Yorktown (2-2, 0-2 HHC) fell to .500 on the season after a 22-13 loss to Delta (4-0, 2-0 HHC) on the Eagles’ Senior Night.
The game started slow with both sides unsuccessful during their opening drives, with Delta failing a fourth-down conversion and Yorktown being forced to punt.
Delta would strike first with just over two minutes left in the first quarter when junior quarterback Bronson Edwards scrambled out of the pocket and found senior Jayleon Jones deep in the back of the end zone. The extra point kick would be blocked.
The response from Yorktown was immediate with a big kickoff return and a few positive drives before senior quarterback Mason Moulton found senior wide receiver Quinten Williams for a 35-yard touchdown pass with 1:50 left in the first quarter. With a successful extra-point attempt, the Tigers led by one.
“We thought we could slow them down and we thought their defense was very good,” Delta head coach Chris Overholt said. “They rely on a lot of pressure, a lot of different looks, so they were going to have plays and opportunities to slow us down and at the end of the day, I think out offensive line got it done and it was good.”
Neither side would be able to score again until senior kicker Brayden Stanley split the uprights with 10 seconds left in the half to give the Eagles a two-point lead heading into the locker room.
The second half started like the first with both sides punting the ball away after unsuccessful opening drives. This theme would continue for most of the third quarter with each side gaining traction for a few plays, but stalling out and punting or turning the ball over on downs.
With just under three minutes left in the third frame, Jones got himself into the endzone for the second time in the game and a successful extra-point attempt had the Eagles up by nine. Pair that with a big sack from the Delta defense to bring up 4th-and-18 for Yorktown to start the fourth quarter, and the already packed home crowd was making it known that the Eagles were gaining momentum.
“Our Blue Crew is first class and hats off to our band, I think we have one of the best bands in the state,” Overholt said. “Our cheerleaders, it’s a whole combination. Our community supports us quite a bit and we’re glad that we could put out a good product and get the W.”
On the ensuing possession, Delta was forced to punt it away from midfield but was able to pin the Tigers inside their own 10-yard line.
A few plays later, the Eagles took a huge step toward victory when junior Zane Cline intercepted Moulton in the Tigers’ red zone. Cline read the play all the way, waiting for his receiver to cut in and slipped right in front of him.
“Credit to them, they're a great offense,” Cline said. “But as a defense this week, we were playing for each other, not individuals…I feel like there's a lot less experience on our defense this year. I mean, losing three seniors in the secondary, it definitely affects us. But the way our guys have stepped up and handled it, it's great.”
The Eagles took a few punches to chew some clock up before deciding to go for it all on fourth down and senior wide receiver Jonny Manor got every bit of it. With his back turned to the ball, Manor turned, made the adjustment and laid out for the catch.
“I don’t know [how he caught that],” Edwards said. “He actually opened up the wrong way, and then he twisted his head around and somehow caught it. It was an awesome catch.”
Despite the Tigers getting a late score (failed two-point conversion) to keep the game interesting, Delta closed out the game to keep its undefeated record still running.
“We haven’t done anything yet,” Overholt said. “If this is the best version of us that we put out, we've failed them. We need to keep looking to get better every week, we want to compete in the conference [and] we want to continue to be undefeated at home. So, we just need to continue to get better every day.”
Delta faces a big challenge next week, traveling to Mt. Vernon (1-3) with Yorktown hosting New Castle (1-3) Sept. 15.
Around the Delaware County scoreboard, Wes-Del defeated Southern Wells 14-6 and No. 21 Kokomo defeated Muncie Central 47-7.
Contact Daniel Kehn with comments at daniel.kehn@bsu.edu or on Twitter @daniel_kehn.
