Pendulum swings back in Delone Catholic's favor
Delone Catholic’s roller-coaster season continued in Week 8 with a 45-0 shutout victory over Fairfield at J.T. Flaherty Field.
The Squires (5-3, 2-3 YAIAA Division III) have either won via the blowout this season, or lost because of an inability to put points on the scoreboard.
In Week 7 they scored just 7 points against Bermudian Springs. The week before that they shut out Biglerville 41-0. Before that, they mustered just seven points in two games combined following a 35-0 rout of New Oxford.
“You never know what to expect coming into a week when you had a loss like last week’s where we just didn’t play well, didn’t give ourselves an opportunity to even be in the game,” Delone Catholic head coach Corey Zortman said. “But these guys took it and made it into a positive and that speaks volumes to the type of kids we have.”
After running the Wing-T formation in the first seven games of the season, Delone came out in the I formation against the Green Knights (4-4, 1-4). The change paid off for the Squires, who rushed for 252 yards with the less-deceptive and more-deliberate downhill approach.
“They took the subtle changes we had this week and they came out and they executed really well,” Zortman said. “That’s something we hang our hat on is trying to be a physical running team.”
It didn’t take long for the Squires’ adjusted rushing attack to strike. Less than two minutes into the game, junior Ryan Hart barreled into the end zone on an 8-yard run. His brother, Zach, crossed the goal line on Delone’s next drive to make it 14-0.
Quarterback Brian Shermeyer got involved in the second quarter, finding Ryan Hart for a 15-yard touchdown pass and then Brady Repasky for a 7-yarder. Shermeyer finished the night a perfect 7-of-7 passing for 100 yards.
The onslaught in the first half ended with a 17-yard score from Sean Sneeringer that made it a 35-0 game.
At this point, the game fell into the hands of the Delone Catholic defense, which halted Fairfield’s Darian Mort and Charlie Burnett from causing any damage.
Mort was pressured all night long and was able to complete just three passes for 33 yards. The quarterback was also sacked twice on the night for a combined loss of 26 yards.
Meanwhile, the Green Knights’ lead back was stifled by his opponent once again after having a successful start to the season. Burnett picked up just 40 yards on 15 attempts and was unable to escape the Squires duo of defensive tackles in Bryce Perkins and Wade Neiderer
“Defense has definitely been a high point for us this year,” Zortman said.
The win over Fairfield was the third time this season that Delone has posted a shutout. In their five victories this season, the Squires have held opponents to a meager 4.2 points per game.
Fairfield_0_0_0_0_—_0
Delone Catholic_14_21_3_7_—_45
First Quarter
DC – Ryan Hart 8 run (Brandon Hall kick), 10:17
DC -- Zach Hart 2 run (Hall kick), 8:00
Second Quarter
DC – Ryan Hart 15 pass from Brian Shermeyer (Hall kick), 11:54
DC – Brady Repasky 7 pass from Shermeyer (Hall kick), 6:47
DC – Sean Sneeringer 17 run (Hall kick), 2:22
Third Quarter
DC – Hall 35 field goal, 1:40
Fourth Quarter
DC -- Zach Hart fumble return (Hall kick), 11:25
_FF_ DC
First downs_6_16
Rushes-Yards_33-23_37-252
Passing_3-8-1_7-7-0
Passing Yards_33_100
Total Yards_56_350
Punts_3-10.3_0-0
Fumbles-Lost_3-1_0-0
Penalties-Yards_3-10_8-60
Rushing — FF, Charlie Burnett 15-40, Darian Mort 12-(-19), Garrett Stadler 1-(-1), Jake Irwin 2-0, Zach Koons 3-3. DC, Zach Hart 3-30, Ryan Hart 4-27, Logan Panzer 3-26, Andrew Hernandez 3-40, Brian Shermeyer 4-17, Tyler Monto 2-8, Derek Weaver 3-24, Sean Sneeringer 5-67, Alec Maitland 5-8, Chico Oparanozie 2-4, Dylan Kadis 1-(-1), Dimitri Partenza 1-1, Even Brady 1-(-1).
Passing — FF, Darian Mort 3-7-33-1, Zach Koons 0-2-0-0. DC, Shermeyer 7-7-100-0.
Receiving — FF, Daniel Miller 1-4, Trystan Griffith 1-27, Jake Irwin 1-2. DC, Ryan Hart 1-15, Sean Sneeringer 1-16, Brady Repasky 1-7, Zach Hart 1-29, Noah Kendrick 1-6, Alec Maitland 2-27.