Jack McPike, the handsome Cape quarterback from 2010, passes away

Quarterback Jack - Jack McPike, the handsome Cape quarterback and basketball player and affable teammate from the Class of 2010, passed away at 6:30 p.m., Nov. 15, surrounded by his family while nestled next to loyal dog Charlie. Jack and family took every action available to battle an aggressive brain tumor over the last two years. The Cape hockey players wore blue ribbons in their hair with No. 11 (Jack's jersey number) at Thursday’s Indian River game to honor him. This Tuesday, Nov. 17, in the Milford at Cape hockey game, all players will wear No. 11 ribbons as well. The Milford coach, Andrea Fleming McPike, is Jack's sister-in-law, married to Dan. Positive thoughts to parents Kim and Jeff, and siblings Dan, Max and Kate. Remembering people at their best while missing them is the way we roll here at Sesame Street by the Sea. Athletes live on the emotional edge where tears and laughter intersect – doesn’t take much of a push to land in either zone –and that’s OK; it makes us all players with prayers. I may add that all words of condolence are not part of a creative writing contest, but rather shared heartfelt feelings that are uniquely you and are deeply appreciated by the family one person at a time. 

Flying feet around the Bellevue horseshoe - The Cape boys’ cross country team is a serious state championship contender in Division I and will make a run at a state title in a couple of weeks. On Nov. 14, in eight multiple wave starts seeded by time, the Delaware high school runners circled the horse track at Bellevue State Park like colorful pelotons tracking down breakaway runners. No divisional breakdowns and team scores were kept, but everyone can add five numbers if they're allowed to use base 10 on their fingertips: Tatnall (D2) 49 points, Cape Henlopen (D1) 79 points and Salesianum (D1) 81 points. Defending D1 state champion Charter was not in the race. The girls’ race went to Ursuline with 60 points, Padua 70 and Saint Mark’s 81. Cape’s top seven in the boys’ contest were Ryan Baker in 16:20, fourth and personal best; Ethan Edery, ninth, 16:50; Julian Calloway, 17th, 17:32; Daniel Adili-Khams, 19th, 17:37; Lance Kauffman, 21st, 17:40; Liam O’Donnell, 17:51; Hunter Jones (back from illness), 19:03. Top downstate girls in the race were Brynn Crandell, Indian River, seventh, 19:36; Katie Kuhlman, Cape, 20:31; Emily Trout, Sussex Academy,  21:02; Mia Neubling, Cape, 21:25; Alicia Guajardo, Sussex Tech, 21:47; Katie Cavallucci, Sussex Tech, 22:10; Lindsay Rambo, Cape, 22:14; Peyton Evans, Cape, 22:32; and Sadie Tunnell, Sussex Academy, 22:36. 

Vikings boys’ lacrosse - A collection of really good, mostly Cape players coached by Erik-Stephane Stancofski and Holden Kammerer won three of four games Nov. 15 – they lost the final game by a goal – on the packed pitches of DE Turf, the Frederica venue that was snapping all weekend. If you want to talk about masks, go ahead, I’ll wait until you get back. Masks were required by all on site, but can be shed by players on the field of play. The mission each spring for Cape boys’ lacrosse is to end up in the final four, then focus on trying to win the state championship. Cape lacrosse currently has more two- and three-sport athletes, including football players and wrestlers, than I can remember since the days of coach Moose Mohr. 

I was that guy - I was photographing a boys’ cross country race 90 miles away from Cape Saturday morning at Bellevue State Park while streaming the Cape versus Sussex Tech football game on my phone via 302Sports. The voices of Benny Mitchell and Jim Tkach were in my pocket – no wonder I was repelling a crowd. I was able to pack up and drive home in the time it took to play the second half. I know this much: Don’t sleep on the Caravel this Saturday against Cape. The Bucs beat a good Laurel team Friday night 20-14. Cape needs to win two of its remaining three games – Caravel, Caesar Rodney and Dover – to finish with its first winning record since its 7-3 finish in 2016.   

Snippets - I turned off the Eagles game after the Giants’ first drive because what I saw was lack of effort from the Eagles defense, and that was enough for me not to buy in. Quarterback Daniel Jones was taken by the Giants with a sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft while the Washington Football Team chose Dwayne Haskins at 15. Most fans of Big Blue thought the Giants blew it. What’s deficient about Haskins remains a mystery to me. Kyler Murray’s 43-yard Hail Mary touchdown with two seconds on the clock gave the Cardinals a 32-30 win over the Bills. Cardinals flapped and snapped in celebration, but not Murray. When you’re that good, you are not surprised by crazy outcomes. Let’s not tarnish his image by putting him in a Jake from State Farm commercial. Go on now, git!