Three months have passed since the high school sports season ended in Delaware. It gets started again today as defending Division I soccer champion Salesianum travels out of state to open the campaign. Archmere gets the field hockey revved up tomorrow afternoon, and volleyball hits the hardwood on Friday. (See volleyball previews here, here and here.)
Football also kicks off this weekend. Be sure to check out our previews of St. Mark’s and St.. Elizabeth, with Archmere and Salesianum to come.
Be sure to check our website all year long as Jason Winchell and Mike Lang bring you as much action as possible.
Boys
Soccer
Wednesday: No. 1 Salesianum at Lancaster Mennonite (Pa.), 7 p.m. The defending state champion Sals open with a pair of night road games against good out-of-state competition. The Sals have to replace their top two goal scorers from last season.
Friday
No. 9 (D2) St. Mark’s at No. 8 (D2) McKean, 3:45 p.m. The Division 2 soccer season opens up with bang as the Spartans and Highlanders meet in a top 10 battle.
Ss. Peter and Paul at Boys Latin (Md.), 4:15 p.m.
No. 5 (D2) Archmere at No. 1 (D2) Caravel, 5:15 p.m. The Auks open the season on the road against the defending Division II champs. The Auks look to make a statement in this top-five battle.
Saturday
No. 1 (D1) Salesianum at Walter Johnson (Md.), 8 p.m.
Football
Friday
No. 10 (D2) St. Mark’s at Newark, 7 p.m. The Spartans start the Joe Wright era with a road contest at Newark. Both teams look to bounce back from below par years.
Saturday
St. Elizabeth at Mount Pleasant, 10:30 a.m. The Vikings start a new era with head coach Marvin Dooley on the road against the Green Knights. Both teams struggled last year and would like a season-opening win.
Dover at Archmere, 2 p.m. A key lid-lifter for both teams as they sit outside the 302 Sports preseason top 10. The Auks won a close one at Dover last year and would love the Division 1 win as they accumulate playoff points for down the line.
Concord at No. 4 (D1) Salesianum, 7:30 p.m. The Sals look to rebound after a 6-4 season last year but will have to replace quarterback Zach Gwynn. The Sals always have a solid ground game and will look to take advantage of three home games to open the season.
Girls
Field hockey
Thursday
No. 4 (D2) Archmere at No. 6 (D1) Concord, 3:30 p.m. The Auks have a tough opener as they take a short drive to Concord. The Auks and the Raiders both had great seasons last year and would like to have an early statement win.
Ss. Peter and Paul at St. Timothy’s, 3:30 p.m.
Friday
No. 9 (D2) DMA at No. 7 (D2) Ursuline, 3:45 p.m. The Raiders host the Seahawks in a season-opening top-10 battle. The Raiders look to take advantage of having six of their first seven games at home.
Saturday
Newark at St. Mark’s, 11 a.m. The Spartans lost a lot of offense to graduation but look to open the season with a win before three road games against ranked teams.
Volleyball
Friday
No. 4 St. Mark’s at St. Georges Tech, 5 p.m. The Spartans open on the road where they will be spending a lot of time early in the season.
Smyrna at No. 5 Archmere, 5:15 p.m. The Auks open the season with a tough home match against an Eagles team that looks to win another Henlopen North title. Both teams lost key players to graduation but both have lots of returning talent.
Saturday
St. Elizabeth at MOT Charter, 1:45 p.m. The Vikings open the season on the road and look to build off a six-win season.
Soccer
Thursday
Ss. Peter and Paul at St. Timothy’s, 5 p.m. Girls soccer is a fall sport in many states, including Maryland. The Sabres hit the road for a nonconference battle.
