MUNCIE, IND- The Delta Eagles (3-2, 1-2) dropped their second straight game against Mt. Vernon (1-4, 1-2) tonight in a Hoosier Heritage Conference tilt. Mt. Vernon controlled the night from the opening drive and never let up.
Sophomore quarterback Mason Meyer led the way for the Marauders on offense tonight. Meyer ran for 4 touchdowns and threw for one more. He totaled over 100 yards on the ground and 100 through the air. His counterpart, Delta senior Bronson Edwards did not find the same success on his side of the ball. The Eagles' offense struggled to get any momentum from the jump.
Meyer opened the game with an 8-yard rushing touchdown on the Marauders first drive. Mt Vernon kicker Rylan Vinard drilled the PAT to give the Marauders an early 7-0 lead. Delta got the ball back and was stifled on offense. The Mt Vernon defense forced a quick 3 and out, bringing on Delta’s punt unit. Meyer wasted no time and scored again, this time from 18 yards out. Vinard’s PAT was good again, pushing the lead to 14.
Delta responded with a touchdown of their own. On the night, one of the only positive drives from the Eagles resulted in a 33-yard touchdown pass from Bronson Edwards to Amir Wright-Hill. Landon Ritchie kicked the PAT and made it after some trouble with the snap.
The Eagles touchdown ended the first quarter and Delta trailed 14-7. Some momentum was built up on the Delta sideline heading into the 2nd. The Eagle defense yet again struggled to contain the run game and gave up another rushing touchdown. Senior back Joliba Brogan II punched one in from 5 yards out. The story of the night was the inability of Delta to stop the rushing attack.
Nolan Carpenter was able to keep the Eagles in the game with a 20-yard rushing touchdown of his own with one minute to go in the half. His score cut the lead down to 7 and it seemed that the Eagles had found some momentum heading into the break. The relentless Mt Vernon offensive attack quickly stifled the momentum built by the offense heading into the break. Meyer tacked on another touchdown to open the half, with this one coming through the air to Damarion Johnson for 78 yards.
That score killed any momentum and energy the Eagles had at that point. Edwards and the offense again struggled to move the ball. Largely in part due to the aggressive Marauder defense. Edwards was rushed out of the pocket on nearly every pass play and it seemed Mt Vernon knew Delta was going to run the ball before Edwards received the snap. Meyer tallied up another rushing touchdown late in the 3rd quarter from 64 yards out.
Meyer rushed for another 22-yarder just one minute later due to a muffed kickoff from Delta. Vineyard’s kick skyed and bounced three times and rolled past multiple Delta return men before Mt Vernon ultimately fell on the loose ball. Early in the 4th quarter, Brogan II rushed for another touchdown, turning on the running clock for the remainder of the game. The Delta offense was able to score on their final drive and moved the ball with ease. The final possession looked like the Delta offense that fans have seen so far this season.
A major takeaway tonight was the aggressiveness that Mt Vernon had, and the lack Delta showed. Mt Vernon came out and hit the Eagles in the face early. Although Delta did not budge at first, after going down a few scores, it seemed the breath had been knocked out of the sideline and players on the field.
Delta did not seem to be themselves tonight and they hope to flip this losing streak next Friday, the 27th at New Castle. There are still four remaining games on the Eagles schedule and it is no cakewalk. Coach Overholt and his team have their work cut out for them, but if they can return to the same form from weeks one through three, the Eagles should have no problem making noise in 3A.
Contact Logan Connor via email at logan.connor@bsu.edu or via X @_loganconnor
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