Putting a high school football schedule together doesn’t seem to be easy for anybody in Delaware these days.

This year, for instance, scheduling got a little more difficult for Henlopen Conference Northern Division teams when St. Mark’s High had to drop down to Division II.

A year ago, the Spartans played four of the North’s seven teams in football.

And that came after the growth of the Blue Hen Conference left upstate teams with fewer nonconference dates. Again Henlopen teams had to scramble to find games.

This season, Dover High found a couple nonconference dates with Dunbar and Baltimore Poly — which is hardly surprising considering that the Senators’ Dante Jones used to coach in Baltimore.

But Dover was left with just a nine-game schedule after another Baltimore school had to drop the Senators.

So Senator athletic director Aaron Harris, with the help of Lake Forest and Sussex Central, figured out a way to get Dover back a 10th game.

As things stood on Friday, the Senators will now play Lake Forest on Sept. 25. Once annual opponents, Dover and Lake Forest haven’t played in football since 2008.

In order to do that, Dover needed Lake to drop Queen Anne’s (Md.), which it was already slated to play on Sept. 25.

And the Spartans accomplished that by having Sussex Central pick up Queen Anne’s. Central, which also had only nine contests, happened to have its open date on Sept. 25.

Harris said the solution was in the works “for quite a while.”

“We were definitely looking to fill our schedule,” he said. “We’re happy to (have it filled) now so we can just get the season rolling.”

Harris back as AD

As the item above suggests, Aaron Harris has been rehired as Dover High’s athletic director.

He will also return as the Senators’ wrestling head coach.

Remember, Harris was only an emergency hire as AD last fall after Jeff Savage moved to North Carolina. There was also the question of whether Harris would be permitted to be both athletic director and a varsity head coach.

But, after interviewing again for the AD position this summer, Harris is happy to say the Capital School Board is bringing him back to both positions.

“It’s a great place to be,” Harris said about Dover. “The facilities are great and we’re going to do great things in the future. I’m definitely happy to be at Dover.

“We’re working hard, we’ve got our youth club going,” he said about the wrestling program. “We’re going to make some noise, we’ll see.”

Hens looking up

The voters in the Colonial Athletic Association preseason football poll figure Delaware still has some work to do.

The Blue Hens were predicted to finish only sixth in the 12-team league in the poll announced on Tuesday. But you’ll get no complaints from senior receiver Jerrell Harrison.

“I kind of like being picked low starting off the season,” he said in an interview on Bluehens.com. “A lot of us look at our team as underdogs. People don’t see us as serious contenders. But, as you can see from previous history in the CAA, a team that was picked eighth could win the CAA championship.

“I don’t mind it. I take it as motivation.”

Delaware reports for the start of preseason camp on Friday.

Odds & ends

• Special Olympics Delaware’s four athletes won multiple medals in Los Angeles at the Special Olympics World Games.

Bowlers Danny Yonker of Milford and Forrie Brown of Wilmington each won silver medals in the four-man team and doubles events. Yonker captured the gold in singles, while Brown placed fourth.

Swimmer Robin Long of Newark captured three gold medals and a fourth-place ribbon. Teammate Ginger Shaud of Rehoboth won two silver medals, a bronze and a fourth-place ribbon.

• It’s been a pretty memorable few weeks for the Garey family of Felton-Harrington Little League. Cole Garey (baseball) and his cousin Faith Garey (softball) are both members of the Kent County all-star teams that are playing in their respective Big League World Series.

Both Gareys are also the youngest players on their teams — they were just 15 at the Little League cutoff date.

• Mike Saloney, the manager of this year’s District I champion M.O.T. Major League baseball team, is a former coach at Dover Little League.
• There are 15 former Henlopen Conference players currently on Wesley College’s football roster this season.
• Wesley College recently announced its latest inductees into the school’s Athletics Hall of Fame. The 10-member class, which will be honored during Homecoming Weekend (Oct. 16-18), includes: Rob Frazier, Football (’98), Vandrick Hamlin, Football (’02), Anthony Johnson, Football (’06), Megan Marvel, Field Hockey/Softball (’01), Rick McCall, Golf Coach. Amanda Neff, Field Hockey (’06), Virginia Roma, Field Hockey/Basketball/Lacrosse/Cross Country (’05), Dave Treiber, Football (’74), Michele Yost, Field Hockey/Softball (’04) and Trevor Zimmer, Soccer (’06).
• Former Delaware offensive lineman Erle Ladson was picked up by the Cleveland Browns on Tuesday. He played in 48 games with 23 starts for the Blue Hens and also took part in the NFLPA Collegiate All-Star Game following the 2013 season.
• Delaware State’s football players report to school on Wednesday for the start of preseason camp.

Sports editor Andy Walter can be reached at 741-8227 or walter@newszap.com.