Knights are winners
By Todd Swank Contributing sportswriter

Good for first down Oracle #33 Matt Lewis is seen going after a Shane Evans pass, good for a first down Friday night at Central Catholic. The Knights went on to win the contest. Bill Stauffer photo

Lafayette Central Catholic used a second period scoring spurt to defeat the Delphi Oracles 28-0 Friday. The Knights scored all of their points in a ten-minute span covering the last 9:27 of the first half and a second half kickoff return.

Central Catholic came into this game ranked 4th in the state, following a ten-win season last year. With Delphi only winning two games last year and on a six game road losing streak, many people might have thought that the Oracles were in for a long night. The 28-0 loss was not as bad a loss as the score might indicate.

The Oracles took the opening drive into CC territory before punting the ball. A 30-yard pass from CC's Chris Mills to Mike Murphy put the ball at the Oracle 41 for the Knights. On a fourth and 12 at the Delphi 43 the Knights turned the ball over on downs. After another Delphi punt the Knights moved the ball deep into Oracle country. A field goal attempt early in the second period was blocked by the Oracles' Josh Penn.

The Oracles couldn't take advantage of the opportunity as QB Shane Evans was intercepted three plays later to give the Knights the ball at the Delphi 20. A 1-yard plunge by Chris Mills and a two-point conversion put the Knights ahead 8-0. After forcing a punt the CC offense moved the ball 81 yards in 2:21 to go ahead 15-0. Once again the CC defense stopped the Oracles. On 4th and 11 from their 24 a high snap from the center to punter Michael Myers forced him to scramble. This resulted in a turnover in downs at the Delphi 15 for an easy CC touchdown. The extra point made the score 22-0 at the half.

The Knights' Griffin Richeson ran a Myers' kickoff back 95 yards to open the second half. The EP was missed to make the 28-0 score. The Delphi offense then used an 8- minute, 17-play drive to move the ball to the CC 17-yard line. Evans was 2 for 2 for 28 yards and he also rushed for 31 yards. On 4th and 7 from the Knights' 17, the Oracles lined to attempt a field goal, The holder could not hold onto the ball and a turnover was the result of the Oracles' best drive of the evening.

CC started the final quarter on its own 20 and took 13 plays to move the ball into a first and goal from the Delphi 7-yard line. A hard hit by the Oracles' interior line produced a fumble which Delphi recovered.

After giving the ball back with a punt, the Oracles' Justin Snyder stopped CC's drive with an interception near midfeild to keep the final score at 28-0.

The Oracles are at Carroll Friday night for the annual Bacon Bowl face-off between county rivals. The skillet is in Delphi's possession.