Gunning for the Division Title

 

 

 

Delhi heads down route 10 on Saturday for the annual showdown with the Walton Warriors. The game has tremendous implications for the playoffs. A Delhi win would all but assure them of a top seed in the playoffs. If Delhi wins and beats winless Hancock next week, even a loss to Oxford would make for a likely 3-way tie scenario between Delhi, Walton, and Oxford. Based on the tiebreaker points, Delhi holds a good lead, with the other 2 very tight for the second playoff spot. If Walton wins, they would still need to beat Deposit and BG to finish at the top, but that would probably be the likely scenario. Then Delhi and Oxford would play for the second playoff spot on October 20, assuming Oxford wins both games (BG and Hancock) before then and Delhi beats Hancock.

 

Walton comes into the game with a 3-2 record. Walton opened the season with a very unimpressive 30-8 loss at the hands of Unatego, but has steadily improved since. They beat Sullivan West 26-6, and then won a close 24-19 game over Oxford. The Warriors then fought a hard first half against Sidney, going up 12-0, but were completely shut down in the second half, and came out behind 20-12. Walton beat up on Hancock last week 66-21, as Casey Killian ran up 205 yards on a mere 4 carries. Walton displays a good balance of speed and power, with Killian and QB Sean Fisher giving the Warriors some speed that they didn’t have last year. FB Richard Fletcher gives Walton a strong power game. Walton’s defense has come on stronger lately. After being burnt repeatedly by Unatego, they have stepped up considerably, including holding Sidney to just a few first downs in the first half of that game.

 

Delhi hopes to ride last week’s momentum into this all-important game. A couple more cylinders began to fire well last week, as Brenton Hood had a breakout game with 176 yards on just 14 carries, including a 77 yard TD where he showed his ability to just pull away from a pack.

 

Delhi fans should note that the bridge across the Delaware River is down to 1 lane, meaning you need to either get to the game VERY early, or consider some route that takes you down the back side of the river to 206.