Sports

The Indian River soccer program continues to excel as they sprinted past Worcester Prep 4-1 on Sept. 15 and shut out Milford 4-0 on Sept. 20 to increase their record to 4-0.

Field Hockey at Indian River has had a slow start this year. They’ve had field concerns that postponed a match against Milford on Sept 13 and have since dropped two games in a row, to Tatnall and Cape Henlopen.

Those who serve as officials for various sports have a thankless job. Making a good call for one team often means a bad call for the other, so throughout the game everyone is guaranteed to disagree on an official’s decision. Fans, coaches and players all have an opinion but it is the unblinking eye of the official that knows better than anyone.

The Indian River boys’ varsity soccer team won its first two games to put the team in prime position to make a strong run at the Henlopen Conference.
Two wins and having the opportunity to play all your players is an early season victory, according to Head Coach Howard Gerken.

Field hockey at Indian River High School took a brief hiatus on Sept. 13 due to what was considered unsafe field conditions by the Milford coach.

Indian River was scheduled to play Milford at 4 p.m. on Sept. 13 but their field was not ready for play, so the Bucs made the trek down Route 113 — only not to play at all.

Rushing offense of 319 yards means a few things: control of the line of scrimmage, tough running, and that one team has the ball and the other doesn’t — all of which makes Indian River Head Football Coach Jim Bunting happy.

Football, like all other sports, is a great barometer by which to gauge a person’s physical abilities, endurance, toughness, fortitude and desire.

Summer has come, and gone as quickly as she came. The air feels cooler and the leaves have a hint of fall color to them. Yes, autumn is here — signaling the end of the summer sports season and the start of school athletics and after-school programs. The boys of summer are gone, except for one last contingent: Old Tymer’s softball.

Millville resident Bob Lattanzi isn’t an average Joe.

On a warm Aug. 29 morning, 18 guys met on the old Indian River High School softball field for a little competitive play. Their intentions were to play seven full innings, but they cut the game short to five due to the heat as the Cherrystones cracked the Quahogs 11-8 for the victory in their over-70 softball league.

Selflessness in athletics is pretty uncommon. Great athletes want the ball in their hands when the game is on the line, or have visions or desire to be in the statistical hierarchy for their respective sport, but Indian River’s starting quarterback Eric Givans has no such desire. He only wants to win.

Who’s ready for some Pop Warner football? There are about 30 7-to-9-year-olds that have been waiting their entire lives to play organized football, and Sept. 3 will be their first chance as the Lower Sussex Pop Warner League kicks into high gear.

Last year’s .500 season was a bit of a disappointment according to Indian River’s Head Field Hockey Coach Pativa McKean, but with so much senior leadership on the field, the Lady Indians should thrive in 2006.

Indian River’s Head Volleyball Coach Jess Dodd has his team going back to the basics and, with that emphasis, the Lady Indians look to rebound from a sub-par 8-11 season and return to respectability in the conference.

Indian River Head Football Coach Jim Bunting is adding a little spice to this year’s offense and will break out of their traditional run, run, run ground game — a little bit.