MOUNT VERNON — Delaware Hayes turned the ball over on its first play from scrimmage Friday night at Mount Vernon.
But five plays later, Pacer head coach Ryan Montgomery knew his team would be just fine.
The visitors had buckled down and forced the Yellow Jackets into a field goal, despite giving them the ball at their own 31-yard-line. And afterwards, the offense greeted the defense on the field, celebrating the stop with high-fives and helmet taps.
This attitude – one of resiliency, and toughness, and team-first selflessness – had guided Delaware to back-to-back wins to begin the season. It symbolized what Montgomery believes to be a culture shift within the program, following a 3-8 finish in 2021.
And it propelled the Pacers to another victory Friday night, in front of a packed Yellow Jacket Stadium on the final night of non-conference play for both programs.
Delaware cruised after its rocky start, dispatching Mount Vernon, 45-10. Montgomery said he knew after that forced field goal that nothing would deter his team from starting 3-0 for the first time since 2018.
“We have a saying that we have each week, and ‘selflessness’ was our saying this week. And being selfless means you care more about the people around you and your teammates than yourself,” Montgomery said late Friday, still sweating and out-of-breath moments after the final horn. This is his 11th season coaching at Delaware, but his first as the head play-caller.
“Even though we threw an interception on the first play of the game, our defense went out and had our back,” Montgomery continued. “And the offensive guys, as soon as they forced a field goal, were out there giving them high-fives. That’s when I can tell our team culture is changing and our guys are bought into what we’re trying to adapt to.”
Delaware scored 21 unanswered points after the forced field goal, and eventually took a 31-10 lead into the halftime locker room. The Pacers scored twice more – once late in the third quarter, then again early in the fourth – to initiate a running clock and walk away victorious.
Mount Vernon dropped to 1-2 with the loss. The Jackets, whose first two games had been decided by a total of 8 points, were never able to regain momentum after that first drive. They struggled on both sides of the ball against a bigger, faster, more experienced Delaware club.
“They’re a big, physical team. We had some opportunities. But for us, that’s a learning opportunity moving forward,” first-year head coach Jay Campbell said.
“We’ve been talking the whole time (about) the process of learning how to win, and finishing these drives, getting rid of penalties that put us behind the sticks, are all really important things that we’ve gotta continue to clean up. And I believe our guys are gonna come back and prepare to do that.”
THE GAME: Mount Vernon’s Aaron White played the role of hero early.
The junior linebacker picked off Delaware quarterback Jake Lowman on the first play from scrimmage, intercepting a pass across the middle and setting the Yellow Jackets up with prime field position.
But the home team couldn’t punch it in. After junior tailback Jonny Askew took a screen pass 14 yards up the sideline, setting Mount Vernon up at the Delaware six-yard-line, the offense stalled.
Three straight negative-yardage plays forced Mount Vernon to settle for a 31-yard field goal, which junior Ethan Young booted through the uprights, making it 3-0 with 9:49 left in the opening period.
“We’ve gotta obviously capitalize in the red zone,” Campbell said afterwards.
Delaware, now with the momentum back on its side, got rolling two possessions later. Lowman hit Austin Koslow on a slant route over the middle, and the junior wideout took it 66 yards to the house, gliding past two Mount Vernon defenders on his way to the end zone.
The Pacers scored again on their next offensive possession. Lowman found senior wideout Wyatt Kirtland wide open in the corner of the end zone on third-and-long, completing a 14-yard touchdown pass that gave Delaware a 14-3 lead heading into the second quarter.
Delaware’s defense got involved next. Senior defensive back Nikeese McCollum intercepted a deep pass from Mount Vernon quarterback Joel Hubbard, setting the Pacers’ offense up near midfield.
The visitors took advantage, scoring three plays later on a 40-yard touchdown bomb from Lowman to Koslow, making it 21-3 with 9:09 left to play until intermission.
Mount Vernon answered on its next possession, however. Hubbard led the Jackets on an eight-play, 65-yard touchdown drive that took three minutes and included two fourth-down conversions.
The first featured senior wideout Layne Kuhlman catching a screen pass and racing 30 yards up the sideline, moving the ball deep into Delaware territory. The second capped the drive off, as Hubbard found Askew in the corner of the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-short, making it 21-10 midway through the period.
Mount Vernon then got a stop, and got the ball back at its own 48-yard-line with 4:46 left until halftime. But the Jackets couldn’t narrow the gap.
Delaware forced Mount Vernon into a three-and-out, and the snap on the ensuing punt went high, forcing Askew to scamper to the 50-yard-line in an attempt to salvage the situation.
Delaware capitalized on this prime field position moments later. Big runs from juniors Gavin Brinkmoeller and Josh Russell set up a seven-yard touchdown touchdown plunge from senior fullback Sawyer Sand, stretching the Pacers’ lead to 28-10 with 2:53 left until halftime.
And the Pacers weren’t done yet. After forcing another three-and-out – followed by another high punt snap, and another desperate scramble from Askew – the visitors found themselves at the Mount Vernon 15-yard-line.
The Jackets’ defense held tough, and Delaware was forced to settle for a 28-yard field goal from junior Cooper Goble with 44 seconds left on the clock.
Delaware took a 31-10 lead into the halftime locker room.
Mount Vernon moved the ball to the Delaware 11-yard-line on its first possession of the second half, but couldn’t punch it in. Senior defensive back Aidan Pili picked off Hubbard near the end zone on second-and-long, giving the ball back to the Pacers.
Lowman then led Delaware on a nine-play, 85-yard drive that took four minutes and ended with a 25-yard touchdown strike to senior wideout Kaden Gannon, giving the visitors a 38-10 advantage with 4:11 left in the third quarter.
Another Delaware interception – this time by junior linebacker Jaxon Smith near midfield – set up another scoring drive. Lowman dropped back after six straight run plays and lofted an eight-yard touchdown pass to Gannon in the corner of the end zone, making it 45-10 with 11:02 left in the game.
The touchdown pass marked Lowman’s fifth of the night. Many came over the top, in late-down situations. Campbell said Delaware found a hole in Mount Vernon’s defense and exploited it.
“We had some miscommunication,” he said. “We tried to man them up and tried to get after them. We thought, in order to stop the run, we had to be able to put some guys in the box.
“And credit to their coaching staff, they saw that and they were able to adjust and take advantage of some things on the edge, in the numbers game. But as far as our game plan, that was kind of what we were trying to force them to do.”
The clock ran from there, per OHSAA rules. Mount Vernon threw one more interception – bringing its turnover total to four – and Delaware used a steady rushing attack to put the game to rest.
KEYS TO THE GAME: Delaware dominated in the trenches on both sides of the ball.
The Pacers were able to run the ball at-will against Mount Vernon offensively, while also giving Lowman time to operate in the pocket. On the defensive side of the ball, they applied constant pressure to Hubbard, forcing the senior gunslinger into uncomfortable situations and tough decisions.
“Coming into the game, our three keys to victory were to play fast on offense and defense; to be physical on offense and defense – especially up front, our offensive and defensive line; and our slogan the whole time has been ‘brotherhood,'” Montgomery said. He felt like his team checked all those boxes.
Mount Vernon started two freshmen on its offensive and defensive line Friday, Campbell said. The Pacers were not only more experienced up front, but also more physically mature, and Campbell said it showed more often than not.
“We started two freshmen tonight, and both of them played extremely hard,” Campbell said. “So I just think we’ve gotta continue to – you know, we’ve gotta get bigger, we’ve gotta get faster, we’ve gotta get stronger.
“But overall, I thought our execution was better, like actually understanding the scheme was better. I thought our pad level was high, and that’s gotta continue to get fixed. And I think if we take care of those things, we’ll be OK.”
The Pacers also won the turnover battle. Mount Vernon committed four, while Delaware committed just one (on the first play of the game). These momentum-changing errors proved costly for the Yellow Jackets, who had little room for error to begin with.
“We’ve gotta eliminate the turnovers,” Campbell said. “We had four or five turnovers tonight; I don’t know exactly what it was, but it was too many, especially against a good Delaware team.”
WHAT’S NEXT: Conference play begins next week for both teams.
Delaware will face county rival Big Walnut (3-0) on the road. The Golden Eagles reached the regional title game last fall, and appear primed for another run in 2022. The Pacers, meanwhile, are red hot, having outscored their first three opponents this season 90-24.
“I think we have a really experienced senior and junior class that is hungry to have success. And I just talked to them down in the end zone (about how) we take everything one game at a time. We’ve gotta have a great Monday practice, a great Tuesday, a great Wednesday, a great Thursday – focus on our individual, focus on our team, and continue to grind,” Montgomery said Friday.
“I mean, the season’s long. We’re now going to get into conference (play), and I know we’re gonna face adversity. We can’t get complacent. We’ve just gotta continue to work together. …
“When we go in on Saturdays (and watch film), we break it up into teaching plays and good plays, and we really hammer fundamentals. Fundamentals has been something we’ve talked about for the first three weeks. And so we want to continue to get after that.”
Mount Vernon will head to Lexington (0-3) for its Ohio Cardinal Conference opener next week. Campbell said his team will look to learn from Friday’s loss and make improvements where necessary.
“Our goal every week is to go 1-0, and that’s all there is to it,” he said. “So as we get back into film tomorrow, our goal is to evaluate, see where we’re at, and get ready to go beat Lex.
“I mean, that’s where we’re at. Find a way to go 1-0 next week.”
