Bulldogs Battle to Victory
Delhi and Walton
fought through a defensive battle on Saturday, and Delhi was able to do just
enough to come out on top for the first 3-0 start since 2005.
The teams went through
almost 3 full quarters before a single point was scored, and they combined for
a whopping 12 punts (7 by Walton, 5 by Delhi). Delhi was able to get ever so
slightly better movement of the ball, coming up with 9 first downs, compared
with Walton’s 5, though Walton ended up with slightly better total yards.
Delhi also came out with an advantage in the punting department, as Jack
Fletcher’s punts repeatedly went over the heads of Walton’s
returners, including one punt that was downed at Walton’s 1 yard line.
It was another
Delhi punt that got things going late in the third quarter. A Walton fumble on
the punt reception gave Delhi the ball at Walton’s 36, and Delhi would
make Walton pay. After pushing down the field to a 1st and 10 from
the 12 yard line, Delhi looked as if they might stall, as 2 short runs and an
incomplete pass brought up 4th and 7 from the 9 yard line. Anthony
Salerno lobbed a pass to the right hand side of the end zone, and Rich Ennist,
in the midst of heavy Walton traffic, was able to get his hands up and come
down with the ball for the opening TD. The snap on the 2-point try was bobbled,
slowing the play, and Delhi was not able to come up with the conversion.
Walton was quick to
respond, however. Delhi held Walton to short yardage on 2 plays, but the 3rd
down play was a bit more successful. Walton QB Dan Gehl rolled to the right,
and while he wasn’t able to find an open receiver, he did see a big chunk
of empty real estate in front of him, and took off on a long run. Gehl broke
several Delhi tackles on his way to a 50 yard gain. A few plays later he would
take a bootleg to his left into the endzone for a TD. Delhi was able to stop
the conversion try short, and the game was tied at 6.
Delhi and Walton
then swapped 3 and outs, and then Delhi began to move the ball once again,
mostly behind the running of Fletcher. On a 3rd and 2 from
Walton’s 18, Fletcher took off on his longest run of the day to get the
TD. The conversion was successful as Salerno found TE Jacob Haynes on an out,
and Delhi had a 14-6 lead with about 5 minutes to play.
Delhi appeared
ready to put the game away, as they held Walton to 5 yards on 3 plays, giving
Walton a 4th and 5. Gehl was able to find Bryant Mead, however, and
the Warriors had a first down. A couple plays later, Gehl again put it up, and
found Chris Calabrese for a 36 yard gain to Delhi’s 1 yard line. Gehl
again took it in for the score. A successful 2 point conversion would give
Walton the tie, but the Bulldogs once again stepped up at the right time, keeping
Mead 2 yards short of paydirt. Delhi recovered the onsides kick, and proceeded
to run out the clock.
Delhi’s
offensive efforts were led by Fletcher’s 93 yards on 18 carries, and
Fletcher was the leading tackler on a great defense as well.
Delhi resumes divisional
play on Saturday with a contest at Harpursville.
Delhi 14, Walton 12
Third Quarter:
Delhi – Rich
Ennist 9 pass from Anthony Salerno (run failed)
Fourth Quarter:
Walton – Dan Gehl 4 run (run failed)
Delhi – Jack Fletcher 18 run (Jacob
Haynes pass from Salerno)
Walton – Dan Gehl 1 run (run failed)
|
Delhi |
Walton |
|||||||||||
|
Rushing |
Attempts |
Yards |
Ave |
TD |
|
|
Rushing |
Attempts |
Yards |
Ave |
TD |
|
|
Jack
Fletcher |
18 |
93 |
5.2 |
1 |
|
|
Dan
Gehl |
5 |
52 |
10.4 |
2 |
|
|
JJ
Darling |
14 |
33 |
2.4 |
0 |
|
|
Phil
Hanley |
16 |
49 |
3.1 |
0 |
|
|
Rich
Ennist |
10 |
27 |
2.7 |
0 |
|
|
Jim
MacDonald |
6 |
12 |
2.0 |
0 |
|
|
Anthony
Salerno |
5 |
1 |
0.2 |
0 |
|
|
Evan
Boyd |
4 |
11 |
2.8 |
0 |
|
|
Tyler
McAteer |
1 |
0 |
0.0 |
0 |
|
|
Bryant
Mead |
1 |
1 |
1.0 |
0 |
|
|
Totals |
48 |
154 |
3.2 |
1 |
|
|
Chris
Calabrese |
1 |
-3 |
-3.0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Totals |
33 |
122 |
3.7 |
2 |
|
|
Receiving |
Number |
Yards |
Ave |
TD |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rich
Ennist |
1 |
9 |
9.0 |
1 |
|
|
Receiving |
Number |
Yards |
Ave |
TD |
|
|
Zach
Newkerk |
1 |
0 |
0.0 |
0 |
|
|
Chris
Calabrese |
1 |
33 |
33.0 |
0 |
|
|
Totals |
2 |
9 |
4.5 |
1 |
|
|
Bryant
Mead |
1 |
18 |
18.0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Phil
Hanley |
1 |
4 |
4.0 |
0 |
|
|
Passing |
Comp |
Att |
Yards |
TD |
CmpPct |
|
Totals |
3 |
55 |
18.3 |
0 |
|
|
Anthony
Salerno |
2 |
6 |
9 |
1 |
0.333 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Totals |
2 |
6 |
9 |
1 |
0.333 |
|
Passing |
Comp |
Att |
Yards |
TD |
CmpPct |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dan
Gehl |
3 |
6 |
55 |
0 |
0.500 |
|
Scoring |
Rush TD |
Rec TD |
2 PT |
PAT |
FG |
Points |
Totals |
3 |
6 |
55 |
0 |
0.500 |
|
Rich
Ennist |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
||||||
|
Jack
Fletcher |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
||||||
|
Jacob
Haynes |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
||||||
|
Totals |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
Defense |
Tackles |
Assists |
INT |
Fum Rec |
TD |
|
||||||
|
Jack
Fletcher |
8 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
||||||
|
Jacob
Sackett |
5 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
||||||
|
Kevin
Oconnell |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
||||||
|
Martin
Cole |
4 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
||||||
|
Zach
Newkerk |
4 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
||||||
|
Rich
Ennist |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
||||||
|
Christopher
Payne |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
||||||
|
Michael
Thomas |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
||||||
|
Garrett
Ellis |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
||||||
|
James
Ingram, Jr. |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
||||||
|
Shawn
Neumann |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
||||||
|
J.J.
Darling |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
||||||
|
Marcus
Robinson |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
||||||
|
Totals |
43 |
13 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|