the Cafe
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in State Tourney
On Nov. 6, Cape Henlopen High School defeated Caesar Rodney 25-6 and all but clinched its second straight Henlopen Conference Northern Division football title.
But if the Vikings are to have any chance at winning a state championship, they will have to go through the Riders again.
Cape (9-1) and visiting CR (8-2) will meet for the second time this season in the Division I state semifinals Friday night, Nov. 27, 1998, in Lewes at 7 p.m. The winner advances to next weekend's state championship game to play the winner of the Newark-William Penn semifinal.
"We're just happy to have a home game," said Cape coach Brian Donahue, whose team holds the No. 2 seed in the tournament. "It's always nice to be home in front of your home crowd."
When the teams first met three weeks ago in Camden, Cape raced to an early 19-0 lead and cruised to victory. Quarterback John Howard completed 8 of 10 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns while running back Elijah Worthy rushed for 103 yards and another score.
The Cape defense also shut down a CR offense that averaged more than 37 points a game in the regular season. "We played pretty consistently," Donahue said. "We played well last time and did some things we had to do."
Cape's success in 1998 has centered around its defense. The Vikings gave up just 28 points during the regular season, an average of 2.8 per game. They also notched six shutouts.
"When you get in the playoffs, defense is the key," Donahue said. "We're going to have to be disciplined on defense and stop the big play."
Cape will likely focus on stopping CR quarterback Joe Schonewolf, receiver Jon Berry and an outstanding trio of running backs in Robert Young, Mark Razzano and Earl Hicks. The Vikings intercepted Schonewolf twice in their first meeting.
Donahue noted CR's attack has a strong emphasis on counters and bootleg passes.
"Basically, when you play CR, you're going to have to stop a lot of counters," he said.
On offense, the Vikings should rely heavily on Worthy, who is perhaps the best running back in the state. Worthy rushed for 1,262 yards and scored 27 touchdowns in the regular season.
Running backs Tim Cannon and Malik Lopez should also see plenty of action and Donahue promised to open up the passing game if CR crowds the line of scrimmage to stop the run. In the last two games of the regular season, Howard completed 15 of 20 passes for 249 yards and four touchdowns.
Cape reached the playoffs last year, losing to eventual state champion Newark 21-0 in the semifinals. But memories of that loss should be far away come game time.
"Certainly, the kids are excited to be back in the playoffs. I don't think they'll be thinking about last year at all," Donahue said.
The only other state tournament meeting between Cape and CR was in the 1979 Division I state final, which Cape won 37-6. The Vikings have won the last two meetings between the teams and will be looking to make it three straight Friday night.
I think it will be a pretty electrifying atmosphere," Donahue said. "It will be a good high school football game."
- What: Delaware Division I football semifinal
- When: Friday, Nov. 27, 1998, at 7 p.m.
- Where: Cape Henlopen High School in Lewes
- Tickets: $4 per person, can be purchased in advance at Cape Henlopen High School or at the gate the night of the game.
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(9-1, Henlopen North Champ)
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(8-2, at-large entry)
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