Josh Bender, 18, lifts weights at the Delaware Community Center YMCA a few days after the facility opened to the public. The afternoon following Thanksgiving, more than 230 people accessed the center and 22 people signed up for memberships, according to membership coordinator Matt Kifle.
The Pacers showed plenty of pride, but the Pioneers’ championship pedigree prevailed as they rode standout running back Brandon Schoen to a 47–21 OCC-Capital Division win Friday in Delaware.
This one was decided in the trenches.Big Walnut dominated both sides of the line, piling up 482 yards — 454 on the ground — and 21 first downs in total offense, as the Golden Eagles rolled to their sixth straight victory Friday night, a 42–13 Ohio Capital Conference Capital Division decision over Delaware Hayes on Homecoming Night at Gauthier Field.
Delaware Hayes started about as well as a team can Friday in Pataskala, jumping out to a 20–0 first-half lead before the skies opened and poured down rain — rain that washed away the Pacers’ hopes for an OCC-Capital Division win with it.
The Pacers led by just one point at half, but scored 17 straight points in the third and fourth quarters for the Ohio Capital Conference Capital Division victory over Mount Vernon Friday at Yellow Jacket Stadium.
Hayes converted five fourth-down conversions, scored touchdowns on each of its first seven possessions and didn’t punt until midway through the fourth quarter.Yup … that should tell you just about all you need to know about Friday’s OCC-Capital Division clash between Delaware and visiting Franklin Heights — a game Hayes won 56–27.
Delaware Hayes punched in a pair of second half touchdowns to make a game of things, but host Liberty made more than enough plays to pull away late, rolling to a 38–14 non-league win Friday in Powell.The game started as a battle between two teams led by dynamic receivers — the Patriots’ A.J. Motika and the Pacers’ Matt Bingaya — senior standouts who feed their teams’ fire each and every time they hit the field.
Delaware Hayes wasn’t at all happy about the way it played on the opening night of the season.Last night, though … last night’s showing against visiting Olentangy was a different story.The Pacers wore their will to win on their sleeves, erupting with emotion when senior quarterback Josh Bender found fellow senior Matt Bingaya in the end zone with 31 seconds to go — a fade from 18 yards out that Bingaya snagged over a pair of Brave defenders for his third touchdown of the game — giving Hayes a thrilling 18–14 come-from-behind win in front of a rowdy crowd in Delaware.