By P.J. Harmer
Staff Writer
---- —
WELLS BRIDGE _ Delhi's backfield made a strong first impression Friday night.
Holdover Jack Fletcher and junior newcomers Tom Telian and Collin Ellis combined for 287 of Delhi's 375 rushing yards as the Bulldogs opened the Section Four Football Conference season with a 42-7 non-division victory over host Unatego on a hot and sticky night.
Ellis finished with a game-high 99 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries. Telian had 97 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries and Fletcher had 91 yards and a score on 15 carries.
"It feels a lot different," said Fletcher, a senior who rushed for 1,187 yards last season. "Usually we have to fight for our touchdowns. Today we had to fight, but they came a lot easier than usual."
Delhi's strong offensive night _ the Bulldogs averaged 20.5 points last season _ spoiled the head coaching debut of Unatego's Frank Microni.
"They are physical," said Microni, a longtime assistant for the Spartans. "They are a good team. They were good last year and they are good this year. We have a lot of work to do and we'll get better. That's what we're going to do. Get better."
The Bulldogs (1-0), coming off a 9-1 season that ended with a loss to Groton in the Section Four Class D final, used good field position in the first half to open a 28-7 lead.
Delhi kicked off to open the game, but got the ball back with 13 seconds gone when Ellis intercepted the first pass from Unatego sophomore Tyler Butler.
Six plays later, Fletcher powered in from the 3-yard line with 8 minutes, 57 seconds remaining for a 6-0 score. Kevin O'Connell's conversion run gave the Bulldogs an 8-0 lead.
"It's always good when you get a turnover and do something with it," Delhi coach Dave Kelly said. "It's not so good when you get one and don't do anything with it."
Unatego (0-1) went three-and-out on its next possession the Bulldogs took over at the Spartans' 43.
Five plays later, Telian scored on a 4-yard run for a 14-0 lead with 5:17 left in the first quarter.
The big play of the drive came on a 25-yard run from Telian.
Telian said his first varsity game lived up to his expectations.
"I loved it," Telian said. "I've been looking forward to this since I got out of eighth grade."
After Unatego got flagged for a false start on its first play of the ensuing drive, Butler tried to go up the middle but lost the ball and Fletcher recovered.
Delhi again took advantage of the situation. Facing a first-and-goal from the 20, Ellis had back-to-back 10-yard runs, the latter giving Delhi a 20-0 lead with 1:24 to go in the opening quarter.
"All those backs run hard," Microni said. "The line knows what they are doing and they adjust to what we are doing on the fly. Dave has them coached reall well. We mix up our front and mix up what we do in the box and they are on it. I give their line just as much credit as those backs. ... They are a complete team. They have small numbers, but the guys that are there know what they are doing."
Unatego had its best drive to make it 20-7 when Butler capped a nine-play march that covered 60 yards with a 2-yard scoring run. Will May converted the extra point.
Delhi responded, however, by going on a 16-play drive that ate up 7:09 off the clock and covered 76 yards. The finishing touch came on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Anthony Salerno to O'Connell with 50 seconds left in the half.
Ellis then went in on the conversion run for a 28-7 lead.
"We're usually a second-half team, but we came out running in the first half," Fletcher said. "This feels great. Hopefully we can keep it up."
Telian had an 8-yard scoring run in the third quarter and Ellis scored on a 10-yard run in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring.
"We moved the ball every time we had it just about and that's always good," Kelly said. "First downs and things like that. Defensively, honestly, we were having some troubles. ... They nicked us up, but we were able to counter a little bit."
Tanner Carly had a team-high 49 yards on eight carries to lead Unatego.
"We were shell shocked in the first quarter," Microni said. "We put a good drive at the end and got on the board. We weren't on offense a lot, but we had a couple of good drives. ... We're a little green. We have a new coach and kind of a new offense going. Right now, we have to get healthy and work to get better. They were better than us today."
Delhi 42, Unatego 7
Delhi     20 8 8 6 _ 42
Unatego     0 7 0 0 _ 7
FIRST QUARTER
D _ Jack Fletcher 3 run (Kevin O'Connell run) 8:57
D _ Tom Telian 4 run (pass failed) 5:17
D _ Collin Ellis 10 run (pass failed) 1:24
SECOND QUARTER
U _ Tyler Butler 2 run (Will May kick) 8:09
D _ Kevin O'Connell 12 pass from Anthony Salerno (Collin Ellis run) :50
THIRD QUARTER
D _ Tom Telian 8 run (Tom Telian run) 8:37
FOURTH QUARTER
D _ Collin Ellis 10 run (run failed) 10:03
Delhi rushing: Jack Fletcher 15-91, Tom Telian 10-97, Anthony Salerno 2-1, Collin Ellis 14-99, Brian Ingram 6-29, Tyler Hymers 2-(-1), Eli Wright 5-36.
Unatego rushing: Tyler Butler 10-33, Tanner Carley 8-49, Alec Elderkin 2-8, Jake Jones 1-7, No. 7 4-8.
Delhi passing: Anthony Salerno 2-for-4, 23 yards.
Unatego passing: Tyler Butler 2-for-15, 38 yards, int.
Delhi receiving: Jacob Sackett 1-11, Kevin O'Connell 1-12.
Unatego receiving: Dustin VanWhy 1-27, No. 15 1-11.
P.J. Harmer can be reached at pharmer@thedailystar.com or 607-432-1000, ext. 229.
