In a wet, windy Indiana Class 4A Sectional Semifinals matchup, Fort Wayne Wayne (4-7) defeated Delta (5-6) 40-27 Oct. 29. With the victory, the Generals advance to the Divison 20 Sectional Championship Nov. 5.
Delta Head Coach Christopher Overholt expressed how proud he was of the Eagles for continuing to fight until the end.
“I’m extremely proud of our guys,” Overholt said. “A few weeks ago, if the season ended, no one would’ve given us much chance to make a push into the postseason. So, our guys played really hard. Our senior leadership got us on track, and they really left their legacy of what it means to be a Delta football player.”
Delta sophomore quarterback Kaiden Bond scored the first touchdown of the contest on a one-yard run with two minutes left in the first quarter.
Fort Wayne Wayne took the lead after a 39-yard run from senior running back Shawn Collins and a successful two-point conversion. After Delta fumbled the ensuing kickoff, Wayne took a seven-point lead after junior running back Lamarion Nelson scampered in for an eight-yard touchdown.
Delta cut the lead to one after a 20-yard touchdown from junior running back Abram Stitt, but a blocked extra point kept the Generals in the lead.
Wayne increased its lead after a 21-yard score from Nelson. With 40 seconds remaining in the half, the Generals completed for the first pass of the entire game as senior quarterback Aiden Meek found senior wide receiver Avant Rogers for a 50-yard touchdown to put the Generals up 28-13 at haltime.
To begin the second half, Wayne extended its lead to 21 when Collins rushed for a 45-yard touchdowm.
With a little under eight minutes left in the third quarter, the Eagles completed their first pass of the game, as Bond threw a 49-yard touchdown to senior receiver Parker Faletic to trim the lead to 14.
After a touchdown from Stitt cut the score to a one possession, Shawn Collins scored his third touchdown for the Generals. Following his touchdown, Collins intercepted Bond to subsequently end the game.
For the Generals, Collins finished with 17 carries for 152 yards and three touchdowns. Lamarion Nelson rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. Junior defensive lineman Khalon Kelsaw, junior defenisve lineman Nehemiah Young and sophomore defensive lineman Darrion Alexander each recorded a sack.
With freshman running back Nolan Carpenter injured, rushing duties for Delta fell upon Abram Stitt, who totaled 30 carries for 205 yards and two touchdowns. Bond completed 7-of-12 passing for 134 yards and a touchdown and interception.
Overholt is excited to utilize the offseason to improve in all areas as a program.
“We can’t be complacent with this,” Overholt said. “From a record standpoint, this is not what we’re about. But, from a program standpoint, this is exactly what we do, in terms of having a brotherhood with one another and taking care of one another. We’ve got to get in the weight room. We’re currently the smallest school in our conference, and no one is going to feel bad for us. So, we really have to have a good offseason to come back and be competitive in the conference next season.”
Fort Wayne Wayne travels to Mississinewa (8-2) Nov. 5 for the Class 4A Section 20 Sectional Championship. Kickoff is 7 p.m.
Contact Nate Grubb with comments at nathaniel.grubb@bsu.edu or on Twitter @GrubbNate43.
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