After a week that served as an appetizer for high school sports fans in the Diocese of Wilmington, the full menu is on the table as Labor Day has come and gone.
There were two football games, and Ss. Peter and Paul tipped off its field hockey season, but that was it. All four of the schools that sponsor football have games this weekend, and all of the other fall sports are beginning Wednesday, although not every team will start its 2021 season this week.
Football previews for Archmere and St. Elizabeth will run separately, as will short volleyball preview for each school.
Girls
Field hockey
Tuesday
Ss. Peter and Paul (0-1) at Indian Creek, 4:30 p.m. The Sabres play their second game. They won the ESIAC tournament last year after an abbreviated 3-1 regular season.
Thursday
Archmere at Concord, 3:30 p.m. Expectations are high in Claymont. The Auks are coming off an 11-2 season, which ended in the Division II semifinals against Caravel.
Friday
St. Elizabeth at Saint Mark’s, 3:45 p.m. The Vikings are looking to improve on a 1-11 mark in 2020, while Saint Mark’s squeakd into the state tournament before losing a 2-1 decision against Delaware Military to wrap up a 5-4 season.
Ss. Peter and Paul at Gunston, 4 p.m.
Padua at Smyrna, 4 p.m. Padua heads to Kent County on the heels of an excellent 2020. The Pandas finished 8-3, falling to Polytech in the Division I state tournament.
Ursuline at Sussex Central, 4 p.m. The Raiders open 2021 against the Golden Knights. The Raiders earned a trip to the Division II state tournament last year, falling to Indian River in the first round to wrap up a 5-7 campaign.
Soccer
Wednesday
Indian Creek at Ss. Peter and Paul, 4 p.m. The Sabres host the opener of their 10-game schedule. Last season, they went 1-2-1.
Friday
Ss. Peter and Paul at Gunston, 4 p.m.
Boys
Soccer
Tuesday
Ss. Peter and Paul at St. Vincent Pallotti, 4 p.m. After a 2020 in which they played just one game, the Sabres are ready to get a full season going. They’ll head west to do so.
Friday
McKean vs. St. Elizabeth, 3:45 p.m. at Alapocas Run State Park. It’s a new season for the Vikings, who finished 2-9 last year. They had just two home games last year and open this season with two at Alapocas Run.
Dickinson at Saint Mark’s, 3:45 p.m. An 8-4 season in 2020 for Saint Mark’s ended against Indian River in the second round of the Division II state tournament. The Spartans’ youth of past seasons is maturing into a veteran core.
Glenelg at Ss. Peter and Paul, 4 p.m.
Archmere at Sussex Tech, 5:30 p.m. The Auks finished last season 6-3-2, bowing out in the second round of the Division II state tournament against Newark Charter. After this trip to Sussex County, they play the next six at home.
Saturday
Walter Johnson (Md.) at Salesianum, 3 p.m. The Sals finished last year 10-2, but they lost in penalty kicks in the state championship against Appoquinimink. They host the Jags on Sept. 25, a week before welcoming national power St. Benedict’s Prep (N.J.) to Abessinio Stadium.
Football
Friday
Archmere at Tatnall, 4 p.m.
Sussex Central (1-0) at Salesianum (1-0), 7:30 p.m. The Sals open the gates at Abessinio Stadium for the reigning state champions. The Golden Knights posted a shutout win in their first game, while the Sals scored all 28 of their points at Cape Henlopen in the first half. This will be the third straight season the teams have played, with Central winning the first two.
Saturday
Conrad vs. St. Elizabeth, 7 p.m. at Abessinio Stadium
Saint Mark’s (1-0) at Red Lion, 7:30 p.m. The Spartans put up 41 points in a shutout of A.I. duPont in the opener, but Red Lion promises to provide a much stiffer test. Donovan Artis scored three times for Saint Mark’s against the Tigers.
