Connecting dots through sports supports Sussex culture

Can you not do it? Connecting people to each other in Sussex County has always been a way of life. It’s not a question of can you do it? It’s more like can you stop doing it? Because although the skill is held in high regard, it is unavoidable that you leave family off the tree or give credit to a no-count person who only shows up on game days. The last two weeks dragging myself around my sports beat has been all about interconnectedness across the generations. I’m told that aspect of down-home culture is gone, but if so, why do I keep running into it? I decided to devote this column of People in Sports to actual people, the marauding muppets of the great marshlands. 

McKenna Boyle - Straight outta Sussex Central High School, McKenna is a sophomore for the Shippensburg Raiders field hockey team that is ranked No. 1 in Division II with a perfect 12-0 record. Coach Tara Zollinger said, “McKenna is making an impact for the team with her ability to create goal-scoring opportunities in open field play as well as proving to be a threat on our corner attack. She has put in a ton of work in the off-season to grow in those areas, and we are excited to see what else she accomplishes this season with the Raiders.” McKenna has six goals on the season and 13 total points, which is second on the team. All the more amazing, in 12 of 13 games she has come off the bench. By way of deep background at Sussex Central, McKenna totaled three varsity letters for the Knights under head coach Karen Irvin; competed at the club level for Gottaloveit Oranje under Kathleen Fluharty; was a two-time all-state player, including first-team all-state as a senior and second-team all-state as a junior; earned all-conference as a freshman and sophomore; totaled 21 goals as a freshman; also lettered in basketball and softball; was a three-time all-state selection in softball as an outfielder and first baseman; and was named second-team all-conference in basketball as a senior. Her parents are Kristie and Billy Boyle, with Kristie Shockley being a 1990 Cape graduate and her mom Jackie a Rehoboth High athlete. And I can now walk out of 16 different branches, but what am I, an anthropologist? 

Tony “TT” Hazzard - Sussex Tech issued a press release announcing Tony Hazzard as the new head coach of boys’ basketball. The press release is an upgraded example for the question, “Who are his people?” The late legendary fan of Cape basketball Tony Hazzard was TT’s dad. Ask Haywood Burton if you want a full breakdown of the Hazzard family of Slaughter Neck; his late father Petey was one of nine brothers, all uncles to TT. Coach Tony will attract talent, and as he proved while serving as head coach of Milford Academy, he knows what to do with it. 

Omar Vann - Omar Vann, the son of the late Willie Vann, Cape’s first state wrestling champion in 1973, died last week while coaching a Cape Vikings Elite football team at practice. The memory of Willie Vann was honored back in 2012 when Cape hosted the DIAA State Wrestling Championships. Later in 2022, Cape’s Mikey Frederick won the state title at 145 pounds and sat between Willie Vann’s two brothers, Eugene and Kevin Brittingham. The Cape wrestling and football communities reach out to remember Willie Vann and his son Omar. 

Madelyn Faucett - I snagged Madelyn’s photo after she placed 10th in the Darby Dash in a time of 26:34. She looked fit and athletic, and the 14-year-old was the only finisher in the top 10 too young for a driver's license. I learned she played field hockey for Selbyville and was friends with Daisy Hughes and my granddaughter Meredith, and that her aunt Tara Faucett and my daughter-in-law Suzannah were roommates at Delaware. 

Emily Wells and Regan Best - Cape’s hockey first cousins are related to the actual Cousins clan, which gets into Reeds and Woods, not to mention cows and Uncle Matt Wells, a lifelong Yankees fan. The girls were smiling back into the home stands Oct. 12 during Senior Day at Champions Stadium. I asked them, “Are you smiling at Pop Pop Alfred?” They said, “Yes.” We don’t have enough space to chase that ball. 

Cultural conduit - I am like a size 8 hat size plastic harness holding the wires of what weaves most of us into a community of people who support one another through the good and bad times. A curriculum precedes a class. I think all Cape students should be required to take a class on families and cultures of Sussex County as they relate to changing demographics.

Snippets - Grace Wiggins, a freshman field hockey player for the University of Richmond Spiders, has started all 13 games while scoring three goals to go with four assists. Grace scored the first goal of the Oct. 13 game on the Spiders’ Senior Day, as they defeated Georgetown 3-1 to improve to 10-3 on the season. Caesar Rodney quarterback Julius Timmons is the grandson of Timmy Timmons, who is old-school Lewes. We will retrieve that ball if the Riders win Friday night against Cape. Whatever makes Timmy happy makes me happy, except that I have my own family to think about. I have not been inside any of Cape’s new or refurbished school buildings, including Fred Thomas, and like a true local and former RBP lifeguard, I haven’t been in the ocean in years, but I heard in October it’s still warm, but not as toasty as the cab of my pickup truck. Go on now, git!