It’s the time of year when fall and winter sports overlap. The football tournament has reached the semifinals in all three classes, while basketball, wrestling, swimming and the other winter sports are getting started on Wednesday.
In football, all three Catholic high schools still alive – one in each class – play Saturday. Archmere and St. Elizabeth are home, while Salesianum must travel. All tickets are being sold online only at gofan.co/app/school/DIAA.
For the indoor winter sports, fans are allowed back into gymnasiums and swimming pools after a season where attendance was severely limited or not allowed at all. Masks are required in all school buildings
Football
Saturday (semifinals)
Class 2A: No. 5 Delaware Military Academy (11-1) at No. 1 Archmere (11-0), noon. The Auks host the Seahawks, with the winner advancing to the state championship game on Dec. 11 against either No. 3 Wilmington Friends or No. 2 Woodbridge. The teams met on Nov. 12, but DMA has been on a roll since that loss to Archmere. They have outscored their opponents 85-0 in two postseason games. The Auks have put together one of the more impressive seasons in program history.
Class 1A: No. 3 Tatnall (7-4) vs. No. 2 St. Elizabeth (10-1), 7 p.m. at Abessinio Stadium. This is another rematch of a regular-season game, but that 44-6 Vikings win from Sept. 25 is ancient history. Since then, the Hornets have won seven of eight, including a 15-12 victory over Seaford in the quarterfinals of the DIAA tournament. St. Elizabeth has allowed more than seven points in just three of its 11 games. The winner meets either No. 5 Indian River or No. 1 Laurel for the state championship.
Class 3A: No. 3 Salesianum (8-2) at No. 2 Middletown (8-1), 7 p.m. Two of the state’s heavyweights get together below the canal for the first time this season after their scheduled regular-season tilt was canceled. The Cavaliers feature a prolific offense and big-play defense seeking the program’s first state championship since 2012. Waiting for the winner will be either No. 5 Dover or No. 1 Smyrna.
Girls
Basketball
Wednesday
Ss. Peter and Paul at Delmarva Christian, 5 p.m.
Friday
Saint Mark’s vs. Mount Pleasant, 3:15 p.m. at A.I. DuPont Tip-Off Tournament
Ss. Peter and Paul at Odyssey Charter, 4:30 p.m.
Saturday
Saint Mark’s vs. Concord or A.I. DuPont, 1:15 or 4:45 p.m. at A.I. DuPont
Ss. Peter and Paul at Indian River, 4:30 p.m.
Boys
Basketball
Friday
St. Georges vs. St. Elizabeth, 4:45 p.m. at A.I. DuPont Tip-Off Tournament
Ss. Peter and Paul vs. Arcadia (Va.), 6 p.m. at Indian River IR Tip-Off Classic
Saturday
St. Elizabeth vs. MOT Charter or A.I. DuPont, 3 or 6:30 p.m.
Wrestling
Thursday
Saint Mark’s vs. St. Andrew’s and Appoquinimink, 5:30 p.m. at Appoquinimink High School
Friday
Saint Mark’s at Ray Oliver Invitational, McDonogh School (Md.)
Swimming (co-ed except where noted)
Thursday
Tatnall vs. Saint Mark’s, 3 p.m. at Western YMCA (girls only)
Friday
Ss. Peter and Paul at Severn School, 4 p.m. (boys only)
