Sidney 23, Delhi 22

 

There must be something about the name Warriors, because Delhi seems to be in a rut against a new version of them. After struggling for years against Walton’s Warriors, Sidney’s are currently giving Delhi fits.

Delhi fought a very valiant second half on Saturday, but came up on the losing end following an Andy Foote (of all names) 39 yard field goal with 45 seconds to play.

The first half went not as well for Delhi, as the Bulldogs struggled to move the ball on offense. The run defense did a great job, with Devin Bedient setting the tone with a tackle for a loss on Sidney’s first play. The pass defense took a little while longer to come together, however, as QB Parker Umbra picked apart the secondary on 9 for 13 passing  for 130 yards in the half. Delhi gave up 2 passing TD’s before coming up with a break to get them back in the game.

Delhi recovered a fumble on a Sidney punt return, and got the ball inside Sidney’s 20. Pat O’Connell hit Chad Rockefeller on a post to get Delhi on the board, and Nate Rockefeller gave us the 2, to make the score 13-8. Delhi’s pass defense started to come together a little bit better, and the pass rush began hassling Umbra terribly, pushing him back near his own end zone. A fumble recovery in the end zone would have given Delhi the lead, but the official ruled that he had blown the play dead before the ball had come loose, and Sidney retained possession at their 1 yard line.

With time winding down in the 2^nd quarter, Delhi got the ball back on their own 30, and tried to see if they could make something happen before the half. Unfortunately, disaster struck, as Sidney LB Mike Burpoe picked off O’Connell’s short pass and returned it 35 yards for a TD, making the gap that much harder for the ‘Dogs to fill.

Delhi came out strong in the 2^nd half, however. They allowed 1 Sidney first down before forcing a punt. Nate Rockefeller then took over with some great running, hurdling, fighting, stiffarming, the works. Pat O’Connell had a couple nice runs as well, though a fumble near the end zone could have given the ball back to Sidney, but it went out of bounds before crossing the goal line. Brenton Hood took a pitch left and did a great job turning on the speed in beating Sidney to the corner for a 4 yard TD.

Delhi didn’t allow any first downs on Sidney’s next possession, and again showed a great drive. With Nate Rockefeller cramping a bit, James Card showed the depth Delhi has at FB, with some hard nosed running, including one pop on Burpoe that sent him out of part of the game. Delhi went to the same play over and over, and Card finished it with a 3 yard run. Card put the exclamation point on with the 2-pointer on that same play, and Delhi had a 22-20 lead with just over 3 minutes left in the 3^rd.

Sidney and Delhi then traded a couple possessions. With DB Chad Rockefeller out of the game with severe cramping, Sidney moved the ball a bit, but Delhi wouldn’t break. Delhi had the chance to put the game away on their possessions, but couldn’t find another first down. One play came close, with Hood showing some speed on a run that brought the ‘Dogs to 4^th and 2 from about midfield, but Delhi chose to punt.

Sidney took the ball in their own territory with about 4 minutes to play. Sidney moved slowly, trying to establish the running game, with little success, but finding some open receivers. After converting one 4^th down, Sidney faced a 4^th and 10 with just over 2 minutes to play, and Sidney with no timeouts. The Delhi contingent, already stomping the bleachers, started the celebration as Umbra’s pass sailed right toward Nate Rockefeller. The celebration quickly ended however when the ball bounced off his shoulder pads and into the hands of Foote, who was right behind him. Sidney ran a couple more plays before setting up for the winning field goal. Delhi then fumbled the kickoff return, and didn’t get any chance for a comeback.

Delhi put in a tremendous 2^nd half effort, holding Umbra to 5 of 17 for 76 yards, and also with the 2 great scoring drives, but it wasn’t quite enough. Delhi now looks to bounce back as the all-important division schedule begins Friday night at Bainbridge.

 

First Quarter:

Sidney – Chase Mott 33 pass from Parker Umbra (Andy Foote kick)

 

Second Quarter:

Sidney – Anthony Mister 11 pass from Umbra (kick failed)

Delhi – Chad Rockefeller 16 pass from Pat O’Connell (Nate Rockefeller run)

Sidney – Mike Burpoe 35 interception return (Foote kick)

 

Third Quarter:

Delhi – Brenton Hood 4 run (pass failed)

Delhi – James Card 3 run (Card run)

 

Fourth Quarter:

Sidney – Foote 38 field goal

 

Rushing	Att	Yards	Ave	TD			Rushing	Att	Yards	Ave	TD
Nate Rockefeller	15	101	6.7	0			Mike Burpoe	8	25	3.1	0
James Card	10	57	5.7	1			Jarred Mertz	9	24	2.7	0
Brenton Hood	7	15	2.1	1			Chase Mott	6	17	2.8	0
Pat O'Connell	4	12	3.0	0			#27	2	3	1.5	0
Totals	36	185	5.7	2			Parker Umbra	5	-24	-4.8	0
							Totals	30	45	1.5	0
Passing	Comp	Att	Yards	TD	INT	Comp %	Passing	Comp	Att	Yards	TD	INT	Comp %
Pat O'Connell	1	6	16	1	2	0.167	Parker Umbra	14	30	206	2	0	0.467
Totals	1	6	16	1	2	0.167	Totals	14	30	206	2	0	0.467
Receiving	Number	Yards	Ave	TD			Receiving	Number	Yards	Ave	TD
Chad Rockefeller	1	16	16.0	1			Anthony Mister	4	88	22.0	1
Totals	1	16	16.0	1			Andy Foote	8	82	10.3	0
							Chase Mott	1	33	33.0	1
Scoring	Rush TD's	Rec TD's	Def TD's	2 Pt	Points		#27	1	3	3.0	0
James Card	1	0	0	1	8		Totals	14	206	14.7	2
Brenton Hood	1	0	0	0	6
Chad Rockefeller	0	1	0	0	6
Nate Rockefeller	0	0	0	1	2
Totals	2	1	0	2	22
Defense	Tackles	Assists	INT	Fumb Rec	TD	Pass Knockdowns
Derek Plance	8
Ryan Weale	7					1
Nate Rockefeller	6	1		1
Chad Rockefeller	6	1
Alex Fletcher	6					1
James Card	5	3
Devon Bedient	5	2
Davionne Price	5	1
Jeff Daye	4	4
Milan Sova	4	2
Luke Burns	1
Brenton Hood		1
Frank Levan		1				1
Totals	57	16	0	1	0	3