Bits and Pieces 11 

  Happy Thanksgiving and happy high school football playoff time. 
  It's going to be a cold weekend and I won't look forward to that. Last year's championship Division I game was played in 60 degree weather which was just fine to work outside.
 It is still unclear where the championship games will be held. There is a chance that they could be played at Delaware, but don't root for that option because that will mean that the U of D will need to lose to play there.
 Delaware State University seems to be the more realistic site. But it will most likely be 20-30 degrees colder than last year which will mean fewer seats will be sold than last year's Newark-St. Marks game at William Penn high.
  Three of the four games are rematches of games already played this year. All three of them were no-contests for the winners; Delmar over Woodbridge, Newark over Caesar Rodney, and Sussex Central over Dover. If I were a prediction maker, I would say look for more of the same, but I'm not.
  The fourth matchup between St. Elizabeth and Middletown is a rematch of last year's final and is the most interesting. It would appear on paper that the Vikings are the biggest threat to Middletown's chance of repeating the state championship and increasing their streak to four state titles. But the Cavaliers have 17 kids over 200 pounds. That could be physically trying for the Vikes. But, perhaps, the Vikings speed could offset the lack of weight. One thing for sure is that those 200 pounders have the extra padding to keep warm this weekend.
  Sussex Central is lead by quarterback Blake Hershelman and running back George Davis on offense. Jack Roach, Jake Booth and Hershelman are the key defensive players for John Wells Golden Knights.
  Dover's offense is keyed by running back Pierre Bowers, and Jason Lilly, the junior end. Give Dover the edge for speed, but the Golden Knights for size and overall defensive ability.
  Newark is a juggernaut which was actually slowed down a little bit by William Penn. The Colonials are still feeling the sting of their loss to Salesianum earlier in the year which might have cost them their playoff spot this year particularly since Sallies didn't win the seven games necessary for Penn to earn an extra bonus point for the game. 
  Watch for another big game by the Yellowjackets.
  To be completely honest, I don't know enough about the Woodbridge and Delmar teams to speak with any sense. So, to make up for that, I'll travel to Delmar to tape that game for the TV show myself. It will be my first time to a Delmar home contest and I look forward to it.

  St. Marks senior Katie Park became a Spartan trivia answer last year when she became the first Spartan female to be on three state championship teams in one year. Park was a member of the Cross Country team, the Swim team, and the Soccer team. There have been many two-championship team players at the school, but never three according to athletic director Tom Rosa (one of the top AD's in the state.)

  Special thanks to Dave Frederick for making contributions to the website. Dave is a teacher at Cape Henlopen high school and is the sports editor of the Cape Gazette. We like his wit here and hope his efforts are appreciated by readers who understand that he has donated his work until such time as we can raise a dollar or two here and there.
  Thanks also to Dave Wilauer for sending in the Henlopen Conference Field Hockey teams. I haven't been able to find out how to get on the mailing lists for the all-state and all-conference teams for some reason. If someone has some pull somewhere, please let me know so I can get these things posted on the site as fast as people want them up here.

  In the next couple of days the first ever All-Heart team will be posted. There were 13 winners who were selected based on nominations sent in via e-mail. Check that page for instructions for the winter all-heart team awards which we may limit to 10-12 people.
  The awards ceremony will be December 3rd at 10 a.m. The location might be the Wyndham Garden Hotel in downtown Wilmington but I need to confirm that date. The place I originally scheduled decided not to keep their promise to hold the room for us, so I'm scrambling a little bit.
  The awards will be taped for the television show and those nominators have the option of presenting the awards or having someone else make the presentation who knows the winners in a more intimate manner than we do here. This could be a nice event to attend, so stay tuned for the announcement of the location.

  The Diamond State Games preparations are still going strong. We recently met with the Mayor and Town Council of Delaware City to officially propose and layout our plans for the Escape From Fort Delaware Triathlon. It went well and we are proceeding with the arrangements. Neil Semmel, the coordinator, has his work cut out for him because there are about six permits to acquire and some streets to close down with the assistance of the Chief of Police, Dan Tjaden. The swim will 0.9 miles from Peapatch Island to the shore of Delaware City, then a 25 mile bike ride and a 6.2 mile run. This is not for the beginning triathlete by any stretch of the imagination and will draw athletes from around the country. Our hope is to have 800 people jump into the waters on June 16, 2001 to attempt to take home their share of Gold, Silver, and Bronze.

  Take some time to check out the Beast of the East wrestling tournament's website at www.midatlanticclassic.org to see a list of some of the schools from around the country and lists of some of the outstanding high school wrestlers who will be competing during the weekend of Dec. 16 and 17. Delaware only had one winner last year, Bobby Shaw from St. Marks. He, Joe Ferrara (formerly of William Penn, now of St. Marks....yes, that's right) St. Marks Andrew Donofrio and Hodgson's Jordan Sianni are three Delawareans who might stand a chance at one of those coveted titles in less than four weeks. 

  As was the case when I took the Newark Post sports editors job last Spring, I won't write as much on the website for a while because I just don't have as much time. I'm writing this late Thanksgiving evening as it is. But that won't mean that nothing will happen here. There is something done every single day whether its scores, college news, lists, pictures, or poll changes. It's what gets done every morning. What will suffer for the most part is the Game of the Week section. But don't let that stop anyone from submitting a paragraph or two about a game that they saw. I'll gladly spell check it and edit what gets sent if need be so that section will be fresh for people to read.

  I had a couple notes about the new site design. (Three months after it was changed) It didn't go over very well for some people. But I was tired of the old design and the basic structure was getting difficult to manage. This new site is easier to update and file manage for starters. I also did get a proposal for a company to re-design the site and the charge was going to be 3000 dollars. The way I did it cost 0 dollars. The choice was simple.

  Until next time..

Marshal Manlove