Middletown 25, Sussex Central 12
The Golden Knights couldn't extend the school's state tournament streak to four straight years as their season ended at 8-2 overall with a loss in a non-conference game that gave the final Division I state tournament slot to Middletown on Friday, Nov. 21, 2003.
Central led the game 12-0 at halftime and 12-6 into the fourth quarter before Middletown erupted for three touchdowns in the final 3:36 on its home field.
The Knights trailed only 13-12 with 3:36 left in the game and even after Middletown's third touchdown, trailed just 19-12. But a Knight fumble on the ensuing kickoff gave the ball right back to Middletown, which capped an 8-2 regular season with the game-clinching score.
In the first half, Central thwarted Middletown drives with three interceptions while scoring a pair of second quarter touchdowns.
An interception by defensive back Jeremy Baker thwarted a Middletown drive at the Central 5 and after three plays put the Knights back at their own 3, running back Will James raced 97 yards on third down for a 6-0 lead with 10:10 left in the period.
The Knights then forced a Middletown punt and embardd on a 12-play, 61-yard drive capped by Pierre Louis' 11-yard run. The Knights had another opportunity to score after a Louis interception at the Middletown 23 but failed to capitalize.
Central would keep the Cavaliers out of the end zone the rest of the first half with an interception by James.
Central dominated the first half but managed only 35 of its 193 total yards in the second half. In the first half, the Knights held Middletown to just 71 yards, including minus-3 in the second quarter.
James led the Knight ground game with 120 yards on 8 carries. Louis added 62 yards on 11 attempts.
Darnelle Farrare rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns to lead Middletown, which reached the Division I tournament for the second consecutive year. The Cavaliers had been to the Division II tournament the six previous years.
It was the second consecutive year that Middletown has beaten the Knights in the regular season finale.
Middletown will face top seed St. Mark's in the semifinals, while Henlopen Conference Northern Division champion Caesar Rodney, the third seed, will visit No. 2 Newark. Times and dates will be determined on Sunday, Nov. 23.
Sussex Central 44, Wicomico (Md.) 22
The game didn't mean anything to the Golden Knights' chances for a Henlopen Conference Northern Division title, but the nonconference win on Friday, Oct. 31, was important to possible state tournament seedings or an at-large berth.
The Knights jumped all over the visitors from Salisbury, Md., in preparation for their showdown with Caesar Rodney on Friday, Nov. 7, for the Henlopen North crown.
In rising to 7-0 overall for their third best start in the past five seasons, the Knights jumped out to a 21-0 first quarter lead and expanded the advantage to 24-0 by halftime on a 32-yard field goal by Danny Milam.
The Knights built their big advantage on two touchdowns by Pierre Louis, who scored on a 27-yard run and a 28-yard pass from quarterback Vance Collins, and a 7-yard run by Will James.
Central expanded the advantage to 31-0 in the third period on a 15-yard pass from Collins to Louis. After a Wi-Hi touchdown, the Knights responded with a 1-yard run by Jon Bowman.
Wi-Hi then scored two more touchdowns before Central got a 14-yard run by Cleveland Hagans to finish the scoring.
The Knights will now concentrate on their game with visiting Caesar Rodney at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 7 for the Henlopen North crown and the automatic Division I state tournament berth that goes with it.
Central will enter the game with a 4-0 record in the North, while CR comes into the contest with a 3-0 North record. Central has won the last two contests against the Riders, who ruined unbeaten seasons for Central in 1999 and 2000.
Sussex Central 16, Dover 6
The Golden Knights shut the Senators down to remain unbeaten in the Henlopen Conference Northern Division and overall. For details, click the score above.
Sussex Central 14, Cape Henlopen 6
The Golden Knights set themselves up for a run at a second consecutive Henlopen Conference Northern Division title with the win on Friday, Oct. 17.
In rising to 3-0 in the North, the Knights will now prepare for a tough three-game stretch that includes a game at Dover on Friday, Oct. 24, and a home game against Caesar Rodney on Friday, Nov. 7.
Dover and CR are also unbeaten in the conference and represent Central's two remaining challengers for the North crown it won last season.
Now 6-0 overall, the Knights had a more difficult time than expected with Cape Henlopen, but three Cape turnovers gave Central just what it needed to remain unbeaten.
The Knights took advantage of a Cape fumble at the Central 46-yard-line late in the first half as running back Will James capped a 54-yard drive with a 3-yard run that made it 7-0 with 2:41 left before halftime.
In the second half, Central made Cape pay for another turnover -- this one an interception by Knight lineman Charles Stanfield at the Cape 48 -- as quarterback Vance Collins connected with wide receiver Tyler Scott on a 41-yard touchdown pass for a 14-0 lead.
Scott then intercepted a pass at the Knight 1 to preserve the advantage before Cape was able to score in the fourth quarter.
Collins went 3-for-5 in the air for 97 yards. He also added 53 yards on the ground.
Running back Pierre Lewis led the ground game with 73 yards, while Cleveland Hagans and James added 63 and 51 yards, respectively.
Sussex Central 42, Seaford 7
The Golden Knights started fast and finished fast in a Henlopen Conference Northern Division triumph on Friday, Oct. 10.
In recording its highest point total this season, Central stormed out to a 21-0 second-quarter lead on touchdown runs of 33 yards by Cleveland Hagans, 20 yards by Will James and 75 yards by Pierre Louis.
The Knight offense stalled after that, though, as Seaford cut the gap to 21-7 by halftime and played the Knights evenly in the third quarter.
The Knights exploded again in the fourth period, however, as they got TD runs of 38 and 17 yards from Lewis and 71 yards by James in the final quarter.
Lewis finished with 152 yards rushing, while James was a close second with 138 yards on the ground.
The Knights are now 2-0 in the Henlopen North and 5-0 overall.
Sussex Central 20, Sussex Tech 10
The Golden Knights bounced back from a 10-0 first half deficit to subdue their cross-town rivals on Friday, Oct. 3. Click the score for details including video clips.
Sussex Central 21, Christiana 15
The Golden Knights held on to the nonconference victory after mounting a 21-0 halftime lead to remain unbeaten.
Central took its 21-0 lead into the locker room after quarterback Vance Collins scored on a 60-yard jaunt.
Running backs Will James and Pierre Louis had put the Knights on the board earlier with touchdown runs of 5 and 4 yards, respectively.
Now 3-0 heading into Henlopen Conference Northern Division play, the Knights relied on run, with Louis rushing for 86 yards on 22 carries to lead a ground attack that accounted for all of Central's 243 yards of offense.
Christiana, which fell to 1-2, came back in the second half on a pair of touchdown passes by quarterback Paul Freel to Sedale Truitt and Ken Hall. The 86-yard strike to Hall brought Christiana within 21-15 with 9:22 left in the game.
The Knights stiffened after that, though, and forced a fumble and stopped Christiana on a fourth-down conversion attempt.
Sussex Central 30, McKean 0
Photo: Juree Turlington (2) runs behind guard Kevin VanVorst (51) and tight end Spencer Booth (48) and quarterback Vance Collins (9) confers with head coach John Wells.
The Golden Knights showed no rust from the Hurricane Isabel layoff as they scored 14 points en route to the nonconference rout.
Now 2-0 overall, Sussex Central struck quickly in the first period on a 1-yard plunge by halfback Will James and an 80-screen pass from quarterback Vance Collins to halfback Cleveland Hagans.
The Knights took a 23-0 halftime lead when James scored on a 15-yard run and kicker Danny Milam booted a 37-yard field goal in the second period.
Central added its final score on a 44-yard interception return by Jeremy Baker in the third quarter.
"I was real tickled with our defense," said Central head coach John Wells of a unit that held McKean to less than 75 yards of total offense and has allowed only 6 points in its first two games.
"Our offense performed pretty well. We had some penalties and fumbles, but they played well. Vance ran the offense very well."
Collins finished with 6 completions in 10 attempts for 161 yards and one touchdown. Tight end Spencer Booth caught 3 of those passes for 42 yards.
The Knights churned out 195 yards on the ground, with Hagans carrying 9 times for 70 yards, James 12 times for 61 yards, and Juree Turlington 7 times for 46 yards.
Sussex Central 16, Indian River 6
The Golden Knights started their 2003 season with a come-from-behind nonconference win over their district rivals on Friday, Sept. 12.
Unlike the previous four years, when the Knights beat Indian River by a combined score of 180-32, Central had to bounce back from a 6-0 deficit in the third quarter Friday night.
After the Indians took their 6-0 lead, the Knights bounced right back with a drive capped by Pierre Louis' 27-yard touchdown run. Danny Milam's extra point kick then gave Central the lead for good at 7-6.
The Knights got some breathing room when quarterback Vance Collins scored on a 4-yard keeper, and put the game away with a safety when Spencer Booth sacked IR quarterback Grant Hastings in the end zone.
2003 Video Clips
