Sports

For the better part of this decade, the seasonal match-up between Indian River High School and Delmar has decided which of the two teams would clench the Henlopen Southern Division championship.

With their eyes fixed on the state title, the Indian River varsity soccer team is proving they are quite capable of reaching it — though they still have a few more tests before the tournament.

As the high-school volleyball season closes in on the final four match-ups, the Lady Indians are doing what they can to regain their footing and finish strong. In their past four matches, Indian River has failed to capture a single game, slipping to Symrna last Tuesday, 3-0.

Emotions ran high as a physical duel between Caesar Rodney and Indian River ensued on the pitch this past Tuesday night. But as the final whistle blew, after nearly an hour and a half of soccer, a relieved Caesar Rodney team walked away triumphant, serving the Indians their first loss of the season.

It’s been three years since the Indian River football program has recorded a season win over southern rivals Delmar. For the past two years, the Wildcats captured the Henlopen Southern division championship thanks to victories over the Indians. In those years, the Indians have entered the matchup with an undefeated record.

Four goals are all the Indians have managed to let up in the first seven games of the season, averaging over three goals each game. Not surprisingly, Indian River is dominating the conference with their undefeated record as they approach the season’s midpoint.

They may only be approaching the fourth week of the season, but the Indian River football team is presenting themselves as a force to be reckoned with, and one that may have the best shot at not only the conference title, but states, as well.

The Lady Indians’ volleyball team dropped their its first home game of the 2008 season on Tuesday, Sept. 24, as the Panthers of Polytech worked the ball across the net. Following the five consecutive road games that opened the schedule and netted Indian River a 2-4 record, Indians head coach Jess Dodd was hoping for a sense of comfort from the girls as they took to their home court.

Early ferocity on the pitch is the name of the game for the Indian River soccer team this year. Last Thursday, the Indians managed only a tie against a strengthened Dover team, backed by goalkeeper Cameron Lucas. But, since then, they’ve dominated the field, outscoring their last two opponents with a combined count of 10-1.

Indian River football has managed to outscore their Washington High opponents 99-6 in the past two years, though, head coach Jim Bunting is determined not to let the comforting scores get the best of his players this Friday, Sept. 19, as the Indians host the Princess Anne, Md., team.

Progressively improving teamwork and utilizing that teamwork don’t seem to be paying off yet for the Indian River field hockey team. After falling to Dover in their season-opener a week ago in the last two minutes of the game and letting a second goal slip in last Thursday to give Seaford a 2-1 victory, the Lady Indians’ unfortunate streak continued on Tuesday, Sept.

Dreary weather couldn’t hold off the Indians on the pitch as they rallied a 3-0 win under the lights this past Tuesday against Cape Henlopen to start the 2008 soccer season. Then again, when you outshoot your opponent 24 to 3, good things are bound to happen.

If there’s one thing Indian River’s football team knows, it’s the importance of starting the season off right. Over the past two years, their victories in the schedule opener against Cape Henlopen have proven vital, awarding them bids into the state tournament.

Stepping in as a new coach in a sport you haven’t exactly mastered is never a simple thing to do, but in his fifth year as head soccer coach at Selbyville Middle, Neal Barch is once again making the position look like second nature.

For Jesse Bare and Tim Clauson, two teachers at Selbyville Middle School, it’s all about the students. In the classroom, they help students excel in learning, but what they accomplish outside the classroom is even more impressive.