By Jeanne Sager
JEFFERSONVILLE — September 9, 2003 – Everyone knew the Bulldogs were going to win.
The question was, which bulldogs?
Sullivan West’s football season opener was a true dogfight, pitting the home team against the visitors from Delhi with the same mascot.
And Delhi (1-0) came out victorious, 27-6, in a hard-fought, non-league game in Jeffersonville.
The visitors had size on their side – the Class C school boasted a team almost double the size of the Class B players – while the Sullivan West players relied on their speed and agility.
The home team Bulldogs staked out an early lead on a 23-yard halfback option pass from junior running back Scott Peters to junior end Andre Trujillo.
But Sullivan West never made it back on the board, losing to a Delhi team that picked up their game as the clock ticked.
“We made several mental errors early,” said Delhi Coach David Kelly. “Our blocking was a little strange at times.
“But in the second half we only did one mental thing wrong.”
The visitors increased their yardage in the second half on the legs of senior running back Matt Oliver, who had 92 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
Freshman Brenton Hood added another TD on a 12-yard run, and John Newkirk secured a win with a dash from the 5-yard line.
“We played good, tough football,” SW Coach Ron Bauer said. “We made some mistakes, there was kind of poor judgement.”
But it’s a young team, he noted, made up primarily of juniors and sophomores – there are just three seniors on the roster.
Saturday’s big playmakers were all juniors – Peters rushed for 42 yards on eight carries, Orion Darder had 59 yards on five carries, and Darder’s cousin, Corey Hornicek, made an interception.
“They played tough,” Bauer said. “I’ll give them that.”