The dark drama of technicalities wiped out by fate

The darkest hour is just before the dawn is a proverb traced back 300 years and that’s all you need to know. Sussex Tech field hockey coach Nancy Tribbitt can trace it back three years to the day after beating Brandywine, a win that meant a trip to the state championship game against Tower Hill. A clerical oversight on a senior player’s grades had Tribbitt self-reporting that a technically ineligible player got minutes in the Brandywine victory, and the DIAA responded by following the rules and taking Sussex Tech out of the tournament and reinserting Brandywine. The Bulldogs of coach Willie Miranda lost to Tower Hill in the title game, making them the only team to lose twice in a single-elimination tournament. Tribbitt, one of the nicest people ever to rock the teacher-coach world over a 20-year career, did not deserve the drama of darkness that came with that moment. No one did - certainly not the players and specifically not the senior girl. Fast forward two complete seasons and two state championships later and no one saw it coming, especially Tribbitt.

Coach in training - Carolyn Maull is many things; some, like me, may say the least of them being the assistant field hockey coach and head trainer/teacher at Sussex Tech. Carolyn, a 1989 Cape graduate, was an athletic trainer at Princeton and was with the Tigers through various national championship teams and also has been a trainer attached to the United States Winter Olympics teams and at the World Paralympic games with the USA team.

I asked Carolyn after the win by Tech hockey over Tower Hill where high school coaching ranks alongside her other accomplishments. “This coaching at Tech is the best ever; it ranks at the top,” Carolyn said. “Not because of the championships but just every day, working with these kids.

“We are a family, and I know everyone says that, but in this case it is true.”

Terps win NCAA field hockey crown - If you’re still reading this column after 300 words of field hockey, then you deserve a few hundred more. Maxine Fluharty is a scholarship player on her way to Maryland next year. The Terrapins won the NCAA field hockey championship Sunday, Nov. 21, with a double overtime 3-2 win over North Carolina. Maryland has won the title in 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010. The game was played in front of 2,300 fans. Here is a description of the game-winning goal: “With 2:10 remaining in the second overtime, senior Katie O’Donnell intercepted a pass from the Tar Heels. She sent it over to Frazer near the top of the circle and Frazer sent in a rocket shot for the game-winner.” Sounds similar to the Cape game, an intercepted pass resulting in a game-winning goal for a championship, and you know what? So what! It takes courage to take the field and there is always the risk that a final game-clinching play will result in someone looking for a place to hide. Cape hockey scored no goals in two straight semifinal losses in the state tournament to Sussex Tech. That is a storyline worth exploring, not shot by shot but just in retrospect. A ball being picked off and sent home is just something that happens to a team, not to any certain player.

Lewes Polar Bears - Established in 1982, I am the poppa; but Nov. 7, I was a no-show, eschewing the plunge in favor of a custom omelet and a front-row Eagles press box seat.

Showing up were Greg Mack, Kevin Rough, Connie Miller, Joe Egolf, Jake Egolf, Bruce Egolf and Brad Egolf. The Egolf sons came home and were on the beach for the birthday of Daddy Bruce. They are one cool pod of polar peeps.

Snippets -The Cool Spring Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl tackle football game will be at 10 a.m., Thursday, Nov. 25, on the football field behind H.O. Brittingham School in Milton. This game is fun to play or just watch and a great opportunity for photos. There is also a Black Friday Lacrosse Turkey Bowl Nov. 26, at Legends Stadium. The cost is $5, for which you get food and drink, the use of the field and officials.

The Central Connecticut men’s basketball team has started the season 3-0 for the first time since the 1998-99 season following an 82-74 victory on the road at UMBC on Saturday night. Senior Shemik Thompson, former Cape star, became the 32nd player in school history to reach 1,000 career points.

A bunch of Cape basketball players with coaches traveled to Catonsville, Md., to support Shemik.

Thanksgiving is about families, and the Pavlik family of Lewes with eight children, some of whom played sports at Cape and others at Sussex Tech, came in from far and wide to check out the state championship field hockey game. Top row (l-r) are Dave, Bre, Ryelan, Bethany, Conner, Cole and Kathy. On the bottom are Jenna and Logan. Missing is Theron, who didn’t think his horse could make the 2,000-mile ride from the big sky country of Montana.