Oracles lose first game to Cass
By Todd Swank

The Delphi Oracles football team traveled to Lewis Cass on a hot, humid, August, Friday night to open the season and came out of the locker room as hot as the weather. The fourth-ranked Kings held up against the initial heat and as the evening air cooled down, so did the visiting Oracles. The night ended with Lewis Cass winning 35-13.

On the second play of the game, Cass fumbled and Delphi recovered the ball at the Cass 46. Sophomore Josh Penn ran for four yards on first down. QB Joe Little completed an 11-yard pass to Michael Myers for the initial first down of the game. Three plays later, on fourth and one, Penn ran for eight more yards and another first down at the 15. On third and three, Little ran for four yards but lost the handle on the ball and the Kings recovered. This chance to take advantage of an opponent's mistake was wasted.

Delphi's second possession ended with Little being intercepted at the 22-yard line in Oracle territory. A offensive holding call and a pass breakup by Matt Lewis in the end zone to stop a TD prevented the Kings from taking the lead. The Oracles took over on downs at the 23. The team had fought through this rough time unscathed. The first period ended the period ended the same way the game started with 0-0 showing on the scoreboard.

A Little to Myers pass covered 25 yards and a Penn run that went for 23 were the big plays in a drive that provided the Oracles with the lead at 7-0. Cass came right back and tied the game at 7 with their own long drive of 72 yards with 4:21 left in the half. The Oracles punted the ball away and the Kings had the ball at their own 17 with 49.2 seconds to go. It took 48 seconds for the Kings to take the lead. They completed three of four passes and Cass QB Taylor Bowser fooled everyone and ran for the final five yards.

That missed opportunity early in the game meant a 14-7 deficit instead of a tie at the half.

Delphi marched 75 yards with the opening possession of the second half and closed to within 14-13. A bad snap cost the Oracles a tie on the extra point. A 28-yard TD pass from Little to Myers was the highlight. This drive was costly in that RB Josh Penn turned his ankle and was out for the game. He was the Oracle's leading rusher at the time with 43 yards.

Cass extended their lead to 21-13 with a five-play, 73-yard drive. On Delphi's next drive, they were forced to punt. The punt was blocked and returned for a TD and 28-13 lead. A Delphi fumble set up a short Cass drive to put the game out of reach at 35-13 late in the third period.

Although neither could score in the final period, Cass made an exciting play. On fourth and three at the six-yard line, the Kings lined up for a FG at the 14-yard line. Michael Myers broke through on the snap and blocked the kick, but a Cass player picked it up at the 28 and seemed to be headed for another TD, when he was tackled at the four-yard line, short of the TD and just short of a first down.

Leading rushers for Delphi were Penn with 9 attempts for 43 yards, Little 27 yards in 11 tries, Cory Smith 6 for 21, Chase Brummett 8 for 12 and Matt Lewis 1 for minus 2 yards. Little completed 8 of 13 passes with 2 interceptions good for 116 yards and 2 TDs. Receiving were Myers with 7 catches for 115 yards and two TDs and Lewis with 1 catch good for one yard.

This Friday night the Oracles host the annual Bacon Bowl against Carroll. Kick-off is 7:30 p.m.