Jajuan Sturgis caught a five-yard touchdown pass from Bradley Chavez with just three seconds remaining to lift Sussex Central High to a 37-33 win over Middletown in a dramatic Class 3A football showdown on Friday night.
The Golden Knights (2-0) had lost their last two meetings with the Cavaliers, including a 41-7 decision a tear ago.
Sussex Central’s last win over Middletown (1-1) was in the 2020 DIAA Division I state championship game.
Salesianum 29, Smyrna 0: The Sals scored a touchdown in each quarter before blanking the Eagles.
The victory was Sallies’ third in a row over Smyrna (0-2) since last season.
The loss marked the first time the Eagles have been shut out since the end of the 2013 season.
Polytech 23, J.M. Bennett, Md. 19: The Panthers opened the season with a road victory on Friday night.
Polytech is coming off a 10-2 campaign last season in which it made the DIAA state tournament for the first time.
First State Military 12, Wilm. Charter 7: De'Jere Johnson pulled in a desperation 50-yard touchdown pass at the end of the contest as the Bulldogs pulled out the victory.
Johnson caught the ball behind a leaping Force defender at about the 15 yard line and then out-ran several Charter players to get to the end zone.
First State, which lost to the Force in overtime a year ago, is now 2-0.
Charter held a 7-6 lead at halftime.
Laurel 37, Brandywine 0: Laurel won its fourth straight ‘Battle of the Bone’ to even its record at 1-1.
The shutout victory was Laurel’s first since 2022.
Indian River 54, AI duPont 0: The Indians built a 47-0 lead before posting the season-opening victory.
Junior quarterback Dylan Grise completed 3-of-6 passes for 117 yards and a pair of TDs with Jayvion Chandler scoring twice. Six players scored touchdowns for IR.
Delaware Military 19, Delmar 6: The Seahawks scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to break a 6-6 tie in the matchup of Class 2A programs.
Nathan VanZandt’s one-yard scoring run in the second quarter gave the Wildcats (1-1) an early 6-0 advantage.
Dover game canceled: Dover’s scheduled game with Canarsie, N.Y. was canceled on Friday because of transportation issues with the Brooklyn school.
The Senators (0-1) are next scheduled to host Appoquinimink at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.
FRIDAY'S SCORES
Lake Forest 21, Caesar Rodney 14
Dover vs. Canarsie, N.Y., cancelled
Sussex Central 37, Middletown 33
Laurel 37, Brandywine 0
Delaware Military 19, Delmar 6
Salesianum 29, Smyrna 0
First State Military 12, Wilm. Charter 7
Appoquinimink 45, Odessa 11
Tower Hill 27, St. Andrews 21
Saint Mark’s 14, St. Georges 12
SATURDAY'S GAME
Sussex Tech at Delcastle, 11 a.m.
NEXT WEEKENDS SCHEDULE
THURSDAY’S GAMES
Delmar at Cololonel Richardson, Md., 6 p.m.
FRIDAY’S GAMES
Games start at 7 p.m. unless noted.
Winters Mills at Seaford, 5 p.m.
St. Andrews at Early College, 5 p.m.
St. Elizabeth at Indian River, 6 p.m.
Appoquinimink at Dover, 6:30 p.m.
Red Lion Christian at Lake Forest
Laurel at Caesar Rodney
Delaware Military at Smyrna
Glasgow at Woodbridge
Conrad at Sussex Tech
William Penn at Milford
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Games start at 11 a.m.
Polytech at Wilmington Charter
Cape Henlopen at Delcastle
First State Military at Christiana
Lake Forest 21, Caesar Rodney 14
Caesar Rodney 0 0 7 7—14
Lake Forest 7 6 0 8—21
FIRST QUARTER
LF — White 11 run (Ellwanger kick), 1:15.
SECOND QUARTER
LF — Miller 4 pass from Parson (kick failed). 3:44.
THIRD QUARTER
CR — Jax. Timmons 26 pass from Jul. Timmons (Hinkle kick), 5:34.
FOURTH QUARTER
LF — Young 11 run (Parson run), 10:59.
CR — Viddy 28 pass from Jul. Timmons (Hinkle kick), 9:19.
Salesianum 29, Smyrna 0
Salesianum 8 7 7 7—29
Smyrna 0 0 0 0—0
FIRST QUARTER
SAL - Jasir Gaymon 14 pass from Brady McBride (Teel run)(.
SECOND QUARTER
SAL - Jay Burrell 56 fumble return. (Sebastian Hess kick).
THIRD QUARTER
SAL - Odell Teel 2 run. (Sebastian Hess kick).
FOURTH QUARTER
SAL - Noah Mix 21 pass from Brady McBride (Sebastian Hess kick).
Indian River 54, AI duPont 0
AI duPont 0 0 0 0—0
Indian River 27 20 0 7—54
Delaware Military 19, Delmar 6
Delmar 0 6 0 0—6
Delaware Military 0 6 0 13—19
SECOND QUARTER
DELMAR-VanZandt 1 run (kick failed).
DMA-Rice-Jackson 48 pass from Brantley (kick failed).
FOURTH QUARTER
DMA-Muhammad 23 run (run failed).
DMA-DeNigris fumble return (Appleton kick).
First St. Military 12, Wilm. Charter 7
Wilmington Charter 0 7 0 0—7
First State Military 6 0 0 6—12
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