Sports

Indian River’s varsity soccer team sputtered then accelerated past Delmar on Nov. 8 to earn their first state tournament win of the 2005 season.

The Indian River High School soccer team is the new Henlopen champions, after defeating Milford 2-1 on Nov. 1.

Indian River’s head volleyball coach, Jess Dodd, set high goals for his team this year, and they’ve achieved. They won the Southern Division in its first year of existence and improved upon last year’s losing season to notch a 11-7 record.

Achieving continuity on the football field isn’t an easy task — 11 players start on each side of the ball, and coordinating their movements into a cohesive unit takes time.

Better lose now than later, said Indian River offensive/defensive interior lineman Phillip Townsend. Indeed, the football team lost their first game of the season, 21-9, against county rival Sussex Central on Oct. 28. The closely contested game hinged on each play, possession and, eventually, turnovers.

In a dash toward the finish line, the Lady Indians field hockey team lost a pivotal 6-3 game to Southern Division rival Seaford on Oct. 27 but rebounded to win their next two. That extended their record to 9-5-1 going into their season finale against Dover on Nov. 3 — a game that could determine their state tournament hopes.

The Selbyville Middle School soccer team loves the sport so much that most of head coach Neal Barch’s team play year-round through the River Soccer program or school ball. The skills developed over the years equate into an 8-0-1 record, a 4-1 win over Sussex Central Middle School on Oct. 27 and a match-up with Caesar Rodney syndicate Phifer Middle School on Nov. 3.

Delaware’s Old Tymers Naturals softball team came up just short of winning the Triple Crown of Senior Softball last week, falling to Seattle 11-10 in the gold-medal round despite owning a six-run lead going into the sixth inning.

Indian River’s varsity volleyball has achieved two of their three goals for the year: win more games than they did last year and win the Southern Division. But making the state tournament is on hold – for the moment.

Just 20 seconds into the game, Laurel’s Jeramy Bagwell took an Armand Brodeur’s pass 91-yards for a first-play touchdown against Indian River on Oct. 21. But the Indians would combine grind-it-out football with big plays to earn their seventh win by scoring 25 unanswered points, defeating Laurel 25-6 on Oct. 21.

The strong, driving weather associated with Hurricane Wilma and a rampaging nor’easter couldn’t edge out Indian River’s varsity field hockey team in their 2-1 victory against Milford on Oct. 25, but it sure did put them in a tight spot coming down the stretch towards the state tournament.

The Indian River varsity volleyball team set some goals at the beginning of the season but the main thing was to win the Southern Division and to regain respectability. The Lady Indians have won three of their last five matches, putting them in prime position to win the division.

Trailing Delmar 13-7 in going into halftime, Indian River’s head coach presented his players with a challenge: play your position at the highest level. Head Coach Jim Bunting assured his players that they would win the ballgame if they played Indian River-style football, and his players believed.

Caesar Rodney’s field hockey team hadn’t given up a goal all season until they met Indian River on Oct. 19. Caesar Rodney jumped out to a 3-0 first-half lead but the Lady Indians fought back to tarnish the Lady Riders shutout record and popped one in the goalie’s box.

Junior varsity is a chance for players to learn how to play competitively and polish their skills so when they finally get to varsity, they are ready.

Indian River’s JV volleyball team hung tough with Sussex Central (8-3) on Oct. 18. But, after winning the first game, the bottom gave out and they lost the next two games.