Henlopen Conference

The Henlopen Conference is a high school sports conference comprising public schools in Kent County and Sussex County in lower Delaware. The teams participate in a variety of sports including football, boys and girls soccer, track and field, cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls indoor track, boys and girls outdoor track, wrestling, boys and girls lacrosse, baseball, softball, cheerleading, boys and girls swimming, and field hockey.

Schools and Teams

The schools and teams that make up the Henlopen Conference are divided into two divisions. The Henlopen North Conference and Henlopen South Conference. Despite the name, the schools are not divided by geographical location, but rather by enrollment numbers, with the larger schools in the Northern Conference and the smaller schools in the Southern Conference. The Northern Conference is considered the more powerful and competitive of the two due to the size of the schools and athletic base. The conferences are re-arranged every few years based on enrollment numbers.

The schools and teams along with the city they are located in are:

Henlopen North Conference

Henlopen South Conference

Henlopen Conference Athletes Achievements

Henlopen North

Prior to 1969 there were no conferences, simply an overall champion. They were:
1968 -- Indian River
1967 -- Bridgeville
1966 -- Bridgeville
1965 -- Delmar
1964 -- Harrington
1963 -- John M. Clayton
1962 -- Millsboro, John M. Clayton
1961 -- Rehoboth
1960 -- Millsboro, Rehoboth
1959 -- Bridgeville

Note that of those pre-1969 teams listed above, only Indian River and Delmar still exist as school districts today, with Indian River's merger coming prior to the 1969-70 school year.

Total Championships:
Caesar Rodney - 19 (most all time in the North Conference, includes 1 win by Dover Air Force Base)
Cape Henlopen - 7 *includes 2 won by Rehoboth
Delmar - 10
Dover - 6
Indian River - 14 *includes 2 won by John M. Clayton (most all time in the South Conference with 12)
Lake Forest - 7 *includes 1 won by Harrington
Laurel - 5
Milford - 1
Polytech - 0
Seaford - 9 (6 in the North, 3 in the South)
Smyrna - 6 (1 in the North, 5 in the South)
Sussex Central - 7 *includes 2 won by Millsboro
Sussex Tech - 0
Woodbridge - 4 *includes 3 won by Bridgeville

Wrestling Championships

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* 1977 was the only year for a Division 1 North and Division 1 South outdoor track championship.
* Cape Henlopen won the first girls basketball championship in 1973.
* Dover won the first outdoor track championship in 1973.
* Milford won the first softball championship in 1976.

State Championships:
Caesar Rodney - 10
Cape Henlopen - 9
Delmar - 0
Dover - 10
Indian River - 1
Lake Forest - 6
Laurel - 0
Milford - 4
Polytech - 1
Seaford - 6
Smyrna - 1
Sussex Central - 2
Sussex Tech - 1
Woodbridge - 0

Overall State Championships

The total number of state championships won by Henlopen Conference teams in both boys and girls sports, in order of championships won:
Cape Henlopen Vikings - 35
Caesar Rodney Riders - 32
Dover Senators - 23
Lake Forest Spartans - 21
Seaford Blue Jays - 16
Milford Buccaneers - 10
Smyrna Eagles - 8
Sussex Central Golden Knights - 5
Delmar Wildcats - 5
Indian River Indians - 4
Woodbridge Blue Raiders - 4
Sussex Tech Ravens - 3
Laurel Bulldogs - 3
Polytech Panthers - 1
[http://php.delawareonline.com/sports/champs.php]

Notable Sports Alumni

* Walter "Huck" Betts of Millsboro was a pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Braves in the 1920's and 1930's, in the pre-draft years.
*Caleb "Tex" Warrington of Dover (Dover Senators) played center and guard for the Brooklyn Dodgers football team of the All-America Football Conference (the precursor to today's American Football Conference in the National Football League) from 1946 to 1948 out of Auburn University.
*Carl Elliott of Laurel (Laurel Bulldogs) played defensive end and wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers from 1951 to 1954 out of the University of Virginia.
*Robert "Spook" Jacobs of Milford (originally Cheswold, Delaware)(Milford Buccaneers) was a second baseman for the Philadelphia Athletics, Kansas City Athletics, and Pittsburgh Pirates from 1954-1956, is one of only two players in Major League Baseball history to go 4 for 4 in his first major league game (the other being Delino DeShields of Seaford, DE), and is a 1991 inductee to the Delaware Sports Museum Hall of Fame.
*Chris Short of Milford (Milford Buccaneers) was a pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers from 1959 to 1973, beginning in the pre-draft years.
*Carl Ergenzinger of Dover (Dover Senators) was drafted as a catcher and third baseman in the ninth round for the Houston Astros in 1965, the first year of the formal Major League Baseball Draft.
*Danny LeBright of Milford (Milford Buccaneers) was a pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, making the team in a 1967 tryout.
*Thomas Sullivan of Dover (Dover Senators) was drafted as a pitcher in the eleventh round by the Cleveland Indians in 1969.
*Randy Lee of Laurel (Laurel Bulldogs) was drafted as a pitcher in the 15th round by the Baltimore Orioles in 1970.
*Renie Martin of Dover (Dover Bulldogs) was drafted as pitcher in the 9th round by the San Francisco Giants in 1976 out of the University of Richmond.
*Ralph Jean of Dover (Dover Senators) was a pitcher drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 33rd round of the 1978 draft.
*Randy Bush of Dover was drafted as an outfielder by the Minnesota Twins in the 2nd round in 1979 out of the University of New Orleans.
*Robert Nichols of Delmar (Delmar Wildcats) was drafted as a pitcher by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 14th round of the 1980 draft.
*Julie Dayton of Laurel (Laurel Bulldogs) was first team All-American in lacrosse in 1980 and 1981 out of Longwood College, was a ten-year member of Team USA from 1980 to 1990, was the head field hockey coach for University of Virginia and Dartmouth College, and is a 2003 inductee into the Delaware Sports Museum Hall of Fame.
*Oliver Maull of Lewes (Cape Henlopen Vikings) was drafted as a catcher by the Baltimore Orioles in the 26th round of the 1981 draft.
*Mike Meade of Dover (Dover Senators) played fullback for the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions from 1982 to 1985 out of Pennsylvania State University.
*Bob Vantrease of Seaford (Seaford Blue Jays) was drafted as a pitcher by the Oakland Athletics in the 29th round of the 1983 draft out of the University of Delaware.
*Doug Willey of Bridgeville (Woodbridge Blue Raiders) was drafted as a pitcher by the Atlanta Braves in the 15th round of the 1985 draft out of Essex Community College.
*Warren McGee of Seaford (Seaford Blue Jays) was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as a pitcher after the 1986 draft.
*Delino DeShields of Seaford (Seaford Blue Jays) was drafted as a second baseman by the Montreal Expos as the 12th overall pick in the 1st round in 1987 out of Villanova University and is one of only two players in Major League Baseball history to collect four hits in their major league debut (the other was Milford's Spook Jacobs), had career totals of 1548 hits, 872 runs scored, 561 RBIs, and 463 stolens bases. He was named the Baltimore Orioles Most Valuable Player in 2000 and is a 2006 inductee into the Delaware Sports Museum Hall of Fame.
*Clarence Bailey of Milford (Milford Buccaneers) played as a fullback for the Miami Dolphins in 1987 out of Hampton University.
*Pat Wright of Camden (Caesar Rodney Riders) was drafted as a catcher by the Oakland Athletics in the 32nd round of the 1988 draft.
*Michael Neill of Seaford (Seaford Blue Jays) was drafted as an outfielder by the Oakland Athletics in the 2nd round of the 1991 draft out of Villanova University, won an Olympic Gold Medal with the United States Olympic Baseball team, won 5 state championships in Little League, advanced three times to the Little League World Series, 1991 Big East Player of the Year, and is a 2005 inductee to the Delaware Sports Museum Hall of Fame.
*Stoney Briggs of Seaford (Seaford Blue Jays) was drafted as an outfielder by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 8th round of the 1991 draft out of Delaware Technical & Community College.
*Mark Harris of Camden (Caesar Rodney Riders) was drafted as a shortstop by the Chicago White Sox in the 17th round of the 1991 draft.
*Ben Cephas of Seaford (Seaford Blue Jays) was drafted as an outfielder by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 27th round of the 1992 draft out of Delaware Technical & Community College.
*Frank Roberts of Seaford (Seaford Blue Jays) was drafted as a pitcher by the Florida Marlins in their inaugural draft in 1993 in the 72nd round (the draft was extended for the expansion teams).
*Brad Lee of Lewes (Cape Henlopen Vikings) was drafted as an outfielder by the Texas Rangers in the supplemental draft in 1994 out of Delaware Technical & Community College.
*Brian Miflin of Lewes (Cape Henlopen Vikings) was drafted as an outfielder by the New York Mets in the 50th round of the 1994 draft out of Delaware Technical & Community College.
*Mike Riley of Seaford (Seaford Blue Jays) was drafted as a pitcher by the San Francisco Giants in the 16th round of the 1996 draft out of West Virginia University.
*Lovett Purnell of Seaford (Seaford Blue Jays) was drafted as a tight end and wide receiver by the New England Patriots in the 7th round of the 1996 draft and played for the Baltimore Ravens as well, was drafted by the Chicago White Sox, was captain of the West Virginia University football team and named to the WVU All-Century Team, named All-Big East, and played in Super Bowl XXXI, and was a 2007 inductee into the Delaware Sports Museum Hall of Fame. [http://www.desports.org/inductees-2007.html]
*Erik McLaughlin (Polytech Panthers) was signed by the Atlanta Braves after a try-out in 1996.
*Rob Meyers of Felton (Lake Forest Spartans) was signed by the Minnesota Twins after a try-out in 1997.
*Dave Williams of Camden (Caesar Rodney Riders) was drafted as a pitcher by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1998.
*Luke Petitgout of Georgetown (Sussex Central Golden Knights) was drafted as an offensive lineman by the New York Giants as the 19th overall pick of the 1999 draft out of the University of Notre Dame.
*Ian Snell (aka Ian Oquendo) of Dover (Caesar Rodney Riders) was drafted as a pitcher by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 26th round in the 2000 draft.
*Mark Comoli of Millsboro (Indian River Indians) was drafted as a pitcher by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 25th round of the 2001 draft out of Delaware Technical & Community College.
*Isiah Wright of Dover (Dover Senators) was drafted as a pitcher by the Montreal Expos in the 15th round of the 2002 draft.
*Shawn Phillips of Laurel (Laurel Bulldogs) was drafted as a pitcher by Texas Rangers in the 2004 draft out of Delaware State University.
*Derrick Gibson of Seaford (Seaford Blue Jays) was drafted as a shortstop and pitcher by the Boston Red Sox in the 2nd round of the 2008 draft.
*Theodis Bowe of Ellendale (Milford Buccaneers) was drafted as a center fielder by the Cincinnati Reds in the 21st round of the 2008 draft.
*Professional wrestlers Jamin and Mark Pugh, the Briscoe Brothers, of Laurel (Laurel Bulldogs) received honorable mention all-state for football in both their junior and senior years of high school.

References