Hodgson is not Hodgkins; Cape grad Gerald Allen is a former principal

Hodgson is not Hodgkins - Hodgson is one of four schools in the New Castle County Vo Tech district that also includes Howard, Delcastle and St. Georges. Students who live throughout the district may apply to any of the four schools. Retired NCCVT Superintendent Gerald Allen, a 1973 Cape graduate, was at the game Friday night as the administrator representing Hodgson, where he also served as principal. Gerald played football for Cape under coach Bill Muehleisen in a backfield that also included Henry Briscoe and Henry White. Gerald was also on the early state championship track teams coached by Tom Hickman. The school is named after technical educator Paul Hodgson. 

Staccato sopranos - I sat in my Tundra on Lewes Beach Sunday afternoon looking at the bay while watching locals loop the parking lot. I listened to Merle Reese and Mike Quick call the Eagles game on AM radio. Lots of angst and anxiety leading to a 34-31 overtime Eagles win. Later, I turned on Comcast SportsNet channel 29, thinking I’d catch some hometown partisan glee along with some film clips from biased and amped broadcasters Michael Barkann and Ron Jaworski. Talking loud in short, staccato bursts is now the industry standard. That's not the way it's taught at schools of journalism, but those graduates can’t get real jobs. The Commanders had 365 total yards compared to 415 for the Eagles. The stat star of the game was A.J. Brown of the Eagles, who had nine catches for 175 yards and two touchdowns. Barkann and Jaws both advanced the position that the Eagles should be happy they won, although the team they beat wasn’t very good. That hometown craziness makes me nervous, as I believe the sports gods don’t like it.  

MLB.com - The Phillies open at home Tuesday versus the Marlins. The series is best of three; the winner gets the Braves in a best of five series. But like a runner who goes out too fast, let's not get ahead of ourselves. The Marlins are tough, and they can compete. The Marlins won the season series against the Phillies, and they are 42-40 against the Phillies since 2019. 

Dave’s Dewey Dash - Many 5K runners and 1K walkers often mingle on the final straightaway to the finish line, but on Saturday at Dave’s Dewey Dash, it was all about golden retrievers; evidently they have their own weekend a week prior to greyhound weekend. Goldens generally look the same; it's the owners who look way different. Point of clarification: You can call your yellow lab a golden lab, but he’s not a golden retriever; he’s a Labrador retriever. That sounds obvious, but here at Sesame Street by the Sea where doodles have diversified the gene pool, nothing is obvious other than that you know your dog’s cousins, which makes you related to their humans.  

Travis and Taylor - I am neutral when it comes to hyping the lives of a pair of 33-year-olds who may be “talking” or possibly “just friends,” but many football fans are whining about the oversaturation of Swifties at Chiefs games driving up the cost of tickets. Patrick Mahomes is the king of overexposure, filling the void left by Payton Manning, and it gets more weird as “Jake from State Farm” was seen sitting next to Momma Kelce at the Eagles game. Remember when Jake was a white guy wearing khakis? Whatever happened to that dude? Coach Andy Reed (lineman for life) has lost 60 pounds, yet now he’s in a commercial with Patrick and Jake titled “Combo Meal” about bundling options. Professional football with its choreographed group celebrations has become a livestreamed showtime special; the actual game is secondary.  

Cape football cheerleaders - A wet track slows them down, because they are athletic acrobats tumbling, springing and cartwheeling down the track. I caught this photo during the golden hour delay before Friday night's game.  

Snippets - A huge soccer game comes to Cape’s Legends Stadium this Tuesday night, Oct. 3, at 6:30 as 5-0 Cape hosts 2-4 Caesar Rodney. The Riders are always a tough out. Cape beat the Riders last season 1-0 on a first-half goal by Jack Schell, with Dru Schneider in goal getting the win with 10 saves. “Ali Bomaye!” If you know the CR soccer at Cape story with the conference championship on the line won by the Riders 1-0 on a penalty kick, then you know. CR won the state soccer title in 1994 when soccer had one division. Indian River has won three DII titles under coach Steve Kilby (2013, 2015 and 2020).