Football

Fighting Bears subdued by Delhi

By JAMES WALSH and RICHARD A. ROSS

DELHI, NY — After hearing about the thrashing that Sullivan West took last week against the Delhi Bulldogs, Tri-Valley knew they were in for a tough fight. But the Bears were determined to show they were not intimidated by the Section Four heavyweights.

The Bears received to start the game and jumped all over Delhi. On the first play from scrimmage Danny Knox swept for a first down. He then ran off tackle for eight more yards, but the drive stalled due to Tri-Valley miscues. It was a foreshadowing of things to come.

Delhi’s first play was a sweep to running back Nate Rockefeller for five yards, followed by a dive play that brought up third and short. Another dive to running back Brenton Hood was stopped by the Bear defense to bring up fourth and inches. The Bear defense stepped up big to stop Rockefeller on another dive to force a turnover on downs.

The Bears drew first blood on their next drive. A dive to Knox went for eight yards, and another dive to Knox gave Tri-Valley a first down. On a fourth and seven for the Bears, QB Joe Garigliano completed a screen pass to Knox for a first down. A sweep to Knox brought the Bears to Delhi’s one-yard line. Garigliano went up the middle to give the Bears the first score. The extra point was good.

Delhi’s next drive saw a dive to Rockefeller stopped by seniors Jim Walsh and Knox in the backfield. Two passes gave Delhi a first down before sophomore linebacker Nick Cassidy stopped a dive by Rockefeller. That brought up a fourth down and seven. The deep pass attempt was batted away by Connolly to give the Bears the ball.

A fumbled snap and a holding penalty neutralized Tri-Valley’s next series, but Delhi was still unable to move the ball on their next series. Unfortunately, Tri-Valley’s strong resolve was undercut by a series of mental errors including a holding call and a dropped punt that gave the Bulldogs the ball in Bears’ territory.

But Tri-Valley’s defense did what Sullivan West could not do last week against Delhi: they continued to stop the Bulldogs’ running attack. But despite getting good field position, the Bulldogs had to punt yet again.

Problems continued to plague the Bears. After punting, they got the ball back on a Delhi roughing the kicker penalty but couldn’t capitalize on the free pass.

Slowly but surely Delhi’s offense started to wear Tri-Valley down. Give Tri-Valley major credit here; the Bears never relented. A fearsome Delhi running attack came to a grinding halt when Garigliano picked off the pass in the back of the end zone to give the Bears the ball.

Tri-Valley chose to take a knee with nine seconds left in the half and proceeded to the locker room at halftime leading 7-0.

In the second half, Delhi’s offense woke up. It took the Bulldogs only six plays before Rockefeller ran in for a touchdown. The two-point attempt was good. Conversely, Tri-Valley went three and out on its next series.

Rockefeller ran for another touchdown on the second play of the next drive. Knox stopped the two-point conversion, but Delhi had the lead at 14-7.

Delhi’s size began to wear down Tri-Valley as the Bulldogs got a sack and benefited from a block-in-the-back call against the Bears. The Bear’s offense struggled to get anything on track, and they were forced to punt again. Showing heart and grit, the Tri-Valley defense stepped up big on the next drive. After a false start on Delhi, senior defensive back Walter intercepted a pass from QB Pat O’Connell and returned it 38 yards.

The joy was short-lived.

Garigliano was intercepted on his first pass of the next series where Rockefeller ran all over the Tri-Valley defense. Delhi scored from one yard out, and the big back ran it in for the two-point conversion.

Needing desperately to get going, the Bears did just the reverse. They fumbled on the first snap, and on the second play Garigliano threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown. The two-point attempt was good.

Delhi’s defense gave no ground while their offense took on a menacing presence. Rockefeller ran 65 yards for yet another touchdown on the first play, and the two-point conversion added insult to injury. Back on offense, the Bears couldn’t sustain any momentum, but on defense Ryan VanLieu recovered a fumble. After an incomplete pass to Connolly and another fumbled snap, the Bears went to their hurry-up offense. Junior wide receiver Max Fiedler caught a pass for a first down. Connolly caught the next pass for seven yards, and tight end Jimmy Walsh got the first down on a reception. Knox ran the next dive 25 yards for a touchdown. The extra point was missed.

Delhi ran out the clock and the scoreboard read 38-13.

The Bears really moved the ball well in the first half. The defense played solid and tough all game. The Bears gang tackled and made big plays when it mattered, and Walter’s interception was a momentum shifter for the Bears.

Delhi came out in the second half, however, and ran the ball all over the Bears. Mental mistakes including fumbled snaps, dropped passes and missed blocks all contributed to the final score.

Knox had 17 carries for 102 yards and a touchdown. Garigliano scored the other Bears’ touchdown. Tri-Valley (1-1) will host Class D power Chester (2-0) on September 17. Delhi (2-0) will host Unatego.