The regular season football finale between Delmar and Woodbridge had a lot on the line, the 2A District 3 championship and berths in the state tournament. Delmar came in to the road contest with just one loss in the district while the Raiders were undefeated. Woodbridge’s defense forced turnovers and held the Wildcats to just one touchdown while the running back Traci Johnson ran for three touchdowns and two two-point conversions to help his team to the 34-6 win.
“To get a win in a game like that, that really meant something,” said Woodbridge head coach Marvin Dooley, who recorded his 100th career win with the victory. “We had to win it to get in it (state tournament) as far as I was concerned (following Milford’s loss to Lake Forest on Thursday).”
Woodbridge senior receiver Darell Smith looks to break free of the hold of Delmar’s Telvin Nichols after catching a pass from quarterback Logan Moran. The duo also connected on a touchdown pass in the Raiders’ home win last Friday. Photo by Mike McClure
Delmar opened the scoring as it started with the ball on its own 40 yard-line following the opening kickoff return by Khalid Schoolfield. Brandon Turner had a 13-yard run on third and 13 and added runs of 10 and 12 yards while Kweli Jones added two carries for 14 yards. Turner scored on a six-yard run on third and four but the Wildcats couldn’t get the kick off and the score remained 6-0 (4:39).
Woodbridge answered with its own drive, starting at the 35. Johnson had a nine-yard run on third and four from 41 and Woodbridge quarterback Logan Moran completed a 25-yard pass to Darell Smith on third and six from the Delmar 46. The Raiders had first and goal from the seven at the start of the second quarter before a fumble was recovered by Turner.
Woodbridge’s defense forced a Delmar punt and the Wildcats got the ball right back on an interception by Turner. The Raiders’ King Peden recovered a Delmar fumble on third and 12 from the 48.
Johnson had runs of 14 and 10 yards before scoring on a run on fourth and goal from the two. He was stopped on the two-point attempt and the score remained 6-6 with 3:28 remaining in the half.
Delmar was forced to punt on fourth and nine from midfield. The ball was snapped over the head of punter Nathan Van Zandt, who attempted to pass the ball but it fell incomplete.
Moran completed a 25-yard touchdown pass to give Woodbridge a 12-6 lead with 40 seconds left. His pass on the two-point try fell incomplete.
Woodbridge’s Kam’Ren Johnson took the ball away from the Delmar kick returner and ran nine yards for a touchdown. Traci Johnson fought his way into the end zone for two points and a 20-6 Raiders’ lead (32.3). Peden recorded a sack to end the first half.
The Raiders opened the second half with the ball on the Delmar 36 following a kick return by Peden. Quincy Risper had a 23-yard run and Traci Johnson ran it in on third and goal from the one before also running in the two-point conversion to make it 28-6 with 10:02 to go in the third.
Jones ran the ball three times for 27 yards before the Wildcats were forced to punt. Delmar got the ball back on its own 41 following a Woodbridge punt, but Delmar quarterback Ayden McCauley was stopped by the Raiders’ Marquel Clark on fourth and five from the 46.
Woodbridge’s Tyler Eley had a 20-yard run and Traci Johnson took a toss and rumbled 29 yards for the touchdown (34-6). Kam’Ren Johnson had another takeaway, allowing the Raiders to run out the clock and seal the win.
“After they scored we just never let up,” said Traci Johnson.
“We beat a very good football team. I’m really proud of my team because no one gave us a chance to be here. I’m very proud of our coaching staff,” Dooley added.
