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It seems almost nothing, not even rain and muddy field conditions, can slow Cape Henlopen High School's quest for a second consecutive Henlopen Conference Northern Division football title.
In a steady downpour in Lewes Friday, Oct. 9, 1998, the Vikings routed Sussex Tech 31-0 for their second straight shutout and third in four games. Cape's fourth straight victory improved its record to 2-0 in the conference and 4-1 overall.
"It was very muddy. We tried to take shorter steps ... and just stay with the basic offense," said running back Malik Lopez, who rushed for 92 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown in the second quarter. "We just moved the ball and slowly got first downs, a couple big plays here and there."
The field conditions, which deteriorated as the game progressed, also couldn't slow standout running back Elijah Worthy, who ran for 174 yards and scored four touchdowns. The senior scored on runs of 12 and 58 yards and caught touchdown passes of 9 and 23 yards from quarterback John Howard. Worthy has rushed for more than 100 yards in each of the last four games.
"We wanted to come in and throw it a little bit more but I think that (weather) might have hampered us a little bit. I don't think we had any turnovers, so that's a positive thing," Cape coach Brian Donahue said.
"We should be a good rain football team. When we're playing in late October and early November we should be able to run the ball at people. We wanted to throw the ball 15 or 20 times tonight but the rain stopped us. We had an excuse not to throw it."
The Cape defense was also dominant for the fourth straight week, holding Tech to one first down and 44 total yards in the first half. In five games this season, the defense has surrendered just 14 points.
"Sussex Tech is a physical team, they have some nice size and I thought our kids were pretty physical with them," Donahue said. "We held them to maybe one or two first downs for three quarters so I thought we stepped it up again."
After a Tech punt on the game's opening series, Cape took over at its own 37 yard line and scored in just six plays. A 27-yard scamper by Lopez set up Worthy's 12-yard touchdown run, giving the Vikings a 6-0 first quarter lead. Worthy rushed four times for 36 yards on the drive.
Tech went three-and-out on its ensuing possession and Cape needed just six plays to move 61 yards and extend its lead to 12-0. After ripping off runs of 17 and 18 yards, Worthy hauled in a hitch pass from Howard, got a nice block from Lopez and raced 23 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown.
Cape then blew the game open by scoring a pair of touchdowns in the final five minutes of the first half.
Lopez scored the first on a 40-yard run with 4:16 left in the second quarter. Matt Hall, who missed his first two attempts, nailed the extra point to make it 19-0. The second score was set up by O.J. Wilson's 39-yard punt return to the Cape 31 with 1:49 to play.
Displaying good clock management, the Vikings swiftly drove for another touchdown. Howard's 9-yard scoring pass to Worthy with 12.5 seconds remaining made it 25-0 at halftime. Howard also connected with Tom Sheehan for 14 yards on the drive.
Despite the soggy conditions, Howard completed three of five passes for 46 yards. The junior sat out the second half after having the wind knocked of him on the first touchdown pass to Worthy.
Cape capped the scoring late in the third quarter when Worthy raced 58 yards up the middle for his fourth touchdown the game. With the score 31-0, the muddy field was turned over to both teams' reserves.
"We are very confident. We are just taking it one week at a time, one game at a time. We're just looking forward to Seaford next week," Lopez said. "We have great chemistry. Our line is blocking great, our backs are running hard and we're just having fun."
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