Cape unified flag football kicks off season at Legends Stadium

The Cape unified flag football team opened its season at Legends Stadium Sept. 20 against Henlopen North rival Caesar Rodney.

After an appearance in the 2022 DIAA state tournament quarterfinals, the team is hoping for similar success, but unfortunately started the season with a few key members from that squad not quite ready to take the field.

“We had a couple players out, and so we’ll get better as the year goes on,” said coach Andrew Messick.

The Vikings were without senior Rodney “Tony” Palmer and sophomore Kayden Gibbs.

“Tony’s a very good player and Kayden Gibbs is a very good player. Both didn’t play today. So we have a couple of players coming off the bench that are going to be good players, they’re just not here,” Messick said, noting senior Alejandro Alvarez-Roman did not play in the game either.

Without three key players, the Vikings battled the defending state champion Riders closely in the first half. When the second quarter came to a close, the Riders claimed an 8-0 lead earned on two catches from freshman Brayden Robinson – one for the touchdown and one for the two-point try. The offense was disrupted greatly through the efforts of the Vikings defenders, particularly Connor Pencek. 

Pencek’s relentless work rate resulted in several quarterback hurries, two sacks, two tackles for a loss and one deflection. Whether he was in the Caesar Rodney backfield or in his own defensive backfield, the senior made things unpleasant for Riders backs and receivers. 

Robinson, however, seemed to find pockets in the Vikings secondary and caught two touchdown passes before busting off a tremendous run down the Cape sideline for his third touchdown. Pencek nabbed a long pass himself and gained quite a few yards before his flag was grabbed. 

Joining in on the pass rush for the Vikings was junior Randolph Adams and sophomore Ronald “Ronnie” LeRoy. Senior Noah Ryan helped pitch in on both sides of the ball as well. Their efforts were not enough to overcome the Riders' potent youth-led offense, as Caesar Rodney claimed a 34-0 victory.

Messick noted the team could not start practicing until school started, and he’s confident that the more they practice, the better they will be. The Vikings travel to Dover on Wednesday, Oct. 11 to take on the Senators for their next game.