1998

Record: 5-4

Key Players: Jon Addison (QB), Jason Pardee (WR/DB), Anthony Viafore (FB/LB), Karl Guy (TB/DB)

Highlights: Delhi came into 1998 hoping to improve on the previous year’s 2-7 record, where they lost 5 games by a TD or less. With the return of the entire offensive backfield and WR Jason Pardee, things were looking much better. Delhi did suffer an offseason blow when WR Casey Cole was in a car accident and was not able to recover in time for football season.

Delhi opened the year with a good showing against BGA, winning by 2 TD’s, with Karl Guy taking one play 89 yards for a TD. Week 2 was all the more impressive, as Delhi took on a pretty good Greene team (that nearly beat Walton later on) and nearly had a shutout. Greene scored with the reserves in, but Delhi was totally impressive in a 38-6 route. Week 3 saw Delhi beating Sidney, but the loss that was suffered was severe – Jason Pardee injured his elbow and would miss about half the season, including the Walton game. Pardee’s absence was felt right away, as Delhi traveled to Hancock and lost 16-6. The passing game pretty much completely left the Dogs in this game.

Delhi traveled down route 10 to take on an undefeated Walton team. The Dogs made a strong showing, but Walton was just too much. Delhi found a small amount of success in moving the ball, penetrating once to the 20 on some hard running by Anthony Viafore. A 4th down pass went just off our TE’s hands in the end zone however. Delhi penetrated into Walton territory another time on a pass to Ryan Burns, but was not able to get much further. Delhi’s defense did a great job in reading keys and getting to the right spots, but they were simply outsized. Delhi’s starting inside LB’s were 170 lb. Jared Finkle and 150 lb. Ian Cook. While great players, they just had a difficult time dealing with Walton’s Chad Scott, a 210 lb. FB who was a state-level wrestler. It was a good Delhi effort, but Walton’s superiority in a few areas gave them a 22-0 win.

Delhi still had hopes for the playoffs, as two teams from the division were eligible. Delhi rattled off strong victories over Sherburne Earlville and Seton Catholic to set up the deciding game with Unatego. Both the Dogs and Spartans had one division loss, so the winner got to go to the playoffs, while the loser scheduled a crossover. Delhi again put in a good effort, but it was just a bit too little. Delhi moved the ball well between the 30’s, but couldn’t put it in the end zone very well and lost 14-7. Unatego went on to give state finalist Elmira Notre Dame a pretty good game in the playoffs, bowing out by a couple TD’s after being tied at 14 in the 3rd quarter.

Delhi closed the season at Tioga. After going down by a couple TD’s, the Dogs made a nice attempt at a comeback. After pulling within one TD, they forced a Tioga fumble and recovered. They couldn’t quite pull it out however, as they couldn’t move the ball more from there.

The 5-4 season was a sure improvement from the previous year, but perhaps slightly disappointing after the fast start. One curious stat is that Delhi won every home game and lost every away game that season.