By Andy Walter

WILMINGTON — Wakeup time came early for Mikey Frederick on Saturday.

By 6:30 a.m., the Cape Henlopen High senior was out of bed, getting ready to play a lacrosse game.

But that’s what it’s like when you live at one end of the state and the game is being held at the other end — at 11:30 a.m.

“The preparation sets in the day before,” said Frederick, “with getting a good night’s rest, waking up early, getting something to eat and getting locked in for the game.”

Clearly, the morning road game didn’t bother the No. 5 Vikings as they dispatched fourth-seeded Delaware Military, 19-2, in the DIAA boys’ lacrosse state quarterfinals.

Cape Henlopen led 13-0 by halftime with Frederick netting six of those goals.

It’s the second year in a row that the tournament point system left the Vikings seeded lower than most people think they should be. At 14-3, Cape’s only in-state loss this spring is to perennial power Salesianum.

The seeding isn’t that big a deal, of course, except it means the Vikings have to play a high percentage of road games in the tournament.

Last year, Cape Henlopen had to play at DMA and Sanford before reaching the state finals. Now, after playing at DMA again, the Vikings will be back in New Castle County on Wednesday night for the state semifinals.

In a doubleheader at Wilmington’s Abessinio Stadium, Cape Henlopen will face top-seeded Archmere (16-1) at 5:30 p.m. with No. 2 Salesianum and No. 3 Sanford squaring off at 7:30 p.m.

Vikings coach Mark D’Ambrogi said he doesn’t make a big deal about the road trips with his players. Wednesday’s contest will be Cape Henlopen’s ninth road game of the season.

“This group of guys has been pretty good no matter where we’ve played or what time,” said D’Ambrogi. “It’s interesting because they don’t seem like they need a lot of time to warm up. They do a good job of being ready when we get off the bus. We take them to interesting places so we’re accustomed to it.

“We don’t spend a lot of time worrying about the stuff that doesn’t matter. We’ve just got to do what we’re supposed to do. And we played well today.”

After downing DMA 21-4 in last year’s quarterfinals, Cape Henlopen was up 17-0 on Saturday before the Seahawks (12-4) netted their first goal in the final minute of the third quarter.

Besides Frederick, Luke Burton (4 goals, 1 assist), Joseph Coveleski (3 goals) and Jacob Schell (2 goals, 1 assist) were also multiple-goal scorers for the Vikings.

But, even though he didn’t score a goal on Saturday, faceoff specialist C.J. Fritchman also played a big role in Cape Henlopen grabbing the momentum and keeping it. The junior won 14 of 17 faceoffs on Saturday.

Early in the second quarter, the Vikings reeled off three goals in a span of just 31 seconds after Fritchman kept giving them possession.

“C.J., all season long, has done a really good job of answering the challenge regardless of our opponent,” said D’Ambrogi. “You never want to take it for granted. We’re lucky.

“It makes a big difference. The most important thing for us is, it allows us to get the momentum at times before the other team can snatch it back.”

“It helps get us possessions,” said Fritchman, who is also a standout wrestler for Cape. “I was just kind of thrown in there. I just try to keep the same routine with faceoffs.”

Against No. 1 Archmere, Cape Henlopen will be the underdog again — on paper. But, while they respect the Auks, Frederick said they don’t spend any time thinking about seeding.

“It’s really just numbers to us,” he said. “We try to treat everybody the same. We try to focus on ourselves primarily — just getting better.

“I love this team. I’ve grown up with all these guys, I’ve played with them my entire life. It’s my senior year so, one last dance.”

Sports editor Andy Walter can be reached at 741-8227 or walter@iniusa.org.
Follow on Twitter at @DSNSports.