Benton Central thumps Oracles
By Todd Swank Contributing sportswriter

It was a beautiful fall evening for homecoming. The Delphi Oracles and their alumni were ready to get their third win of the season against the Bison of Benton Central, who came into the game with an identical record ( 2-6 ) as the hosts. The Bison left town with a convincing 28-0 shutout.

The game opened slowly with neither team able to gain more than a single first down on their first two possessions. The Bison got the ball with barely two minutes to go in the initial period at their own 12- yard line after a great punt by Michael Myers. They had advanced the ball to the 40 by the time the quarter ended. It took just another two minutes for the Bison to take a 7-0 lead. The drive had lasted 4:47 and covered 88 yards in 11 plays. That set the tone for the rest of the game.

Delphi moved to near midfield when they turned the ball over on a Dustin Salyer interception on a third and 19. It didn't take long for the Oracles to atone for that mistake as Myers intercepted a Bison pass three plays later at the Delphi 36-yard line. Again the Oracles moved to midfield and again a Salyer pass was picked off by the Bison. The string of turnovers ended as the Bison moved 77 yards in only three plays - a short pass, a 26-yard run, followed by a 46-yard TD run - to take a 14-0 lead shortly before the half.

Delphi held the Bison to open the third and got the ball back with a chance to score and get back into the ballgame. Delphi moved the ball into Bison territory before a holding penalty put them into a first and 19 at their 45-yard line. The Bison stopped the Oracles to force a punt. A fake punt by the Oracles with a pass down the middle of the field came up empty as the Bison had two men on the receiver.

Most people on the home side of the stands thought there was some interference on the Bison's part, but the officials make the call and they didn't see it that way and the pass dropped to the ground for a turnover on downs. Two minutes later BC scored again to take a 21-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The final period went much the same as the rest of the game. Delphi would manage a first down or two before stalling on drives. While the offense was unable to move the ball the defense held the Bison without a first down until their final possession of the game. Each of three consecutive plays earned a first down for BC to move the ball to the Delphi 20. A short time later BC scored their final TD and moved out to a 28-0 lead. The Oracles ran out the final 2:46 of the game.

Most of the Delphi faithful thought that the Oracles could come away with a win, but it turned out to be a relatively easy win for the Bison.

Salyer completed 5 of 20 passes for 58 yards with 4 interceptions and Matt Lewis was 0 for 1 in passing. Receiving were Myers with three grabs for 38 yards, Justin Snyder had one for 17 yards and Shane Evans caught the other for 3 yards. Rushing for the Oracles were Salyer with 33 and Cory Banes with 30. Snider chipped in with 10.

Friday night the Oracles entertain a 6-2 Tipton team in the final regular season game. The game is scheduled for a 7:30 pm start.