Strong first half enough to beat Saints
Delhi took another
step in the division schedule with a 24-19 win over Seton on another beautiful
Saturday afternoon. Delhi played a very strong first 3 quarters, though sputtered
just enough to make the outcome of the game unclear until the final minutes.
The play of the
Bulldog defense was the big question coming into the game, as Delhi had
surrendered over 500 passing yards in the previous 2 weeks, and Seton was a
team with strong passing capabilities, having passed for over 200 yards in the
previous week’s win over BG. There was definite improvement shown, but it
wasn’t without some significant bending at times.
Delhi opened the
game with an onsides kick (as they did on the first 3
kickoffs, none of which were recovered by the Bulldogs), and Seton began the
first drive at their 47. The Saints slowly pushed down the field. On 3
different occasions, Delhi forced Seton into 3rd and long
situations, but they couldn’t seem to close the deal. 2 of the 3rd
down plays ended up getting 1st downs, and the final one gave Seton
a 9 yard TD on a pass from Jake Daly to Andrew Tripicco.
The kick was partially blocked, and Delhi faced a 6-0 deficit.
Delhi’s Colin Ellis
gave a superb effort on the kickoff return, and Delhi was able to start at the
42 of Seton. Some hard running by Jack Fletcher brought the ball down inside
the 20. 2 running plays and an incompletion netted 1 yard, and Delhi seemed to
have stalled, facing 4th and 9. QB Anthony Salerno sent a pass down
toward the right sideline of the end zone, and it was tipped by intended
receiver Jake Sackett. Delhi caught a break however,
as Tyler Hymers was a few yards downfield and alertly
reined the ball in for the unlikely TD, just barely staying in bounds. Fletcher
provided a strong run on the 2 pointer, and Delhi was up 8-6.
The 2nd onsides kick attempt set Seton up at their own 43. The
defense did a bit better this time, bending just a bit, but not breaking, as
the Bulldog’s stopped the Saints short on a 4th and short play.
Delhi took over at their own 49, and returned to work.
A run each by Fletcher and Tom Telian gained 1 1st
down, and a 15 yard pass to Ellis picked up another. 2 plays later Salerno hit Sackett on a 26 yard TD pass. Fletcher provided another run
up the middle, and it was 16-6 Delhi, with things looking up.
The Saints would
not go away, however. Seton started this drive from the 50, and would pick up 3
tough first downs on the trip down the Delhi side of the field, including a key
23 yard pickup to the Delhi 3. Delhi would force a loss of 2 on the next play,
but would submit to a 5 yard TD pass after that. The kick was again partially
blocked, and Delhi led 16-12.
Another pretty good
Ellis return gave Delhi possession at their 39, and the Delhi O began the next
drive. 2 Fletcher runs got a first down. A Salerno pass to Kevin O’Connell was
just barely missed, on what would have been a reasonably big gainer. On a 3rd
and long play, Salerno came through with one of several nice runs on the day,
with a 14 yard pickup, good for a first down. After a botched reverse play lost
7 yards, Salerno found Hymers behind the defense and
hit him on a 42 yard TD play. Fletcher closed out his 3 for 3 day on 2
pointers, and Delhi looked well in control at 24-12.
Delhi finally
kicked deep, and Seton started from their 33 yard line with the first half
starting to wind down. The Delhi defense held strong, keeping the Saints to 2
yards for a 3 and out. Seton punted, giving Delhi the ball at their 27 with
about 2 minutes in the half. Fletcher provided a nice 17 yard run to get the
Bulldogs closer to striking distance. After a 3 yard run by Telian,
Delhi looked like they would strike once more. Salerno launched a deep pass to Sackett, who was 5 yards or more from the defender. The
ball was placed directly in Sackett’s line of sight
with the sun however, and, despite a nice effort to stay with it, the would-be
TD fell to the ground. Delhi then let the clock for the 1st half expire,
and headed to the locker room with the 12 point lead.
Things continued to
look up for the Bulldogs at to start the 2nd half, as Delhi marched
on a very effective and time-consuming drive, just the recipe for success given
the score and situation. Delhi began at their own 28,
and took up most of the 3rd quarter pounding the ball down the
field. Fletcher, Telian, Salerno, and O’Connell each
had first down runs as Delhi brought the ball down to the Saint 8 yard line for
a 1st and goal. Following a short run by Telian,
Delhi tried to go to the air for the first time on the drive. Salerno was
brought down for a loss on this play and on the ensuing 3rd down
play. A 5 yard penalty brought Delhi back to the 17, and the 4th
down pass was batted down by the Seton defense, giving the Saints the ball.
3 running plays gave
Seton a first down out to the 28. Following an incompletion, Daly was able to
find Tripicco again, and, following a broken tackle,
the Saints’ receiver was able to outrun the Delhi defense for the 72 yard TD
catch and run. The extra point kick was successful, cutting the deficit to
24-19. What had been a commanding situation for Delhi turned ever so quickly.
The momentum
continued to go Seton’s way as well. Seton executed as fine an onsides kick as these eyes have seen, with the ball taking
a very high bounce, giving the Saints a good amount of time to cover it and
come up with the ball. Seton would begin their next drive at Delhi’s 47. Two
runs by Daly brought Seton another step closer, but Delhi’s defense then got the
break that was needed. Following a tackle for a loss, a Seton pass completion
for good yardage was called back for offensive pass interference, giving Seton
a 3rd and forever situation. The Saints couldn’t convert, and, given
that the 4th quarter was not yet half complete, decided to punt.
Delhi took over at
their 22, and a run each by Fletcher and Ellis gave the ‘Dogs a much-needed
first down. Delhi couldn’t convert another in this series, however, as the
Seton stop was keyed by a Saints defender blasting through the line and
tackling Ellis for an 8 yard loss. Delhi punted once again, and was able to
send Seton all the way back to their 15. Seton did threaten again, as a 35 yard
pass completion brought the ball across midfield, but a 10 yard sack of Daly
followed by 2 incompletions brought up 4th and 20 from the Seton 44.
With just under 4 minutes to play, Seton again decided to punt.
Delhi took over at
their 31, and was looking for a few 1st downs to close the game out.
Fletcher came through for the 1st, with 2 runs picking up a total of
14 yards, and the clock ticking. Things got a bit dicier
on the next series, as a run by Telian and 2 by
Fletcher brought up 4th and 4 from midfield, with about 2 minutes
remaining. Coach Kelly decided to try to come up with the 1st down,
and Salerno made the run of the game, with a 6 yard carry through extremely
heavy traffic picking up the much needed 1st down. Telian would then pick up 2 insurance TD’s on his final 2
carries, and Delhi was able to run out the clock.
Delhi
24, Seton 19
First Quarter:
Seton – Andrew Tripicco
9 pass from Jake Daly (kick failed)
Delhi – Tyler Hymers
19 pass from Anthony Salerno (Jack Fletcher run)
Second Quarter:
Delhi – Jacob Sackett
26 pass from Salerno (Fletcher run)
Seton – Tom Torto 5
pass from Daly (kick failed)
Delhi – Hymers 42
pass from Salerno (Fletcher run)
Fourth Quarter:
Seton – Tripicco 72
pass from Daly (Gerald O’Brien kick)
|
DELHI |
SETON |
||||||||||||
|
Rushing |
Att |
Yards |
Ave |
TD |
|
|
|
Rushing |
Att |
Yards |
Ave |
TD |
|
|
Jack Fletcher |
22 |
145 |
6.6 |
0 |
|
|
|
Kenny King |
9 |
28 |
3.1 |
0 |
|
|
Tom Telian |
11 |
34 |
3.1 |
0 |
|
|
|
Jake Daly |
13 |
19 |
1.5 |
0 |
|
|
Anthony Salerno |
8 |
31 |
3.9 |
0 |
|
|
|
Gerald O'Brien |
1 |
6 |
6.0 |
0 |
|
|
Kevin O'Connell |
2 |
3 |
1.5 |
0 |
|
|
|
Andrew Trippicco |
1 |
2 |
2.0 |
0 |
|
|
Colin Ellis |
5 |
1 |
0.2 |
0 |
|
|
|
Vinnie Gaynor |
1 |
-1 |
-1.0 |
0 |
|
|
Totals |
48 |
214 |
4.5 |
0 |
|
|
|
Totals |
25 |
54 |
2.2 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Passing |
Comp |
Att |
Yards |
TD |
INT |
Comp % |
|
Passing |
Comp |
Attempts |
Yards |
TD |
|
|
Anthony Salerno |
4 |
9 |
102 |
3 |
0 |
0.444 |
|
Jake Daly |
9 |
18 |
160 |
3 |
|
|
Totals |
4 |
9 |
102 |
3 |
0 |
0.444 |
|
Totals |
9 |
18 |
160 |
3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Receiving |
Number |
Yards |
Ave |
TD |
|
|
|
Receiving |
Number |
Yards |
Ave |
TD |
|
|
Tyler Hymers |
2 |
61 |
30.5 |
2 |
|
|
|
Andrew Trippicco |
4 |
98 |
24.5 |
2 |
|
|
Jacob Sackett |
1 |
26 |
26.0 |
1 |
|
|
|
Brian Perrault |
1 |
35 |
35.0 |
0 |
|
|
Colin Ellis |
1 |
15 |
15.0 |
0 |
|
|
|
Tom Torto |
2 |
28 |
14.0 |
1 |
|
|
Totals |
4 |
102 |
16.0 |
3 |
|
|
|
Kenny King |
2 |
-1 |
-0.5 |
3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Totals |
9 |
160 |
17.8 |
6 |
|
|
Scoring |
Rush TD's |
Rec TD's |
PAT |
2 Pt |
FG |
Points |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tyler Hymers |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jacob Sackett |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jack Fletcher |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Totals |
0 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
24 |
|
||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
Defense |
Tackles |
Assists |
INT |
Fumb Rec |
TD |
|
|
||||||
|
John MacNaught |
5 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
||||||
|
Michael Thomas |
5 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
||||||
|
Kevin O'Connell |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
||||||
|
Eli Wright |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
||||||
|
Jacob Sackett |
4 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
||||||
|
Micah Scobie |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
||||||
|
Brian Ingram |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
||||||
|
Tom Telian |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
||||||
|
Colin Ellis |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
||||||
|
Totals |
30 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
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