The district championship and an automatic berth in the state championship was at stake when the Delmar varsity football team hosted Woodbridge last Friday night on senior night. Delmar held a 20-8 lead at the half, the Raiders scored two touchdowns to take a one point lead, and the Wildcats scored in the fourth quarter for the 26-21 win to remain unbeaten in state tournament play.
“Both teams fought real hard. It’s a playoff game and both teams knew it,” said Delmar head coach David Hearn. “That third quarter they came out with an extra something in their step.”
“It (win) gives us more momentum for the playoffs,” senior Isaiah Holbrook added.
Delmar’s defense stops Woodbridge’s Malachi Hayes for no gain in last Friday’s varsity football game in Delmar. Photo by Mike McClure
Woodbridge’s offense opened the game with the ball on its own 45 following the kickoff return. Logan Moran completed a pass to Ji’Kare Banks on third and nine from the 46, but he was tackled by Delmar’s Ryder Keidel at midfield, forcing a Raiders’ punt.
The Wildcats were pinned back on their own 18 on their first possession. Senior Khalid Schoolfield had a 21-yard run to help move the ball near midfield. On second and 11 from the 49 a Delmar fumble was recovered by Banks but the down was replayed due to an inadvertent whistle. Delmar quarterback Ayden McCauley completed a 50-yard touchdown pass to Connor Nichols on third and 10. Nathan VanZandt’s extra point made it 7-0 with 6:42 remaining in the opening quarter. VanZandt, who began the season as the team’s starting quarterback before getting injured, returned as the team’s kicker in the regular season finale.
The Raiders opened with the ball near midfield again, starting at the 47. Woodbridge’s Kam’Ren Johnson had a nine-yard run for first down on second and eight and Malachi Hayes ran nine yards to move the chains on third and seven from the Delmar 39. Hayes had another nine-yard run before Delmar’s Orian Church intercepted a pass on second and one from the 21.
The Wildcats move the ball downfield, starting at the 22. Schoolfield had a 38-yard run to the Raiders’ 40 and Dason Baine picked up 10 yards.
McCauley completed a five-yard pass to Nichols on third and six from the Woodbridge 26 at the start of the second quarter. McCauley then ran up the middle on a quarterback sneak for a 21-yard touchdown run. The extra point was no good and the score remained 13-0 (11:02).
Woodbridge got the ball back and put together a scoring drive. The Raiders faked a punt on fourth and six from the 39 with Marquel Clark running 14 yards for a first down. Hayes took a toss and ran for a 32-yard touchdown on third and six before scoring a two-point conversion out of the wildcat to make it 13-8 (5:03).
Delmar’s offense got the ball back at the Woodbridge 40 after the Raiders had to kick from their own 25 due to a personal foul penalty following the touchdown. Schoolfield scampered 11 yards, Holbrook had a nine-yard run on third and three, and Holbrook scored on a two-yard run on third and goal. VanZandt’s PAT upped the Wildcats’ lead to 20-8 with 38.4 seconds remaining in the half.
Delmar got the ball to open the second half, but the Raiders’ defense forced a punt as Clark and Emmanuel Miles-Martin held Schoolfield to a one-yard gain on a run.
Woodbridge’s pass on third and seven from the 37 fell incomplete before a late personal foul penalty on Delmar kept the drive alive. Moran completed a 38-yard pass to Banks on third and six from the Delmar 44. Hayes scored on a six-yard touchdown run, and Church made the stop on the two-point run to keep the score at 20-14 with 6:43 left.
The Raiders got the ball back when Moran recovered a Delmar fumble. Hayes had an eight-yard touchdown run and Evan Woodall booted the extra point for a 21-20 Woodbridge lead (5:45).
Woodbridge’s defense held Delmar to three plays and out. A holding penalty and unsportsmanlike penalty on the Raiders set up third and 31 from the 13 before Delmar’s Clayton Cramer recorded a sack for a nine-yard loss and Woodbridge punted to start the fourth quarter.
Delmar’s offense took over on the Woodbridge 44. Holbrook had an 11-yard run before running the ball in on third and one from the three. The snap was high on the two-point try and the score remained 26-21 with 6:50 left in the game.
The Raiders started with the ball on the 32. Hayes had a nine-yard run and Johnson moved the ball to midfield on another nine-yard run. Johnson picked up two yards and a first down on third and two from the Delmar 42, but on fourth and 11 Moran was hit by Cramer, forcing a fumble which was recovered by Delmar’s Jason Smullen.
Runs by McCauley and Holbrook helped run out the clock and secure Delmar’s 26-21 win.
“They (offensive line) work hard every week in practice and when it comes to game time they work even harder,” said Holbrook, who ran for a pair of touchdowns.
“He’s not getting the long runs, he’s getting the hard runs. He’s not going to go down easy,” Hearn added.
