IR punishes Central in Henlopen showdown, readies for state tourney
On Thursday night, Nov. 10, as Indian River prepared for the arrival of Sussex Central in a Henlopen Conference showdown between the Northern and Southern Division champions in the last game of the regular season, first-year head coach Ray Steele understood that there was not as much riding on the game for his Indians as there was for the Golden Knights. The 9-0 Indians had already sealed a top seed in the DIAA Division II state tournament bracket, regardless of the outcome.
Coastal Point • R. Chris Clark
Jermyll Jarmon runs past defenders in Indian River’s 47-17 win over the Knights.
But, as he had told his team throughout the schedule, you can’t go undefeated if you give up a loss. After a shaky first half, Indian River came out in the third quarter with something to prove, defeating the Knights 47-17 to give them their second loss of the season, and rounding out an undefeated year to finish 10-0.
Central put the first points of the evening on the board, opening the game with a field goal, but the Indians were quick to answer back as senior Jamie Jarmon’s quarterback keeper put Indian River in the lead, 7-3.
Late in the second quarter, on a punt attempt by the Indians, Central senior Dennis Davenport powered past the line for a big block, setting up a drive that allowed fullback Sha’Quandas Murray to rush for a touchdown that gave the Knights the 10-7 lead by the end of the half.
“We made some mistakes in the first half,” admitted Steele. “We needed to clean it up and put everything out of our mind. “I told our team we had to get that momentum back,” he added of the halftime break, “and they came out in the first drive of the second half. We got that rhythm with the offense. [Sussex Central] allowed us to get in that groove, and we stayed there.”
Jarmon kept the ball on another short run into the end zone, and the Indians pulled ahead, 13-10, followed by a missed extra point. Central responded with a strong effort, as James Booth’s touchdown reception put Sussex Central back atop 17-13, but the Indians’ defense refused to let that happen again.
Jarmon would find the end zone four more times, once through the air to Aarron Moore and three times on the ground, as the Indians outscored Sussex Central 40-7 in the second half. Two late interceptions by the Indians’ P.J. Kraushaar and Tim Roberts prevented the Knights from assembling a significant drive, allowing the Indians to seal an undefeated regular season for the first time in decades.
“This win means a lot to the whole team, because of the rivalry we have,” said Jarmon, following the victory. “We know a lot of those guys, and it’s always a smack in face if Central beats you. This game meant a lot to the team. It’s about pride.”
While Jarmon headed the Indians’ offensive pursuit, it was the defense that Steele highlighted throughout the team’s progression this year.
“Our defense has played tough in every game,” he said following the win over Central, “whether it was against Delmar, Lake Forest or tonight. [Our coaching staff] can get on them sometimes, but they show up for all the games. They have played absolutely tremendous. When you can shut Central’s wing-T down like they did, that’s something special.”
After claiming their 10-0 record, the Indians had their eyes set on the state tournament, but a top seed in Division II garnered them a bye the first week of post-season play, followed by a home game in the semifinals. Later this week, the quarterfinal games will determine the Indians’ next opponents.
On Friday, Nov. 18, No. 3 Caravel (10-0) will face No. 6 Delmar (9-1), then No. 4 Archmere (9-1) will host No. 5 Howard (9-1). Indian River is set to host the lowest remaining seed out of those two games on Friday, Nov. 25, while Hodgson, the No. 2 seed in Division II football in Delaware will host the highest remaining seed on Saturday, Nov. 26.
The victors of those two games will square off at Delaware State University for the state title on Saturday, Dec. 3.
From the start of the season, Indian River had plenty of naysayers who doubted they could garner a Henlopen South title, let alone an undefeated season and a top seed in the state tournament.
“People thought we had easy schedule as the year went on,” Steele noted, “but we beat Delmar, who’s 9-1, and we beat Sussex Central, who won the north for the second straight year. We’re a good football team, and our kids believed it. I’ve been saying all year. No matter what we ask them to do, we were seeing results, in every game, including this one.”
He added that, over the weekend, and on Monday, Nov. 14, the team could bask in the glory of their 10-0 record, but by Tuesday, it was back to work.
“I’ve told our guys: we have two games left,” Steele said. “We’ve got to prepare ourselves for the state championship. The one true thing about the playoffs is that, in the end, one team is left smiling and everybody else is going to leave with a defeat. We just want to be the ones smiling at the end.”
“We want to better ourselves, each day,” Jarmon added. “We’re trying to improve every day and keep the train rolling.”
