By Andy Walter

Dan Candeloro announced that he has stepped down as head football coach at Caesar Rodney High.

The former Delaware State standout defensive lineman said on social media Wednesday evening that he resigned on Monday. He has coached in the school district for the past 23 seasons.

The Riders went just 1-9 this past season and 1-20 over the last two years in the state’s new classification system.

“I would like to thank the players, families, coaches, administration and our great community for their support throughout the years,” Candeloro wrote in his post. “I will always cheer for the blue and gold.”

Candeloro was CR’s head coach for the past eight seasons after replacing Mike Schonewolf in 2015. The Riders went 24-55 in that stretch, posting winning seasons in 2017 and 2020.

CR made the state tournament in both 2017, when it finished 7-4, and 2021, when all 11 teams in Class 3A went to the tourney.

Field hockey

Delmar 8, Wilmington Friends 0: The top-seeded Wildcats moved with a victory of their seventh-straight state title with the semifinal shutout on Wednesday at UD’s Rullo Stadium.

Delmar (18-0), which has won 114 games in a row, will face No. 2 Archmere (15-2) in the finals on Saturday at noon at Rullo. The Wildcats have allowed only six goals this season while posting 13 shutouts.

Jordyn Hollamon and Maci Bradford tallied three goals apiece for Delmar while Josie Hollamon and Laela Brown also scored. The Wildcats led 7-0 by halftime.

Archmere beat Tatnall, 1-0, in the second semifinal.

Boys’ soccer
Wilmington Charter 3, Sussex Central 0: Matt Capretto netted all three goals for the No. 3 Force as they topped the No. 7 Golden Knights in the Division I state semifinals on Wednesday night at Dover.

Charter will face top-seeded Salesianum in the state title game on Saturday at noon at Dover. The Sals beat Appoquinimink, 3-1, in the first semifinal.

The Force (14-2), who led 1-0 at halftime, finished with advantages of 10-2 in shots and 6-1 in corner kicks.

Justin Glasco made six saves for Sussex Central, which finishes the season 11-6.

St. Mark’s def. IR on PKs: Third-seeded St. Mark’s edged No. 2 Indian River on penalty kicks in the Division I state semifinals at Caesar Rodney on Wednesday night.

The Spartans will take on top-seeded Caravel in Saturday’s state championship game on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Dover. The Buccaneers beat Tower Hill, 2-0, in Wednesday’s first semifinal.

College basketball

WOMEN, Delaware State 66, Wilmington University 36: The Hornets (1-3) snapped a 31-game losing streak with the victory on Tuesday night.

The win was also the first for second-year DSU coach E.C. Hill.

Denijsha Wilson netted a game-high 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. She also grabbed four steals and three rebounds.

Freshman guard Savannah Brooks finished with 15 points while Tyshonne Tollie pulled down 13 rebounds, including nine offensive boards.

Defensively, the Hornets forced the Wildcats to commit 28 turnovers.
Delaware 63, VCU 50: Michelle Ojo finished with a career-high 15 points and 10 rebounds in the Blue Hens’ win on Tuesday.

Tara Cousins also netted 15 points while Kharis Idom scored 10 for Delaware (2-1), which out-scored the Rams, 38-22, over the second and third quarters to break open a two-point game.

College volleyball

Hens’ Mason named CAA’s top player: Delaware senior outside hitter Lani Mason was named the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year in women’s volleyball.

Mason earned a spot on the All-CAA first team while classmate setter Ezgi Basaranlar was honored as a second-team selection.

Mason is the Blue Hens’ second CAA Player of the Year since Colleen Walsh took home the honors in 2007. She led the nation in kills per set from Oct. 2-13 and currently ranks fifth with 5.10 kills per set.

Mason has collected double-digit kills in 19-straight matches, including posting five 30-plus kill (two consecutive) performances). That included a career-best 38 kills at Charleston along with a career-high 24 digs in the five-set victory.

Basaranlar leads the Blue Hens with 714 assists (9.78 a/per set). She dished out double-digit

College equestrian

Hornets in Top 10: The Delaware State equestrian team is nationally-ranked for the first time this season.

The Hornets stand at No. 10 in the latest National Collegiate Equestrian Association monthly rankings released this week.

Delaware State’s return to the national rankings was aided by its victory over then No. 9 UC Davis last week. The Hornets reached their highest ranking in team history at No. 7 during the 2021-22 season.

The Hornets will host Georgia in their next competition on Friday at the Dovington Training in Felton.

DSU’s Johnson honored: Delaware State senior Casey Johnson has been named the Eastern College Athletic Conference Horsemanship Rider of the Week after posting a score 76.5 in a win over UC Davis. She earned Most Outstanding Performer honors to help the Hornets defeat the No. 9 Aggies.

Sports editor Andy Walter can be reached at walter@iniusa.org. Follow on Twitter at @DSNSports.