Two Cape teams in lax finals; fans pay two times

Double game-day face - The Cape girls’ and boys’ lacrosse programs each played state championship games on Thursday at Dover High School, with the girls facing unbeaten Tatnall at 5:30 in the smaller stadium while the boys played Salesianum in the big stadium at 7:30. Each game required its own $7 ticket, which mostly affected Cape as the only school with a team in each game. The Tatnall girls have never been in the championship finals, although the Tatnall boys have won four state titles, the last in 2003. Salesianum has reached the state finals 15 times, winning 10 state titles, including three head-to-head with Cape Henlopen. The Vikings have played for the championship 11 times with seven state championships, including three wins over Salesianum. Because I’m writing this column on Thursday deadline, I have no idea what is going to happen, but I’m grateful DIAA and their double-charging selves made it happen on a Thursday so we muppets from Sesame Street by the Sea don’t have to drive north to Dover on Memorial Day weekend.

Tunnel vision - Twelve Cape athletes signed agreements to play a college sport on the morning of May 26. The event was staged inside the field house tunnel, and there were doughnuts. How cool is that? Signees were Blake Gipko and Nic Arnold, Wingate University lacrosse; Gabe Best, Salisbury University lacrosse; Landon Best, York College of Pennsylvania lacrosse; Jaden Davis and Ja’ Vaughn Burton, Salisbury University football; Haley Craig, Lynn University lacrosse; Riley Klopp, Franklin & Marshall field hockey; Marissa Frederick, St. Francis University softball; Madalyn Swontek, Goucher College soccer; Jocsan Roman, Neumann University soccer; and Jacob Alt, University of Central Lancashire, England, soccer. Signing photos for all 12 athletes will appear on capegazette.com and in an upcoming print edition.  

Daddy Ball - This term usually has a negative connotation in sports, and yet as we approach Father’s Day, all we hear are the good things about dads. What about Bachelor Ball or Unbiased Ball, would that be better? Makes sense that youth team sports are quite often coached by a parent and that they have a kid on the team, and if that kid rides the bench (how can you ride something that doesn’t move?), that could cause problems at home. “Hey, Coach Honey, did our kid get in the game tonight?” High school coaches love their boosters clubs, but they don't want parents making out the lineup card or lobbying for playing time. I always say, “There are lines you don’t cross as a parent because once you step over you just can’t get back.” Maybe a Fredman podcast: “You're listening to Daddy Ball. Join us next week for Burger Daddies and Snow Cone Mommies.” 

Football on clock - Cape has a 10-game schedule etched on the website for the 2021 fall season. A  look at listed opponents includes Salesianum, William Penn, Delmar, Caesar Rodney and Smyrna at home, with Woodbridge, Dover, Sussex Central, Appoquinimink and St. Georges on the road. Field hockey has added South River, Our Lady of Good Counsel and Tower Hill to its fall 15-game schedule. 

Snippets - A full schedule of in-person summer road racing will commence  Sunday, May 30, with the 28th running of the Masser 5 Miler. The race starts at 7:30 a.m. at Cape Henlopen High School. The 19th Highway One Companies 5K is Monday, May 31, starting at the Rusty Rudder on Dickinson Avenue in Dewey Beach. It  begins at 7:30 a.m. and honors the memory of Doug White. The major league draft comes in June. The good news is college players who are 21 and have completed their junior year are eligible and do not have to declare. If they are drafted and don’t like the round or team or money slotted, they can return to school. It’s more complicated, but it's not like sports agents are reading this column. Cape graduate Sam Young, now representing University of Virginia in track and field, earned his way to the NCAA Track and Field Championships in the pole vault when he cleared 17-feet-2.75-inches at the East Preliminary Round in Jacksonville, Fla. National competition will be held June 9-12 in Eugene, Ore. Taylor Johnson is one of those good old Sussex County girls – you become her friend, you are bonded  for life. I interviewed her as a freshman and she said, “My friends were joking about me getting out of class. I told them, ‘I don’t see Fredman interviewing you for being Athlete of the Week.’” Taylor completed a stellar senior season, placed fourth in the  Meet of Champions in the 300-meter hurdles at sub-48 seconds, but the big story on Action News is Taylor has been accepted to Syracuse University, class of 2025. “‘Scuse me while I kiss the sky!” (Hendrix). Go on now, git!