Oracles vanquish Spartans
Delphi to host Round 2
By Todd Swank Contributing sportswriter

Taking advantage of a tough regular season the Oracles weren't intimidated by playing in the sectionals. The Oracles went on the road and completely dominated on defense and offense to beat the North Newton Spartans 55-12.

If you stopped at the concession stand to get a coffee or chili to keep the cold away, you may have waited too long to get to your seat. On the second play of the game, Matt Lewis intercepted a Spartan pass and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown. A Michael Myers kick was good. Less than a minute had run off the clock, Delphi led 7-0.

Less than two minutes later, the Oracle offense had the ball for their first series at the Spartan 25. Kory Banes took the ball from QB Dustin Salyer and ran it into the end zone. After the kick the score was 14-0. North Newton moved the ball to the Oracle 30 when QB Ryan Georgeff attempted a lateral that went awry. Kyle Stonebraker of Delphi picked up the ball and rambled 67 yards for another Oracle touchdown.

The Oracles had touched the ball three times, once by the offense, and had a three touchdown lead, 21-0. Barely five minutes had run off the clock.

After a Spartan punt the Oracles made it 28-0. Three runs by Banes moved the Oracles 69 yards for the touchdown. The Oracle defense stopped the Spartans on a fourth down play to force another turnover late in the first period. Runs by Banes and Salyer moved the ball to the Spartan 35 as the period ended.

On the first play of the second quarter Banes exploded for 35 yards and another Delphi touchdown. The rout was on with the score standing at 35- 0.

Again the Oracle defense stopped the Spartans and again they produced a turnover. A punt attempt sailed over the punter's head and by the time he recovered it, Erik Jones was on top of him and for a 29-yard loss.

The Oracles had the ball at the Spartan six-yard line. Two plays later Josh Penn scored on a six-yard run for a 42-0 Oracle lead. Myers intercepted a Spartan pass on the next series and ran it back 51 yards for another touchdown. A botched hold on the extra point kept the score 48-0. So far the Oracle offense had just barely produced more touchdowns than the defense, leading three to two.

Ike Grevers of North Newton took the ensuing kickoff and returned it 95 yards for a touchdown to finally give the Spartan fans something to cheer about. Delphi's last possession of the half was of a more typical type. They took five minutes to move the ball 83 yards in 12 plays. Justin Snyder got the last 10 yards for the score to put Delphi ahead 55-6 at the half.

The Oracles so dominated the first half, with help from the defense, that they had scored 55 points on only 23 offensive plays. Take away that last drive and the numbers are even more prominent, 48 points on 10 plays.

As the second half started everyone knew the game was over, even though the clock didn't say so. Coach John Gasser of Delphi took out his regulars and started giving playing time to less experienced teammates. This was more than some of Delphi's opponents had done this year when on the winning side of a lopsided score. Although the Oracles didn't score, they did move the ball on the opening drive of the second half. They moved to the Spartan 32-yard line, primarily on the legs of Cory Smith, before turning the ball over on downs.

With subs dotting the landscape on defense and North Newton still playing their regulars, it wouldn't have been a surprise to see the Spartans score. The Oracles continued to keep the Spartans out of the end zone, forcing another turnover on a failed fourth down try.

Delphi again moved the ball with ten consecutive running plays by either Smith or Bradshaw to move to the Spartan 13. This time the Spartans won the battle to keep Delphi out of the end zone and got the ball back on downs. The Spartans finally moved the ball on offense, driving 84 yards in eight plays. A 27-yard run by Georgeff on the first play of the final period and a missed extra point capped the drive to give the final score of 55-12.

Leading rushers for Delphi were Banes with 6 for 137 yards, Smith 14 for 79, Penn 9 for 70, Snider 4 for 43, Salyer 1 for 16, and Bradshaw 5 for 13 yards. Salyer only attempted 1 pass and it fell incomplete.

Delphi improves to 3-7 for the year and will host the second round of the sectional Friday at 7 p.m. Their opponent will be Winamac, who will be coming into the game with a 5-5 record after defeating Seeger 36-32 in the first round.