West Delaware Week 3

Tyler Donovan (25),  Dylan Gansen (2)

Dylan Kramer (15),  Dylan James (24),  Blake Kass (42)

Friday night we traveled to Manchester to take on district rival West Delaware.  Coming off an 8-1 regular season and a state semifinal appearance, we new that they would be a tough opponent.  But we felt well prepared with a solid game plan. 

The first half was an absolute battle, and we picked up some scars on the way.  On the second play of the game, Tyler Donovan, starting free safety and slot receiver, went down with what they thought was a broken leg, fortunately it turned out to be a severely sprained left ankle.  Dylan Gansen stepped in on defense and Shannon McDermott was the next man in offensively.  After a slight delay, we went back and forth delivering blows and fought to keep the score 6-0 at halftime. 

The second half started with a long touchdown run for the Hawks and was followed up by an end zone fumble that led to a touchdown recovery for West Delaware, a quick 13 point swing that was tough to bounce back from. 

The team showed no signs of quitting.  The start of the 4th quarter showed promise when a solid drive took us to the 20 yard line, where Dylan Kramer hooked up with Dylan James for a TD pass in the end zone.  That was followed by a defensive stand, but a fumble a few plays later kept us from building the momentum necessary for a comeback.

Win or lose, our weekly measuring stick is improvement.  The two biggest aspects of the game were improved upon.  We blocked much better than we did a week ago, and our defense tackled with a purpose.  Blake Kass and Dylan James led the defense with 10+ tackles a piece.  And James proved to be a threat in the air racking up 7 catches for 78 yards and  TD.  We didn't come out of this game with a win, but we definitely progressed from a week a go.  We are excited to redeem ourselves in front of our home crowd this week when Vinton-Shellsburg comes to "The Buc" for district play.  Hope to see you there!