By P.J. Harmer
It's the classic offense vs. defense matchup.
Delhi (9-0), which has allowed the second-fewest points in the Section Four Football Conference this year at 49, will attempt to win its first sectional title since 2006 when it meets Groton at 4 p.m. Saturday in the Class D final at Binghamton Alumni Stadium.
The Indians (8-1) have scored the third-most points in the section this year with 288. They also beat Delhi, 33-14, in a Class D semifinal last season en route to a 32-7 loss to Walton in the championship game.
"(The Indians are) very similar to what I felt they were after we got beat by them last year," said Delhi coach Dave Kelly, whose team beat Walton in the 2006 Class D final, 34-0, before falling to Section Three's Onondaga, 28-0, in a state quarterfinal. "They have excellent personnel and excellent speed offensively.
"Defensively, the speed helps a great deal, but not quite as impressively as offensively," he continued. "We know for a fact that their backs are hard to tackle because we didn't tackle well. We hope a year of maturity helps us bring them down."
The Bulldogs, who are ranked third in the state in Class D, should get their toughest challenge this season from the ninth-ranked Indians, who have a dynamic 1-2 punch in the backfield in speedy senior Ethan Tilebein and powerful senior Kyle Reed. Tilebein has rushed 120 times for 1,195 yards and 13 touchdowns. Reed has 761 yards and 11 touchdowns on 68 carries.
"It's going to be hard to keep them from breaking loose once or twice," Kelly said. "They have excellent speed."
Reed rushed for 80 yards and Tilebein for 68 yards in a 28-14 victory over Bainbridge-Guilford in a Class D semifinal last Saturday.
"We have to keep the score down," Kelly said. "You do that by playing your position and you do that by not getting outrun and making the play. Generally we can get people to the ball. So far, we have been making the tackle. Last year, we got people to the ball and we didn't tackle."
That rushing attack might not be all the Bulldogs have to worry about.
Groton quarterback Josh Senter completed 7 of 14 passes for 152 yards and three touchdowns against B-G. He is 29-for-54 this year for 523 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Isiah Young (6-foot-0) and Nick Conway (6-2) each had touchdown catches against B-G.
Delhi's secondary came up big for the Bulldogs in a 20-3 victory over Tioga in a Class D semifinal last Saturday, intercepting three passes.
"We always count on our defense," Delhi's Jack Fletcher said after his team beat Tioga. "When the game is on the line, we know what we have to do. We just pump everyone up and go out and do it. "¦ I'm really excited. I can't wait. It's going to be a really good game."
Groton's loss this season came in Week 1, when it fell to Chenango Forks, 21-0. The Blue Devils have allowed the fewest points in the section this season with 23.
Though Delhi's defense has been strong all season, its offense has struggled recently. Since a 27-0 victory over Deposit on Oct. 3, the Bulldogs have a combined 50 points over their past four victories.
"There's no big secret on why teams haven't scored a lot on them," Groton coach Jeff Lewis said. "They have a great defense and they play well together. We're going to have to see if we can't find some chinks in that armor and be able to pound that ball through there and get down field.
"Their defense is definitely their thing," he continued. "Their offense, I would say, is not that high-powered scoring machine, but they don't need to be because their defense is tough."
Delhi's ground game has remained strong, though.
Fletcher leads Delhi's attack with 1,083 yards and 10 touchdowns on 175 carries. Rich Ennist has 647 yards and eight touchdowns on 101 carries and J.J. Darling has 439 yards on 98 carries.
"Delhi is a big, rugged, physical, smash-mouth type of football team," Lewis said. "They don't make any bones about it. They want to come hit you and they want to run over the top of you. We're going to have to stop that run. That's certainly the thing we're going to have to key on."
The Bulldogs will pass when needed as Anthony Salerno has completed 25 of 52 passes for 302 yards and eight touchdowns. Jacob Haynes is their leading receiver with nine catches for 113 yards and four touchdowns.
"We'd like to have a little more patience in the pocket so we can throw more than we have," Kelly said. "We have trouble getting people open because we don't have exceptional speed at wide out. We sometimes can get people open, but then we have problems in time to throw. Because we have a history of being rushed, we aren't patient. Sometimes it's not as bad as it looks and we break down."
The Section Four champion will meet the Section Three winner in a state quarterfinal at 5 p.m. Nov. 13 at Union-Endicott's Ty Cobb Stadium. Weedsport (9-0) and Westmoreland (9-0) played in the Section Three final at 8 p.m. Friday.
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P.J. Harmer can be reached at pharmer@thedailystar.com or 607-432-1000, ext. 229.
