LEWES — After traveling from New Castle County to the beach, the Saint Mark’s football team started strong but couldn’t keep up with Cape Henlopen in a 21-7 road defeat on Oct. 4.
It was Cape’s offense that took the spotlight first. The Vikings started at their own 20 and went to work, primarily on the ground, in front of a large homecoming weekend crowd. Quardell Richards gained 30 yards on the first two plays from scrimmage, followed by a 22-yard run for Ozmeer Batson. From the Spartans’ 28, the Vikings needed three more plays to reach the end zone, which they did on a 14-yard rush up the middle by quarterback Jameson Tingle. The extra point was blocked, and three minutes in, it was 6-0.
The Spartans answered in quick fashion. They started at their own 23 and fed Cape a heavy dose of running back Elijah Burke. After being stopped for no gain on first down, the junior did most of the work in getting the ball to the Vikings’ 14. There, he was stopped on first down for no gain, but on second down, quarterback James Campbell faked a pass and ran left for a touchdown with 5:20 to go in the first. The extra point put Saint Mark’s in front, 7-6.
After forcing a Cape punt, the Spartans fumbled the ball away on the first play of the second quarter. The Vikings fumbled it right back, but they blocked Saint Mark’s punt four plays later, taking over at the Spartans’ 19. Cape Henlopen stayed with the ground attack, with Richards scoring from three yards out midway through the second. The successful two-point conversion gave the hosts a 14-7 advantage.
Cape threatened to add to the lead in the closing seconds of the first half, but the Spartans’ defense came up big. An acrobatic catch by Jayden Dukes gained 41 yards and set the Vikings up at the Spartans’ 19. They were at the 2 with no timeouts when Richards was stuffed at the 1, with his helmet coming off in the process. That stopped the clock and gave Cape Henlopen one more shot. Tingle rolled right, but he was hit from behind by Colin Foley as the half ended.
Cape took advantage of another turnover to add to their lead on their first possession of the second half. Tingle capped a 62-yard drive with an 11-yard pass over the middle to Batson.
The Spartans played much of the rest of the game without Campbell because of an injury, although he did give it one more drive later on. Brett Greene took over the quarterbacking duties, and he and running back Blake Green helped move Saint Mark’s to the Cape 26. The Vikings’ Navin Duffy ended the drive, however, with an interception in the end zone.
Saint Mark’s thought they had possession deep in Cape territory late in the third, but an inadvertent whistle stopped a play before the Spartans could fall on a fumble. They did force a punt by Duffy, but it traveled 78 yards in the air and on the ground, and when the dust settled, Saint Mark’s got the ball on their own 12 instead of the Vikings’ 22. They turned the ball over on downs on their final two opportunities.
Statistics were not available early Saturday morning. The Spartans (3-2) visit undefeated Appoquinimink on Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. Cape improved to 4-1 and hosts Sussex Central on the 11th at 7 p.m.
Screenshots from Mike Lang.