Delhi Outlasts Liberty, 16-0

 

Delhi opened the season with a bitterly fought battle against the Indians of Liberty. The Bulldogs pulled out a 16 point 4th quarter and were able to come away with the 16-0 win.

September 2009 085The first half was a seesaw, as both teams took turns getting a deep drive to go with other drives that completely sputtered. Neither was able to convert anything, and one Delhi fan was even heard referring to the first half as “boring”. Delhi’s best chance came after a Liberty fumble inside the 10, but a Delhi fumble into the endzone a few plays later gave it back.

Entering the 2nd half, Delhi appeared to have some new life. Liberty received the kickoff, but Delhi seemed to have new spark, as the Indians were stopped cold on 3 consecutive plays. The momentum was lost however, as the somewhat short Liberty punt was fumbled, with Liberty recovering. Things seemed to melt down a bit further, as a long run put Liberty deep in Bulldog territory. Delhi’s defense was just soft enough to give rise to a 4th and a foot situation inside Delhi’s 5 yard line. The Indians were barely able to convert, and seemed well on their way to scoring the opening points with a 1st down at the 4. The next play however, Liberty tried to go to the pass, and Bulldog Rich Ennist’s pursuit and hit on the QB was enough to send the ball loose, with Delhi recovering, and dodging a bullet.

Delhi returned to looking like a 2nd half team, with Jack Fletcher ripping off several 10-20 yard runs in succession. The drive stalled, however, when a would-be first down was negated by a holding call, instead giving the ‘Dogs 3 and 11 from just outside the 30. Delhi wasn’t able to convert, and the ball once again belonged to Liberty.

Delhi now began a stronger assertion of strength, however, and began a takeover of the game. Almost 4 minutes into the 4th quarter, Ennist was finally able to put the ball into the end zone, and JJ Darling’s 2 point run gave Delhi an 8 point advantage, late in a game dominated by defense.

Delhi was again able to play strong defense, and was able to get the ball back again. Things continued to go well, as Ennist was able to rip off a 57 yard run (pictured above) deep into Liberty territory. The bottom nearly fell out here though, as Delhi’s Tyler McAteer was stripped by Liberty’s Brandon Tompkins, and Tompkins actually made a very strong run all the way for the apparent Indian touchdown. A yellow flag negated it all, however, as the officials ruled that there had been a 15 yard facemask before the fumble occurred, and Delhi retained possession inside the 15 yard line. Ennist scored once again, and with the Anthony Salerno to Zach Newkerk 2 point pass, the game was all but put away.

The Delhi defense was then able to authoritatively put the game to an end, as Liberty turned the ball over on downs, and Delhi ran out the clock.

The heat saw Delhi spreading the ball around, as Ennist’s 119 yards were complemented with Fletcher’s 83 yards. Delhi held a 16-8 advantage in first downs, as the 2nd half saw the Delhi line and backs take far more control of the game.

Delhi faces Hancock on Friday night as the division schedule begins, before the following week’s showdown with Walton.

Delhi 16, Liberty 0

FOURTH QUARTER:

Delhi – Rich Ennist 1 run (JJ Darling run)

Delhi – Ennist 9 run (Zach Newkerk pass from Anthony Salerno)

 

Delhi

Rushing

Attempts

Yards

Ave

TD

 

 

Rich Ennist

15

119

7.9

2

 

 

Jack Fletcher

13

83

6.4

0

 

 

JJ Darling

10

45

4.5

0

 

 

Anthony Salerno

4

12

3.0

0

 

 

Tyler McAteer

1

7

7.0

0

 

 

Totals

43

266

6.2

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Receiving

Number

Yards

Ave

TD

 

 

JJ Darling

3

18

6.0

0

 

 

Totals

3

18

6.0

0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Passing

Comp

Att

Yards

TD

CmpPct

 

Anthony Salerno

3

8

18

0

0.375

 

Totals

3

8

18

0

0.375

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scoring

Rush TD

Rec TD

2 PT

PAT

FG

Points

Rich Ennist

2

0

0

0

0

12

JJ Darling

0

0

1

0

0

2

Zach Newkerk

0

0

1

0

0

2

Totals

2

0

2

0

0

16

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Defense

Tackles

Assists

INT

Fum Rec

TD

 

Garrett Ellis

6

2

0

0

0

 

Jack Fletcher

6

2

0

0

0

 

Martin Cole

5

1

0

0

0

 

Rich Ennist

4

3

0

0

0

 

Jacob Sackett

4

1

0

1

0

 

Kevin OConnell

4

1

1

0

0

 

J.J. Darling

3

3

0

0

0

 

Zach Newkerk

2

6

0

0

0

 

Shawn Neumann

1

5

0

0

0

 

Michael Thomas

1

3

0

1

0

 

Jacob Haynes

1

0

0

0

0

 

John MacNaught

1

0

0

0

0

 

Tyler McAteer

1

0

0

0

0

 

Ethan Sackett

1

0

0

0

0

 

Totals

40

27

1

2

0