September 27, 2005              By Jonathon Hadley

 

Well I’m pleased. I was frustrated with having to play a poor team right before Walton and Sidney, and I was frustrated that it seemed like we weren’t getting better. Delhi however did everything it could Saturday by dominating, curiously even without scoring 60 or having over 400 yards of offense. There was just no doubt that we were on a different level. We executed what we did well, we got the passing game some gametime practice, and we came out with shining colors. Now it’s just time to prepare for our mini-Murderer’s Row of Walton and Sidney.

 

As for Walton, I know I’ve talked a lot about generating a passing game. I still believe that is something that needs to be done, and I still believe we lose if we don’t throw 10-12 times. However, I think the offensive line is another key that could really vault us in this game. Hood’s displays of speed this year give us an opportunity we haven’t had much lately – to break a Walton game open with a big play. I fully expect this thing to be bitterly fought on the line of scrimmage, with not a lot of scoring. Play a game like that, then have B take one for 60 yards, and see how that changes the face of the game. The line is what needs to make this happen. Walton tackles too well to have our back break open with poor blocking. I LOVED a quote from our center back in 1995, when Delhi shocked Walton to the tune of 40-0 – “We just pushed and pushed and pushed all day long”. Yep, and Rich Mokay, Zach Berliner, Matt Burkert, and Brad Bell rushed for 360 yards. I don’t know as that we’ll rush for 360 Saturday (most we’ve rushed for since 2000 has been 183, and that was in the state championship season). I just want that workhorse mentality of pushing and pushing every play that Delhi has the ball. We do that, and I’ll bet Hood gets free a time or two, and maybe Rocky too. We can’t forget our need for pumpkin-tight defense and some passing first downs, but I think our RB’s will be crossing the goalline to give us the points we need to win.

 

Defensively, we have an experienced group, and it’s a matter of being disciplined and staying on your keys. Those guards and backs will get you to where you need to go, you just need to get there QUICKLY and make the plays with AUTHORITY. We’ve been doing a good job lately, let’s just hope there’s not a letdown here. I don’t see any big speed in Walton’s offense, so I think we match up as well as ever. That said, one can never know what crazy things will happen in one of these games. Let’s see if Hoover brings us something new and exciting.

 

I was pretty wrong about Unatego winning, eh? At least on the Syracuse.com forum I said that it is either a Unatego win or a BIG Unatego loss, nothing in between. Guess I was right there. Sidney came out and played the best complete game I’ve seen from them in a couple years. By complete game I mean solid blocking and running, solid passing and catching, and solid defense and tackling. If they played like that every week they would be near impossible to stop. Greene has really got me concerned! They stomped Seton Catholic, and their passing game sounds tremendous. They can run the ball too. We’ll have to see what happens when we play Sidney, but if that Greene game is for a playoff spot, I sure hope we are ready for it. BTW, if they lose to Unatego, and if we lose to Sidney, they will be playing us for a 3-way tie for second between Unatego, Greene, and Delhi, which would go to a points system to be broken. Anyway, let’s get beyond the next 2 weeks, then we’ll see where we are for the playoffs.

 

For picks, I only screwed up with my adventurous pick of Unatego over Sidney. I ended up 20-1, or 0.952! For the season, I’m 76-21, or 0.784. Remember my goal is 0.800 at the end of the season. For this weeks picks, I’ll go with UE, Vestal, Norwich (tough one here!), Elmira ND, Unatego, Oxford (great game!), Lansing, Trumansburg, Harpursville, Candor, Groton, Odessa, Auburn, Corning East, Johnson City, Maine-Endwell, Dryden, Forks, Greene, Edison, Newfield, Sus Valley, Sayre, and Windsor.