Bulldogs Make a Run

Delhi returned to a winning season for 2008, highlighting a 5-4 season with a 4 game winning streak in which the Bulldogs averaged over 40 points per game.

Delhi opened the season down in Section IX country at Liberty. Liberty had shocked Delhi the year before, so Delhi knew the fight that was coming. Delhi came out very strong, and moved the ball with great authority, though fumbles on the very rainy day kept Delhi out of the end zone many times. Delhi committed 9 turnovers in all, but played more than adequate defense to make up for it. The offense eventually got the best of Liberty, and Delhi came out with a great 24-0 win.

The next week brought a very intriguing game as Sidney came to town. Both Delhi and Sidney looked to be young teams on the rise. Sidney had also scored an impressive win over an out-of-section opponent the week before. Delhi hoped to end a somewhat long losing streak to the Warriors, but it wouldn’t happen on this day. Delhi struggled offensively, and that was compounded with serious issues fielding the ball on kicks, resulting in terrible field position most of the day. The defense did very well against the run, but there were a few breakdowns in the secondary, and coupled with Sidney’s much better field position, the Warriors were able to put in some TD’s. Sidney also had a couple potential TD’s dropped. Late in the game Delhi’s passing game showed a bit of life with 2 TD’s, but a very discouraging day ended with the ‘Dogs facing a 30-14 deficit.

Delhi next made the long trip up to near Utica to face the Westmoreland Bulldogs. Westmoreland was a strong class C team that ended up winning the Section III class C title. Delhi put together a very strong effort, but simply was not able to close it out. Delhi held the lead for a good portion of the game, right into the 4^th quarter. Not quite midway through the 4^th, things broke down for Delhi. First, the Bulldogs gave up a 70 yard TD pass, tying the game. Then, the offense was not able to put together a significant run, and was forced to punt. After an apparent Delhi fumble recovery on the punt return, the officials ruled that a whistle had been inadvertently blown, so the play was rerun. Delhi proceeded to get an illegal procedure penalty, followed by a very short kick. So, what could have been Delhi ball on the 50 turned out to be Westmoreland ball on Delhi’s 25. Westmoreland proceeded to score, and the ‘Dogs were beginning to hurt at 1-2 with a trip to Walton in store the next week. The final was 21-14 Westmo.

Delhi trudged down route 10 to face the mighty Warriors, facing a 1-3 potential record. Walton did not look to be slowing at all from their incredible 2007 season. Delhi put up a very strong effort early in the game, playing some outstanding defense. The offense moved the ball a bit, but not enough to go the distance. Then came a huge momentum shift however, as Walton scored on a long TD pass on 3^rd and long. You could visibly see the difference from this point, as the Delhi tackling and general intensity and speed dropped off a bit. Delhi did an admirable job from keeping it from getting out of hand, however, as they only allowed 2 rushing TD’s in the game. Delhi put in a long TD pass to Anthony Salerno late in the game, and came out on the bottom end of 30-8.

If the season was going to come to anything at all, the bleeding needed to stop. Delhi began the division schedule against Deposit, and some of Deposit’s starters didn’t even play in the game. Delhi sloppily made their way through the game, putting in some TD’s, but suffering 2 costly turnovers that resulted in Deposit TD’s. One of them came deep in Deposit territory, with Delhi looking to score, before a fumble recovery was returned 85 yards for a Lumberjack TD. Delhi allowed another late 4^th quarter TD as well, and the score ended up at 30-20 Delhi.

So the winning had started, but it still wasn’t terribly encouraging. This would all change, however, the next Friday night in Bainbridge. Delhi put together one of the very most perfect games these eyes have seen. Delhi scored on every single possession, and played incredible defense to boot. BG track star Dustin Ross was held in check through most of the night. Late in the game, with the outcome long since decided, the ‘Dogs did give up a 46 yard TD run to Ross, but Jack Fletcher responded right back with a 65 yard TD of his own on the next play from scrimmage. Delhi even kicked 6 out of 7 extra points, and turned the season around with a totally impressive 41-8 victory in what had been deemed the battle of the top 2 teams in the division.

Delhi then hosted a Hancock team that seems to be slowly on its way back to respectability. A win in this game would give Delhi its first division title since 1995, and the ‘Dogs came through in style. Jack Fletcher scored 4 TD’s, Davionne Price had 110 yards on 10 carries, and the defense allowed a mere 84 yards as the Bulldogs rolled 47-8. Delhi was Division VIII Champions!

As the champs, Delhi hosted Seton Catholic in the playoffs, who was the Division VII runner-up to Walton. Seton came in with the section’s top receiver in junior Joseph Martin. Davionne Price did an outstanding job in cover, holding Martin to just 2 catches. Jack Fletcher continued his rushing assault with 157 yards, and Zach Newkirk caught his first TD pass. Anthony Salerno even hit a 30 yard field goal from the hash, as Delhi was rolling like the big ball/rock on Indiana Jones, and cruised to a 44-0 win.

Things got tougher in week 9 when Delhi met a very strong Groton team at Union Endicott high school. Jack Fletcher continued to get good yardage, racking up 161 yards and 2 TD’s, but the game was a struggle. Groton’s Logan Randall and Kyle Reed were so tough to stop, and it was a major fight in the 4^th quarter. Delhi held a 14-12 lead midway through the 4^th quarter, before the bottom fell out. Delhi had struggled all day in tackling Groton’s backs, and now Reed was able to break loose for a 47 yard TD to give Groton the lead. Things then went from bad to worse. Delhi started to move the ball on the ensuing possession, but a pass interception and a very long return gave Groton the ball deep in the Delhi end. Delhi nearly held out again, seemingly holding on a 4^th down play, but a pass interference call gave Groton a first down, and Randall got the score. Down by 2 TD’s late in the 4^th, Delhi turned to the air again, and another interception was returned 78 yards for a TD. So, after the 14-12 lead, Delhi came out with a very disappointing 33-14 loss, ending the season. Groton went on to play Walton in the final, and gave them one of their closest games of the season.

Despite the disappointing ending, Delhi can take great encouragement from the great run that started midway through the season, and with the great progress that was seen.

Delhi was led by the hard running of sophomore Jack Fletcher, the 2-way lineplay of Chris Skovira and Marty Cole, the tight coverage of Davionne Price, and the overall leadership of Luke Burns. Many other players really stepped up as well and made for very strong team efforts, and many of those players will be returning for 2009.