Fatty and Fred are unsung heroes of Cape lacrosse

The question keeps being posed: Should Delaware scholastic sports separate the private schools from the public and have separate state championships? I respond with a big no, and I really don’t care how many boys in Salesianum uniforms live somewhere in southeast Pennsylvania close enough to drive to school. In girls' lacrosse the powerhouses had been Tower Hill and St. Andrew's until Cape joined the circle. There would be no sense of accomplishment winning a state championship without going through those teams to do it. Sanford beat the Cape girls in the basketball state title game and the buzz phrase was, “Yeah, but they recruit.” But Cape was poised for that win in the fourth quarter before going cold. Cape, like all public schools, has a unique and diverse recruiting base. If you look around the state there are not many public schools left that can crank out an array of solid and contending teams the way Cape can. Separate the private schools from the state tournament and you're left with an empty drum or what’s called the Blue Hen Conference.

Coach Fatty - Steve Aubrey was the head boys' lacrosse coach at Cape in 1998 when the team won its first state title, going 19-0 on the season. The man friends call Fatty then stepped back, preferring the solitude of protecting his cage, and handed the craziness over to Mark D’Ambrogi, who went on to win four state titles. Aubrey has been Cape’s goalie coach specialist/consultant for five boys' and three girls' state championship teams. Billy Brennan, Steve Spence, Franc Cook, Joey Tabler, Leigh Ann Redefer, Sarah May and finally Gina Voss have all benefited from individualized Aubrey instruction. And after Cape’s state championship win over St. Andrew's, Aubrey dove for deep water and did not appear in any celebration pictures, but trust me on this one: “No Fatty, No Banners.” Sing it reggae style.

Unsung Hero - Coach P.J. Kesmodel may be the zen master, but he looked slightly spent leaning against the team bus after Cape’s third straight state championship. Coach thanked his bus driver, the always upbeat Fred Harvey, and said to me, "Please find a way to mention his name. He has driven the bus the last three years. He’s great with the kids, is interested in them; they always request him as the driver. It’s all part of playing in a big game to see Fred driving the bus. He is a big part of this team.” And of course the flip side of this coin is if Cape loses a tournament game, there is always Fred to blame.

Boogie blitz - I’m going to guess Danny “Boogie” Hudson as a 1986 Cape graduate. He played on a Cape football team with Eddie Brown at quarterback, Billy Gibbs at wide receiver and Bobby Knox as a 1,000-yard rusher. I was the defensive coordinator on that team, nicknamed my defense the Rainbow Demolition - we had our own rap song written, recorded and sung by Rick Parsons - and some great-sounding calls like “Boogie Blitz,” in which Danny would bring the lightning and the thunder from his safety position. Danny was also one of Cape’s all-time great baseball pitchers; he had more junk than Fred Sanford and was quick to smile after striking people out.

Snippets - Sophomore Jalyn Maull was voted first team All Henlopen Conference as a utility player; freshman Tiara Duffy was selected to first team as an outfielder and junior Alexa Hendrickson received an honorable mention. Brothers Tom and Dave (that would be me) and their wives Nancy and Susan visited Beverly National Cemetery May 28 to pay respects to my parents, who are buried there. Later at the house where I grew up, my brother informed me that I had skipped the cemetery portion of the ceremony of my mother’s funeral back in 1978, electing to take all the kids to the recently opened Sesame Place. I have no memory of such a thing, but nephew Mike and niece Lisa swear it was true, and they thought I was the coolest uncle ever. National cemeteries are history museums; the veteran’s name appears on the front of the tombstone and the spouse and sometimes a child on the back. I like the way our military stands by its soldiers forever. Go on now, git!