James scores four TDs, crowned Cape Homecoming king
Maurki James scored two touchdowns in each half of Cape’s Homecoming game against Caesar Rodney Oct. 20. At halftime in between, he was crowned King James. The final score was 35-0 over the Riders, marking only Cape’s fifth Homecoming win in the last 15 years.
The Old Dominion University-bound senior rushed for 216 yards, with touchdown runs of 47, 12, 85 and 7 yards. After James' 85-yard hustle to the house to open the third quarter and increase Cape’s lead to 28-0, he and quarterback Jameson Tingle improvised a little dance. As James headed to the bench, he could be heard saying, “This is a man’s game.”
“A big win on Friday,” said coach Mike Frederick. “As a program, we are getting to the point where you need to take care of business when you are the better team. Caesar Rodney is a dangerous team and has weapons on offense. We really emphasized playing our game and trying not to keep them in the game. I thought the turnovers were a huge difference. [I’m] proud of the players’ ability to not allow the Homecoming festivities to take their minds off the objective.”
Cape opened the scoring in the first quarter after a Jackson Cunningham interception. Tingle found wideout Lex Wescott on a 23-yard slant pass across the middle for the touchdown. Wilson Ingerski – a perfect 5-for-5 on PATs – converted for a 7-0 lead.
The rest of the game belonged to James, including halftime. Maurki also plays outside linebacker on defense.
“A special thanks to coach [Bill] Collick for taking us on a journey with his pregame talk,” Frederick said. “He talked so much more about life than football. He had the kids ready to roll. As for the path forward, it’s a tough road ahead, but an exciting road. My dad always told me you want to play in games that have true meaning. Well, the players have put us in the position that each game heading forward will have true meaning for our program. So we take them one at a time and focus on us.”
Tingle was 10-for-15 for 171 yards and a touchdown. His passes were to six different receivers, led by Amari Jackson with four catches, Lucas Stevenson with two, and one each by Lamar McCoy, Machi Savage, Wescott and James. Brenn Scott led the defense with six solo tackles and five assists.
Cape will host defending state champion Smyrna Friday, Oct. 27. The Eagles are 2-5 against a power schedule and are still very much alive for the postseason. Last fall in the state tournament, Smyrna outscored three opponents – Cape, Middletolwn and Dover – by a combined score of 150-7.
Notes: Smyrna is the last home game of the season for Cape. The Vikings will recognize 13 players on Senior Night.
