2007 Sees the ‘Dogs Return to Old Ways

The Delhi Football Bulldogs visited some familiar ground in 2007. After 2 very good seasons at a combined 16-5, Delhi returned to a record of 4-5, the same record the ‘Dogs had in 2002, 2003, and 2004.

The schedule initially looked quite nice for Delhi, with the first 4 weeks being against Liberty, Hancock, Cooperstown, and Harpursville. The ‘Dogs sputtered in week 1, but then got things going for a few weeks.

Delhi faced Liberty’s Indians, and their talented backfield of Trevor Tompkins, Dustin VanLieu, and Ryan VanLieu. The ‘Dogs were boxed around for 3 quarters, falling into a 26-0 hole. Delhi finally came alive in the 4^th quarter, as the passing game came alive, and Devon Bedient started to find some running room. The ‘Dogs fought back vigorously, with 3 Trent Kathmann to Luke Burns TD passes of 35, 34, and 31 yards. Delhi’s defense nearly made it even more interesting with a near stop with just over a minute to play, but Liberty’s 4^th down play got them the first, and the boys fell short, 26-22.

Hancock came to Delhi the following week, and Delhi needed to establish itself. Delhi came out strongly on both sides of the ball, giving up just 77 yards of offense and gaining 313. The attack was very well balanced, and freshman Jack Fletcher scored his first varsity TD on a nifty 7 yard run. The Bulldogs came out on top 28-8.

Cooperstown was the next opponent. Delhi again showed dominance statistically, though the scoreboard may not have been as lopsided as we would have liked. Another very well-balanced effort saw Delhi with a 361-103 advantage in total yards, and Delhi came out on top 28-0.

Week 4 brought a trip down I-88 to Harpursville. The Hornets had surprised everyone with a win over Oxford, as well as a thrashing of Hancock. Harpursville brought some tremendous speed (the 4x100m track team ran sub-45, faster than Delhi’s school record) to the table, and we knew we were in for a Dogfight. The game didn’t disappoint, as the score see-sawed several times. There were many great runs by both sides, and the 4^th quarter saw the 2 teams combine for 5 TD’s. The last Harpursville TD brought the Hornets to within 2, but the Bulldogs’ defense stiffened on the 2 point try, and the win was preserved, 34-32.

After a good 3-1 start to the season, Delhi was feeling cautiously optimistic, but there was a huge brick wall lying in front of us when Walton came to town. The Warriors were a tremendous team in ’07, winning the state class D title with no playoff opponent coming closer than 38 point losers. Walton didn’t slow down much at Delhi either. The ‘Dogs did an admirable job with what they were up against, holding Walton to just over 6 yards per carry outside of 2 long Logan Wood runs, but that was all the good news (if you can call it that) that could be mustered. Delhi managed only 52 yards of total offense, and came out on the wrong end of 44-0.

Delhi headed to Oxford hoping to start a run to the playoffs by fighting for the second place spot in the division. As was the case on a few other occasions, the ‘Dogs started out slowly, going into a 15-0 hole. The passing game suddenly came alive in the 4^th quarter however, as Delhi was able to score 2 TD’s with the 2 pointers to take a late 16-15 lead. It wasn’t to be, however, as the Blackhawks had a very nice drive in the closing minutes of the game to score a 21-16 win.

After a check on the numbers, it was concluded that Delhi was very much still alive in the playoff race, and that wins over Deposit and BG would give them the berth. Delhi traveled down to Deposit to play the team that gave Walton its closest game all year (yes, a 34 point nail biter). The ‘Dogs fought valiantly, giving up ground grudgingly, but the offense couldn’t quite get things done. A Deposit TD in the 2^nd and 3^rd quarters was all the difference, and Delhi was guaranteed an absence from the playoffs following a 12-0 loss.

Bainbridge Guilford and speedy RB Dustin Ross came to Delhi, and while Delhi again put up a very strong fight, the offense simply couldn’t get many points on the board. A few late BG TD’s broke open what had been a tight game, and Delhi closed the division schedule with a 27-8 loss.

Delhi scheduled a decent Unadilla Valley team that had played Deposit very close (a 6-3 Deposit win). The ‘Dogs kept up their reputation of going down early, falling in a 6-0 hole. Delhi started moving very well in the 4^th quarter, and after a dropped potential TD pass, Devon Bedient was able to cap his senior season by pushing over the goal line for the tying TD. The 2 point conversion was successful, allowing Delhi to end the year on a high note.

Delhi was led through the season by the blocking and tackling of senior Mike Rama, the passing of Trent Kathmann, the running of Devon Bedient, and the pass-catching of Luke Burns.

With a mere 5 seniors on the roster (2 2-way starters and 2 1-way starters), Delhi hopes for marked improvement in the coming season.