‘Dogs Beat Warriors!
Delhi heavily
bolstered their division standing, and came out of Walton with a win for the
first time in 24 years. The Bulldogs built a 20-6 lead through 3 quarters and
held on through another tough 4th quarter to end up as 20-18
victors. Jack Fletcher had 88 tough yards, and Kevin O’Connell made a beautiful
TD reception on the last play of the half in the win.
Things looked up
for the Bulldogs early in the game. After receiving the opening kickoff, Walton
promptly fumbled the ball away, giving Delhi possession on the Warriors’ 34
yard line. Jack Fletcher was then put to work. 2 consecutive 7 yard carries
picked up a first down, bringing the ball to the 20. Fletcher followed with a 9
yarder, and after being stuffed for no gain, found a nice soft spot for an 11
yard TD run. Tom Telian added the 2 point run, and
the ‘Dogs were already up 8-0 less than 2 minutes into the game, and were
looking strong.
The show of
strength would continue in the early going. Walton netted 3 yards on their next
3 plays, and made the first of a few punts on the day. Delhi began drive #2 at
their 35, and continued to move. Picking up 3 first downs along the way, Delhi
brought the ball down to the Walton 14. Two of the first downs came on passes,
one of them a great effort by Kevin O’Connell – after slipping to the ground,
he managed to get back up and pull the ball in while being immediately hit.
Things turned a bit sour at that point, however, as an
errant pitch was recovered by Walton, ending Delhi’s scoring threat.
After trading
punts, Walton showed some life with the first of several big plays on the day. After
being held to 6 yards net on 7 plays, Walton found the opening needed to get
back into the game. Christian Howe took off on a 49 yard run, narrowly missing
taking it the complete distance. FB Dylan Hornbeck would close the deal with a
2 yard run. The Delhi defense showed good stiffness on the 2 pointer, and Delhi
retained an 8-6 lead.
The Bulldogs would
be the next to strike, putting together a nice drive to close the first half.
With time running down, some key runs by Fletcher and Anthony Salerno and a
pass to O’Connell brought the ball down to a 1st and 10 from about
the 15, with under a minute to play. Salerno spiked the ball on first down to
stop the clock. The 2nd down play resulted in a 6 yard sack of
Salerno, and Delhi opted to spike the ball once again to set up one last gasp.
Salerno then hit O’Connell on a beautiful 21 yard flag pattern in the right
corner of the end zone, with O’Connell making a great effort to pull the ball
in as he fell to the end zone grass as time expired. The 2 point pass was
overthrown, but Delhi looked in control with a 14-6 lead and first possession
of the ball in the 3rd quarter.
Delhi did indeed
continue to look strong. Delhi picked up 3 more first downs, one each by Colin
Ellis, Fletcher and Salerno. Ellis in particular had a few very nice runs, and
he would finish it with a 10 yard TD run, showing some good speed in getting
outside the Walton defense. As Ellis crossed the goal line, Walton’s Nick Shiels grabbed him and tackled him out of bounds, resulting
in a flag. Unfortunately, the retaliatory shove given back by Ellis was just
enough to incur a Delhi penalty as well. The bad news for Delhi was that the
Walton penalty was marked off as half the distance to the goal on the 2 point
try, resulting in a 1 ½ yard penalty, while the Delhi penalty (occurring chronologically
later) was marked off as the full 15 yards, meaning the 2 point try was
attempted from the 16 ½ yard line. Salerno’s scramble was not able to get him
far, and Delhi would settle for a 20-6 mid-3rd quarter lead.
Walton would make
another big play in the 3rd quarter, but was not able to make Delhi
pay. Isaac Wacha got behind the Delhi defense for a
55 yard reception, but the Delhi defense was once again able to come up with
the stop before the goal line. This time Delhi’s defense would stiffen, and the
Bulldogs held Walton on downs inside the 15 yard line.
Delhi was able to
pick up one more first down (their last of the game incidentally), but was then
forced to punt. Walton began the 4th quarter on a nice drive. Howe
picked up 8 or more yards on 4 different carries on the drive, as Walton picked
up 3 more first downs. After his 19 yard run brought the ball to the Delhi 1,
Howe finished the drive with a 1 yard TD. The 2 point run came out in Delhi’s
favor, but by a hair-thin margin. Howe looked to have the momentum to carry him
into the end zone, but was hit hard right at the line, knocking him back. The
official on the far side of the field signaled that he was in, but the official
on the closer side ruled he was not in. After a consultation, the attempt was
ruled no good, and Delhi breathed a bit of a sigh with a 20-12 lead almost
halfway through the 4th quarter.
Delhi struggled in
fielding the ensuing kick, and took over on the 13 yard line. Fletcher picked
up 2 yards on 1st down, but Salerno was then thrown for a 6 yard
sack on 2nd down. On 3rd down, Salerno lined up in the
shotgun, and actually punted the ball, resulting in a 43 yard unreturnable kick, and giving Walton the ball at the
Warrior 49. Both teams fought hard on the ensuing drive, with Walton getting
the best of it. The first series of downs brought a 4th and 1, and
Walton QB Dalton Kaminsky came up with a 2 yard run
to convert. The next series brought a 4th and 9, and Kaminsky hit Howe on a 13 yard pass to keep the drive
alive. Delhi once again appeared to have stopped the Warriors, as an
intentional grounding penalty and a sack brought up a 3rd and 33 situation. Walton responded, however, with the unexpected,
as Howe took a handoff and was able to find a hole in the defense, and showed
some great speed en route to a 45 yard TD run. The Warriors had evaporated Delhi’s
14 point 4th quarter lead, and were looking at a 2 point deficit as
they lined up for the 2 point try. Delhi’s defense was able to step it up,
however, and this time there would be no controversy. The defense met Howe well
short of the goal line, and the score remained at 20-18 with 1:02 to play.
Obviously expecting
the onsides kick, Delhi put the best hands on the
front line for the return. Walton was able to get a good bounce, however, as
the ball bounced over the front line and into a soft spot between the front and
middle. A couple Delhi players had a shot at the ball, but weren’t able to hold
on, and Walton emerged from the pile with possession, as the ‘Dogs gave up
their 2nd onsides kick in as many weeks.
The Bulldogs were
helped in this possession, however, by the relentless ticking of the clock.
With no time outs left and under a minute to play, Walton had to move to cover
the 42 yards. Having scored on Howe’s run previously, the
Warriors tried the same play, and picked up a relatively harmless 4 yards on
first down. Walton then needed to waste a down on spiking the ball to stop the
clock. The Delhi defense was then able to come through, as 2 more Walton passes
fell incomplete, and Delhi took over with just over 30 seconds to play. The Bulldogs
took a knee, and the all-important division win was secured.
For the game,
Walton held a 253-230 advantage in total yards, with about 180 Walton yards
coming in the 2nd half. Delhi did hold a slight edge in the
consistency department, however, with a 12-8 advantage in first downs.
Delhi can clinch a
playoff spot and top seed (as well as at least a share of the division title) with
a win in either of the remaining games. Delhi plays at Bainbridge (BG is 4-2
overall, and 3-2 in division play) Friday night, and closes the season at home
the following week against Deposit/Hancock (0-6 overall, 0-4 in the division).
Walton would clinch
a playoff spot with wins in their final 2 games against Oxford and Seton. If
they lose 1 or both, there could potentially be some situations of 2-, 3-, or
even 4-way ties to determine playoff participants.
Click here to see Ellis’s TD run…
Delhi
20, Walton 18
First Quarter:
Delhi – Jack Fletcher 11 run (Tom Telian run)
Second Quarter:
Walton – Dylan Hornbeck 2 run (run failed)
Delhi – Kevin O’Connell 21 pass from Anthony
Salerno (pass failed)
Third Quarter:
Delhi – Colin Ellis 10 run (run failed)
Fourth Quarter:
Walton
– Christian Howe 1 run (run failed)
Walton
– Christian Howe 45 run (run failed)
|
DELHI |
WALTON |
|||||||||||
|
Rushing |
Att |
Yards |
Ave |
TD |
|
|
Rushing |
Att |
Yards |
Ave |
TD |
|
|
Jack Fletcher |
19 |
88 |
4.6 |
1 |
|
|
Christian Howe |
11 |
143 |
13.0 |
2 |
|
|
Colin Ellis |
8 |
41 |
5.1 |
1 |
|
|
Trevor Spencer |
5 |
16 |
3.2 |
0 |
|
|
Anthony Salerno |
10 |
35 |
3.5 |
0 |
|
|
Dylan Hornbeck |
4 |
13 |
3.3 |
1 |
|
|
Tom Telian |
6 |
5 |
0.8 |
0 |
Nick Shiels |
6 |
10 |
1.7 |
0 |
|
||
|
Totals |
43 |
169 |
3.9 |
2 |
|
|
Mike Beers |
2 |
5 |
2.5 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dalton Kaminsky |
3 |
-7 |
-2.3 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Totals |
31 |
180 |
5.8 |
3 |
|
|
Passing |
Comp |
Att |
Yards |
TD |
INT |
Comp % |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anthony Salerno |
4 |
6 |
61 |
1 |
0 |
0.667 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Totals |
4 |
6 |
61 |
1 |
0 |
0.667 |
Passing |
Comp |
Att |
Yards |
TD |
INT |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dalton Kaminsky |
3 |
9 |
73 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Totals |
3 |
9 |
73 |
0 |
0 |
|
Receiving |
Number |
Yards |
Ave |
TD's |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kevin O'Connell |
3 |
45 |
15.0 |
1 |
|
|
|
|||||
|
Colin Ellis |
1 |
16 |
16.0 |
0 |
|
|
Receiving |
Number |
Yards |
Ave |
TD's |
|
|
Totals |
4 |
61 |
15.3 |
1 |
|
|
Isaac Wacha |
1 |
55 |
55.0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Christian Howe |
1 |
13 |
13.0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nick Shiels |
1 |
5 |
5.0 |
0 |
|
|
Scoring |
Rush TD's |
Rec TD's |
Def TD's |
2 Pt |
Points |
|
Totals |
3 |
73 |
24.3 |
0 |
|
|
Jack Fletcher |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Colin Ellis |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kevin O'Connell |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tom Telian |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
|
||||||
|
Totals |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
20 |
|
||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
Defense |
Tackles |
Assists |
INT |
Fumb Rec |
TD |
|
||||||
|
Micah Scobie |
6 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
||||||
|
Tom Telian |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
||||||
|
Jacob Sackett |
4 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
||||||
|
Colin Ellis |
4 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
||||||
|
Eli Wright |
4 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
||||||
|
Jack Fletcher |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
||||||
|
John MacNaught |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
||||||
|
James Ingram, Jr. |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
||||||
|
Brian Ingram |
2 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
||||||
|
Brandon Snyder |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
||||||
|
Kevin O'Connell |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
||||||
|
Michael Thomas |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
||||||
|
Chris Halberian |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
||||||
|
Totals |
40 |
13 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|