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Division II Championship Final By Marshal Manlove DOVER- The Delmar Wildcats and the St. Elizabeth Vikings combined for a Division II championship record 85 points with the Wildcats scoring the majority of them to win the state championship.This was a wild contest between two very talented teams and one that might leave a sour taste in some Vikings for some time to come.The Wildcats jumped out to 14-0 lead just five minutes into the game. Senior quarterback Dustin Johnson broke off a 60 yard touchdown to start off the scoring.The Vikings fumbled on their next play from their 21 and running back Ian Hudson promptly converted the turnover into seven points on a 21 yard run from the Wildcat option offense.Senior Jeff Fletcher ran the kickoff back 72 yards for a Viking touchdown to bring his team and the crowd right back into the game.Johnson fumbled on the Wildcats next possession and the Vikings tied the game when Brian Sulecki scored from four yards out.After another Wildcat fumble, the Vikings took the lead. Fletcher scored from a yard away to cap an eight-play drive.Delmar came right back with a 73 yard drive ending with an Ian Hudson 24 yard touchdown run.With the exception of Delmar’s opening game loss to Sussex Central when the Golden Knights scored 39 points, neither of these teams had given up more than 21 points in any game all year. Both defenses left much to be desired, and there wasn’t a single big stop all evening.Delmar marched downfield with time running out in the first half. After a first down play that put the Wildcats on the Viking one yard line, Johnson was making motions to his team that he was going to spike the ball to stop the clock with just 30 seconds to go and give them time to set up an offensive play.But head coach David Hearn had other plans. Johnson described what happened: "I was getting ready to spike the ball and Sean (Hudson) ran up and whispered in my ear to follow him on a sneak. So that’s what I did."Hudson lined up right next to Johnson in what looked like a protective formation. But, as quickly designed, Johnson followed the younger Hudson into the endzone to give the Wildcats a 28-20 halftime lead.Delmar racked up 421 yards rushing in the game with 223 coming in the first half. Johnson had 128 of them himself.With a minute remaining in the third quarter, Johnson scored his third touchdown of the game on a seven yard run. Since both offenses had seemed to be slowed down after halftime defensive adjustments, the game was looking out of reach for the Vikings.Fletcher, Swarter, Sulecki, Durney and the rest of the Vikings had other plans. Swarter’s 26 yard touchdown at the beginning of the fourth quarter put the Vikings within a touchdown of tying the game.Then on the next Delmar drive on a third and six play from their own 32 yard line, a play that will live on in the Viking defenders minds unfolded. A handoff to Ian Hudson up the middle was thwarted by the Vikings and the defense, led by Fletcher and Roman Schurga, began pushing Hudson backwards. The sideline judge put the whistle in his mouth and started running toward the pile and then Hudson broke free from the pack.The oldest of three Hudson brothers on the team began a 68 yard dash down the Viking sideline with Vikings in a halfhearted pursuit since they thought the play was blown dead. The play wasn’t brought back and the Wildcats were back on top by two touchdowns.The Vikings and their sideline were livid and attracted two unsportsmanlike penalties after the play. It went unmentioned after the game by both teams, but with six minutes left in the game it was a monstrous non-call.It could have been easy to fold right at that point, but that wasn’t going to happen. On the next drive, Fletcher caught a Durney pass for 20 yards. Then Durney hit Sulecki with a real quick slant that the 5’9" 140 pounder took 43 yards to the Delmar one yard line. He dragged two Delmar defenders the final ten yards of the play on a show of determination that was typical of this team all year.Durney snuck in from the one on the next play to pull the Vikings within a touchdown once again, although it was a series that possibly should have been the tying set of plays.Delmar couldn’t do anything with their next set of plays and the Vikings has another chance to tie the game with about two minutes to go.Lawrence Sinagra drove his helmet into the arms of Swarter to force a fumble that was recovered by Lamar Stewart on their own 35 to end the last Viking drive and give the Wildcats their first Division II championship since 1985.Wildcat head coach Dave Hearn said, "This was a great game played by two great teams. It’s a community win. This town has been great and this feels great. That team doesn’t know the meaning of the words ‘being down’, but neither do we."Johnson acknowledged Hearn’s sentiment about the Vikings. "They never gave up. That was a fun game and I’m just glad we were able to come out on top. I was able to see a few seams to take advantage of and that was big for us I think today."Johnson ended the game with over 200 yard rushing on 30 carries.Delmar 41 St. Elizabeth 34 Delmar (11-1)
14 14 7 6 - 41 Division I Semifinal Nov. 25, 2000 Golden Knights earn championship berth By Marshal Manlove GEORGETOWN- The Golden Knights of Sussex Central earned their first ever trip to the state high school football championship when they beat Dover 33-3 in a Division I semifinal round. Knight quarterback Blake Hershelman rushed for two touchdowns but didn’t throw a pass all game long.Running back George Davis rushed for over 100 yards and he ended the scoring in the game with an 84 yard touchdown run in the second half. Heavy rain began to fall shortly after Davis’ touchdown which dampened Dover’s spirits even further.Jack Roach was the defensive star for Sussex Central again as he recorded three sacks and stopped three running plays for losses.Dover appeared to score as time ran out in the first half when sophomore quarterback Collins Evans scrambled back and forth through the Knight red zone and into their end zone for an 11 yard touchdown. But a clipping penalty brought the ball back out. Knight cornerback Sean Milligan was tossed out of the game for retaliation on the play which offset the clip. That set up a Doug Oswald 25-yard field goal for Dover’s only points of the game.Andrew Weatherly took the second-half kick off down to Dover’s 20 yard line to squash any enthusiasm Dover was able to muster at half time. Weatherly was rewarded for his special-team efforts by getting his number called for a few carries; one that he eventually turned into an 18 yard touchdown.Davis, who was running with a limp from the second quarter on, didn’t show any signs of injury on his long run. He was limping due to an ankle sprain suffered earlier in the season. He still rushed for over 1300 yards for the year.The Golden Knights move on to face the Newark Yellowjackets, the state’s number one ranked team in every published poll. Newark took care of their semifinal round by trouncing Caesar Rodney 33-9. The Riders were the only team to notch a loss in the Golden Knights loss column all year.Besides the Riders, the Yellowjackets and Golden Knights had three other common opponents during the year. Newark beat Glasgow 40-0, Central beat them 32-6. Newark beat McKean 55-34, Central won 41-20, and Newark beat Christiana 29-6 while the Knights won 33-6. It should be an interesting first trip to the finals for John Wells and the Golden Knights.Sussex Central 33, Dover 3 Dover
(9-2)
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statistics Division II Semifinal Nov. 25, 2000 St. Elizabeth 20, Middletown 6 Middletown (9-2) 0 6
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Division I Semifinal Nov. 24, 2000 Newark 33 Caesar Rodney 9 Team Stats Individual Stats Division II Semifinal Nov. 24, 2000 Wildcats spoil Blue Raiders return to playoffs By
Marshal Manlove DELMAR- Two punt returns in the first four minutes of the first Division II semi-final game proved too much for the Woodbridge Blue Raiders as the Delmar Wildcats advanced to the championship game with a 33-0 victory.One punt return proved to be all the Cats would need when Ben Passwaters tried to punt out of his own end zone. Despite a vicious Wildcat rush, that plagued the Raider offense all night, Passwaters managed to get a kick away, but it was off of the side of his foot.The ball took one high bounce at the Raider 13 yard line and dropped into the hands of Ian Hudson who simply hopped and skipped 18 yards for an easy touch-down.The Wildcats kept the Blue Raiders from advancing past the 40 yard line in the first quarter. Another four-and-out series meant another punt attempt by Passwaters. His second punt was a beauty, but it gave punt returner and quarterback Dustin Johnson enough time to survey the field and pick out his path downfield. He chose to make an abrupt right hand turn after heading up the left-hand sideline, and then sprinted completely untouched down the right side line for a 66 yard touchdown.Woodbridge couldn’t get on track all night and only managed 44 total yards, most of them coming on a Jamil Young pass to tight end Allen Neal on a second half 23 yard play.Dustin Johnson added a third touchdown in the first quarter when he dove in from four yards away. Ian Hudson scored two more times in the third quarter diving in from a yard and scoring from 25 yards away. He ended the game with 146 yards on 14 carries.The Blue Raiders deep receiving threat Jeremy Maddox was limited to just one catch for four yards, but Jamil Young didn’t have any time to throw the ball at all. Maddox, clearly frustrated, was tossed from the game after an unsportsmanlike penalty during the middle of the third quarter.Jamil Young finished the game with minus 14 yards on 13 carries for Woodbridge.The Blue Raiders finished their season at 8-3 with two losses to Delmar. The Wildcats will be making their first trip to the championship game since 1996 when they lost to St. Elizabeth following a 1995 loss to Lake Forest in 1995.
Delmar 33 Woodbridge 0 Woodbridge (8-3)
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