Coastal Point • Shaun M. Lambert: Indian River fans celebrate IR soccer’s state championship win in style with baby powder and hugs for all. IR won the game against Caravel 1-0.It’s almost as hard to believe as Tom Brady in a statement issued by his publicist. This Thursday marks the official end to the 2015 sports year, as we get ready to say goodbye to the Year of the Ram and usher in the Year of the… Monkey on the Chinese zodiac.
It seems like only yesterday that we were saying goodbye to 2014, which can only mean one thing: I’m getting old. And if I’m getting old, that means Point photographer and zip-off-pants enthusiast Chris Clark is getting ancient. In fact, he should be headed for the home any day now, which would leave me without a photographer unless I can manage to teach one of those Chinese monkeys how to use a camera by then (I mean if Chris Clark can do it…).
But while the Chinese zodiac hasn’t done many favors for the St. Louis Rams in a year wielding their name, it certainly held its fair share of excitement for the Indian River Indians and the entire Sussex County sports scene from start to finish.
In 2015, we saw the end of an era and the beginning of a new one when long-tenured Indian River football coach Ray Steele announced his retirement and handed the reins to one of his former players, head coach Phill Townsend.
IR soccer head coach Steve Kilby made not one, but two state championship appearances in 2015 — one with the girls in the spring and one that ended in another title with the boys this past fall.
Lower Sussex Little League sent all kinds of teams to states and regionals this summer, we finally got introduced to Pickleball, and, of course, a certain Coastal Point sports reporter who shall not be named did a lot of ram-headed things and, somewhat ironically, for the most part acted like a real monkey.
So with the clock ticking down on Chris Clark’s senior home countdown, we can’t afford to waste any more time in checking out what happened this past year, because before you know it we’ll be talking about 2016 the same way and the year of some other seemingly unrelated Chinese animal.
• January:
The beginning began like it usually begins (at least with “Tripple Overtime”): an obviously last-minute column thrown together recapping the events of the previous sports year, touting some lazy thoughtless title like: “2014 Year in Review: Bring on the Ram.”
But after that, things actually got pretty cool. The Indians picked up a win against Catoctin (Md.) at the Governor’s Challenge, and gave one of Maryland’s top teams a run for their money the following game. Sea Colony Tennis Director Thomas Johnston was named the USTA’s Delaware Pro of the Year, and just as impressively, his daughter Julianna Johnston picked up a No. 1 USTA ranking at just 10.
But the biggest story of January didn’t happen on the courts. Instead it happened at a school board meeting, when girls’ lacrosse advocates were finally granted permission for a junior varsity team the following spring.
Also in January: Chris Clark says he can’t shoot the Governor’s Challenge. Instead he’ll be “gem hunting” in India. For obvious reasons, I do not inquire further as to what he means by that.
• February:
After a certain Coastal Point sports reporter/“Tripple Overtime” author who shall not be named got February started off with a bang, putting together a well-structured and hilariously entertaining column about the new girls’ lacrosse program, the Indian River cheer team brought it on at preliminaries, taking second place and qualifying for states in the process.
And speaking of states, the Indians’ swim team qualified a whole bunch of swimmers and broke a whole bunch of records while bringing home South titles for both the boys and girls in the process. Then, of course, there was the whole “Ennis the Menace” fiasco, where Delmar grad Larry Ennis buried not one, but two-buzzer beating three-pointers, one from nearly half court, to send the game into triple overtime (great column, by the way) in a matchup the Wildcats eventually won 95-91.
Needless to say, unofficial IR Basketball cheer captain Queen Bratton didn’t know what the woo woo was going by the end of it, and the Tribe student section was going crazy, but at least Chris Clark was there to get some great photos… oh, wait…
Also in February: Chris Clark says he can’t shoot the rest of the IR/Delmar basketball game. Instead he’s going to the senior center’s Valentine’s Day Dance before the new pill he got from his doctor “wears off.” “Don’t worry though,” he tells me, “I doubt anything crazy is gonna happen.” I do not inquire further as to what he means by that.
• March:
March kicked off with a few notable individual achievements. Former Indians’ point guard Kei Juan “Skeeter” Major was selected for the Blue-Gold All-Star game, and wrestling standout Zeke Marcozzi took third at states after upsetting the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds at 160 and going toe-to-toe with No. 1 seed J.J. Currie.
The swim team broke a few more records up at UD, but not much else happened in March aside from spring sports starting up and my buddy Phill going “Liam Neeson” on everyone and potentially saving all of Sussex County from a “The Grey”-type scenario by keeping his coyote hunting skills in check.
Also in March: Chris Clark says he can’t shoot the state championships at UD. Instead he’ll be accompanying some of the senior center ladies down to Florida to “get his shuffleboard on.” I do not inquire further as to what he means by that.
• April:
The girls’ lacrosse team picked up their first ever win in their first-ever game, taking down the Salisbury School (Md.) 15-4. They’d continue that win streak all month long, and really all season long, racking up so many goals in the process that a certain Coastal Point sports reporter would have trouble hash-tagging them all in time on Twitter.
No problem, though. Because the Indians also launched their new sports app to help keep track of it all.
Also in April: Chris Clark says he can’t download the new IR sports app on his iPhone so he knows when to actually show up for games. Instead he’s going to keep the storage space for photos from the senior center shuffleboard trip to Florida. I do not inquire further as to what he means by that.
• May:
It might not have been so great for the city of Baltimore, but May was pretty good to the Sussex County sports scene.
The Indian River boys’ tennis team netted a South title when Mike Kramer and Kyle Evans rallied back in a tiebreaker to take down Milford and doused head coach Kelsey Waite in Gatorade to celebrate. Luckily, a Coastal Point photographer (obviously not Chris Clark) was there to capture the moment, but that wouldn’t be all May had in store.
The girls’ lax team went on to finish the season undefeated in a historic season, the First State Pickleball Club broke out the Bengay and knee-braces to get the season under way, and a young IR softball team managed an impressive end of season run to sneak into the playoffs.
Also in May: Chris Clark says that he can’t work during the First State Pickleball tournament. Instead, he’s going as a spectator to “check out the talent this year.” I do not inquire further as to what he means by that.
• June:
No Dew Tour? No problem. I had a historic state championship soccer game and pep rally to cover when the Indians took on Caravel to cap the spring sports season. They’d ultimately fall short of the title, but it was a heck of a ride anyway, and something tells me they’ll be back in 2016 for another shot at it.
Kicking off summer was RELYance Skim Camp co-founder and local pro Dave Bracht taking second-overall in the South Side Shootout, going up against some of the best skimmers in the world. Also kicking off summer, of course, is the first Bethany Skim Jam of the season, and Spencer Sturla represents the Indians at the Blue-Gold All-Star Football game.
Also in June: Chris Clark says he can’t shoot the state championship game even though it’s historic and everything. Instead he’s traveling to Guam.
• July:
Ah, summer. The sun. The beach. The nightly two-hours drives to Wilmington to for seven innings of softball.
While I would have probably preferred not to be on a first-name basis with Berta the toll-booth operator originally from Lancaster who made her way to Dover in what she claims was the ’70s but I had initially assumed was across the Delaware River alongside George Washington, it was all worth it to be there when the Lower Sussex Junior League team claimed another state championship. Looking back, I almost missed Berta’s 12-minute story about how her grandmother was a close personal friend of Susan B. Anthony on the ride to Georgetown to see the LSLL Major League team do the same thing two nights later.
Also in July: Chris Clark says he can’t shoot the state championship game, even though it’s historic and everything. Instead, he’s moving to Mongolia. He has an old map.
• August:
I don’t remember much of August, to tell you the truth. I do remember at some point breaking my collarbone. Then I remember going to the emergency room and being charged 40 bucks for a Velcro arm sling that broke almost immediately upon purchase. But after that everything just starts blurring into the ending of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”
I can’t tell you if I had imagined the big Indian guy throwing the sink through the window so that I could eventually escape or if that’s what really happened, but I can tell you that Coastal Point editor Darin McCann and reporter Laura Walter did an awesome job covering the Little League World Series in Roxana while I was out.
How they pulled it off I’ll never know, because it’s hard enough to cover every game with three people.
Also in August: Chris Clark says, sure, he can shoot the Little League World Series. No problem.
• September:
The new school year brought the new era of Indian River football as Phil Townsend made his debut as head coach of the Indians. Stealing the spotlight, however, was the field hockey team, when junior Lexi Haden knocked home a game-winning score in overtime to take down Sussex Tech in a thriller.
Also in September: Chris Clark says he can’t shoot Coach Townsend’s debut at Linganore, even though it’s historic and everything. Instead he’s headed Costa Rica to unwind from the stress of shooting the Little League World Series.
• October:
October was almost as much of a blur as August, even though I was finally out of my $40 sling.
First-year volleyball coach Jim Barnes picked up his first career win when the Indians came back to beat Milford to start the month, with Townsend going on to earn his own first career win during a Nor’easter against Seaford. That sparked a win streak and eventual come-from-behind homecoming victory against Milford before capping October with another division win against Delmar to keep their playoff hopes alive.
And the IR girls’ lacrosse team wasn’t the only new program to go undefeated in 2015. After getting the school board’s approval at the same meeting, the Selbyville Middle School Volleyball team showcased what they had been waiting for, by putting together a perfect 10-0 season under Coach Sally Craig.
Davina Baine and Sarah King both ran rampant on the way to two-touchdown performances at Powder Puff, where the seniors beat the juniors and we finally got to see Coach Steele back on the field — even with his questionable end-of-game calls…
Also in October: Chris Clark says he can’t shoot any sports scheduled on Halloween. Instead he’s volunteered to help fish out the dentures that get lost bobbing for apples at the senior center Halloween party. I do not inquire as whether or not they belong to him.
• November:
Selbyville Middle School saw their second undefeated season when the “Gang Green” held on to beat Millsboro Middle 14-6 and finish the season 7-0.
But after getting the season started off with some football, the rest of November was all about futbol, as Coach Kilby and the Indians’ soccer team put on a show. First, the Indians got back at Cape Henlopen to reclaim the Henlopen Conference championship, when junior Mikie Mochiam netted the game-winner in the 87th minute.
The “Mikie Magic” wasn’t finished there, however, as Mochiam tacked on another go-ahead goal late in a second-round playoff matchup against DMA. It was the defense that would prove to be the heroes of November, however, not giving up a single score on the way to IR’s second-ever soccer state championship. At the IR Soccer Banquet, junior Josh Timmons received “Goal of the Year.”
Also in November: Chris Clark says he can’t shoot the state championship soccer game. Instead he’s using the rest of his vacation days to unwind from the stress of shooting the one in 2013.
• December:
The swim team looks well on their way to another South title and ready to break some more school records already this season. Senior Mason Sanders has clocked in 0.03 seconds shy of the 50-freestyle record twice now, and senior Lauren McCoy is 0.05 away from a record of their own. Whether or not the time allotment has anything to do with Chris Clark’s camera flash or noise from his new “zip-off” pants to combat humid temperatures at Howard T. Ennis still remains to be seen.
Both basketball teams at IR got new head coaches, First State Pickleball is headed indoors to Lewes, and, this Tuesday, the wrestling squad will cap the 2015 sports season with the “Battle of the Beach” after Jared Arlett and Zeke Marcozzi both placed at the Milford Invitational.
Also in December: Chris Clark says, sure, he’ll shoot the swim meet at Howard T. Ennis. He’s got just the right pants for that.