By Rob Potter
JEFFERSONVILLE — September 6, 2005 – Last Saturday afternoon’s battle of the Bulldogs was a one-sided affair.
The Delhi Bulldogs, a Section IV Class C team, grabbed an early lead against the host Sullivan West Bulldogs and steadily increased that lead enroute to a 62-6 victory.
After forcing SW to punt on its second possession, Delhi (1-0) needed just two plays to score the game’s first touchdown. An offsides penalty gave Delhi a first-and-5 at the SW 18. Running back Nate Rockefeller then took a handoff from quarterback Pat O’Connell and ran up the middle and into the end zone. Brenton Hood ran for the 2-point conversion to give Delhi an 8-0 lead with 3:38 left in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Hood rushed for an 8-yard touchdown to cap a 12-play, 97-yard drive. O’Connell added the 2-point conversion on a quarterback keeper to make it a 24-0 game with 3:46 remaining until halftime.
Two minutes later, SW’s Paul Pitz make a juggling interception of an O’Connell pass.
Three plays later, SW quarterback Jim Moloney connected with Cooper on a 29-yard pass play. Cooper made a nice diving catch at the Delhi 6 with 30 seconds left in the quarter.
On the next play, Cooper ran the ball to the 1 foot line.
Following a timeout, Jim Erlwein ran into the end zone to put SW on the scoreboard. The 2-point conversion failed, but SW had some momentum going into the lockerroom.
However, Delhi regained that momentum in the third quarter. The Section IV Bulldogs scored three touchdowns in the period to take a commanding 48-6 lead into the final 12 minutes of play. The TDs were recorded by Rockefeller (a 12-yard run and a 34-yard dash) and Hood (31-yard run).
Delhi added a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
The Delhi offense racked up over 400 total yards on the afternoon. The majority of those yards came on the ground as both Hood and Rockefeller exceeded the 100-yard mark. Hood finished with 198 yards on 15 carries, while Rockefeller ran the ball 10 times for 142 yards.
O’Connell completed 2-of-9 passes for 37 yards. Chad Rockefeller caught both of those O’Connell passes.
“We have a lot of experienced players back on both sides of the ball,” Delhi Coach Dave Kelly said. “Sullivan West lost quite a few players from last year’s team. And that team did pretty much what they wanted to against us last year.”
“With a few exceptions, we were able to execute the plays we wanted to today,” Kelly continued.
The SW offense was led by Moloney, who completed 7-of-13 passes for 102 yards. Cooper caught three of those passes for a total of 68 yards.
Steve Daley ran the ball eight times for 23 yards and Erlwein gained 19 yards on seven carries.
“Their line just controlled the game,” SW Coach Ron Bauer said. “They have a good offensive line and a good defensive line. They have a lot of big, strong kids. They are a good football team.”
Bauer noted that an early injury to senior guard/defensive end Brian Hubbert really impacted the team.
“He has a lot of team spirit and is a good leader,” Bauer said. “We have young team and when he went out, the other players seemed to get down.”
The veteran coach noted that Hubbert has a leg injury, possibly a deep thigh bruise. He was not sure if that will keep Hubbert out of SW’s next game, which is this Saturday, September 10. The Bulldogs will host Liberty in a non-league game at 1:30 p.m. in Jeffersonville.
Delhi will open its home schedule at 1:30 p.m. this Saturday when it welcomes the Tri-Valley Bears for a non-league contest.