Division schools in the Henlopen Conference, fields three football teams from varsity, junior varsity and freshman. Many kids play in two games a week sliding from one team to the other with a five-quarter limitation on participation.
Last Monday, the Cape junior varsity went up and down the field with Laurel in a colorful offensive shootout finally won by Cape 34-20. Quarterback Jake Dmiterchik threw a pair of touchdown passes to speedy and sure-handed David McDowell, who also ran for a score while Dom Brisco busted loose for a pair of long touchdown runs.
Laurel’s Dexter Taylor scored on a 70-yard kickoff return and 3-yard run, and quarterback Zack Whaley hit Paul Elliot with a 25-yard touchdown pass in traffic.
The undefeated Dover freshman team came to Cape Wednesday, Oct. 21, with 30 guys in uniforms and no matching numbers – Cape had a pair of 15s on defense in Diaz Nardo and Cody Dmiterchik – and six coaches on the sidelines in matching coaching shirts.
The Vikings went deep on the first play as “Ozzie” Nardo hit Kevin Wright over the top on a 40-yard sideline streak. But the play was called back for offensive pass interference, causing Cape coaches Dan McPike and Ken Hardy to offer some respectful criticism best summarized as “Are you kidding me?”
The negation and gain and 15-yard penalty with loss of down – no one understood that – resulted in a net loss of 60 yards. Three plays later it was a high snap and fumble and Dover possession, and two plays after that the Senators were in the end zone after a 3-yard run followed by a two-point conversion pass for an 8-0 lead.
Halftime comes quickly with 10-minute quarters as the cohesive and talented Dover squad led 30-8, Cape’s scores coming on a Nardo pass of 50 yards to Michael Mapp and a conversion pass to Kevin Wright.
The final score was 46-8, but who’s counting?
Dover freshman team coach Ron Berry is from Olney High School out of Philly and graduated from Delaware State. Berry is a special ed teacher at the high school and has been there for 10 years. He told his team after the game “You are the first Dover freshman team under this staff with a chance to go undefeated. You know how good you feel today after this victory? That only comes by working hard in practice. It’s what we’ve been telling you over and over.”
Coach Berry and his staff each take five kids from the team then mentor and track their academic progress. “We talk to them about goals and opportunities. We want them to be solid citizens and students. We don’t want to lose kids because they didn’t work hard enough and neither did we.”
The book on Dover football over the last 40 years is talent deep, but talent not maximized. The Senators can be two different teams not only in the same season but even in the same game.
The Cape varsity was sitting outside the field house locker room watching a film of the Senators versus St. Mark’s as the freshman team joined the viewing audience.
“Dover has great talent. You see them on film and wonder how they ever lose,” coach Tom Ott said. “The secret is to take their big punches early and to make it a four-quarter game.”
A four-quarter game and a five-quarter week is the new math for most scholastic football players.
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