Sizzling Squires Capture YAIAA-3 Championship | Sport

The Squire seniors will finish their high school careers with a 25-1 record in Y-3 competition. They will host 6-4 Trinity in the District 3 Class 2A playoffs starting next Friday. The Shamrocks beat Delaunay in the first game of the season, 35-7, en route to an 0-3 start for the Squires. But this isn’t the Squire team that started the season.

“Earlier in the year, we just thought it was going to take a while,” Delaunay coach Corey Zortman said. “Seven wins in a row is not easy. Our children came to work and believed all the time. In 2019, the same thing happened. With a score of 0:3, we won seven consecutive victories and entered the championship of the district. We used that this year and our guys believed they could do it. When we were 0-3, we coaches saw things start to turn around.”

Delaunay wasted no time in taking control of the game. On the kickoff, Ryder Noel picked off the ball at the 14-yard line and made his way to the open field, where he turned on the afterburners for an 86-yard touchdown. Noel dazzled on the night, carrying the ball eight times for 83 yards while scoring five touchdowns. In addition to the kickoff, he had a punt return, a pass from quarterback Denver Ostrum and two rushing touchdowns.

“Ryder has been phenomenal the last two weeks,” Zortman said, “and he’s a real team player. He will do whatever we ask of him.”

After Squire’s defense forced Fairfield into a three-and-out on its first possession, the offense put together the final drive. Starting at his own 16-yard line, Delaunay ran six times to get to midfield, then Brady Dettinburn burst 34 yards to the 15. Ostrum found Landen Smith at the 11, then Noel took it to the end zone for the final four yards.

The next possession was more of the same. The Squires methodically marched down the field, controlling the line of scrimmage and gaining yards on every play. Starting this time at his own six, Delaunay took eight plays to reach midfield, then Dominic Giraffa’s nine-yard run gave the Squires a 1st-and-10 at the Fairfield 40. Ostrum found Smith and then Giraffa, and the drive ended perfectly. 13-yard throw to Noel for a touchdown.

“Our style of offense is all about repetition,” Zortman said. “When we execute and stay accurate, it’s hard to stop. Our guys are ahead, I can’t say about them. That’s where we needed to make the biggest improvement, and they trusted the process and improved.”

The Squires scored another goal before halftime, with Dettinburn carrying four times for 15 yards. But it was Noel again at the end as he broke through the line and outran the Knights for a 35-yard touchdown to give Delaunay a 28-0 halftime lead.

Delaunay had 36 offensive plays in the half and limited Fairfield to 13. Fairfield’s only first down came on an obstruction penalty against Delaunay.

“We also changed some things defensively and we got really tough against the run,” Zortman said. “With a team like this, if you don’t care who gets the credit, you can do amazing things. I am really proud of them.”

Another three-and-out early in the second half forced another punt by Knight. The 38-yard boot was collected by Noel at the Squire 17-yard line and ran through a kicking Fairfield team like a hot knife through butter. An 83-yard punt return sent the game into the mercy rule and the Squires won 35-0.

Fairfield finally stepped up and stopped the Squires with a three on Delaunay’s next possession, and that’s when Knight’s offense came alive. Starting at their own 30, the Knights used six rushes to move the ball steadily downfield. Connor Joy was the spark, scampering 39 yards to set up Fairfield at the Delone 19.

Three plays later, Dominique Smitley took it into the end zone for 1 yard.

In the final three minutes of the game, Delaunay got on the scoreboard once again, and Colby Noel and Brayden Cluba were called. Noel gained 34 yards on two carries and Clabaugh rushed for 19 yards on three carries, including a 3-yard strike into the end zone for the final points of the game.

Ostrum, who transferred as a junior from Southwestern this year, finished the game with six carries on eight attempts for 55 yards and a touchdown. He threw for 1,055 yards and 12 touchdowns on the season. But per PIAA rules, the transfer deems Ostrum ineligible to play in the district, so he will have to sit out the rest of the season. It may seem like a big blow to the Squires, but Zortman is confident that the Squires machine will continue and that those who have been asked to step up will act.

“It’s a shame he can’t play, but we just wouldn’t be here without him,” Zortman said. “This week we will work on who will start at quarterback. A lot will depend on how Gage Zimmerman comes back, but we have Zach Staub and Ryder played quarterback for us last year.”

Delaunay’s regular season record is 7-3 and Fairfield finishes the regular season at 2-7. The Knights will face a powerhouse Steel-High team in the Class 1A district championship. In eight wins this season, the Rollers have scored more than 60 points four times.

Delaunay Catholic 13 15 7 7 — 42

DC – Ryder Noel 86 kick return (Nolan Cruz kick) 11:46

DC- Noel 4 drive (missed shot) 6:48

DC- Noel 13 pass by Denver Ostrum (Landon Smith pass by Ostrum) 10:54

DC- Noel 35 run (Cruz) 4:26

DC- Noel 83-punt return (Cruz) 9:31

F- Dominic Smitley 1 run (Watt Kuhn kick) :03

DC- Brayden Clabo 3 drive (Cruz) 1:12

Rashi-Dvari 42-302 28-124

In a hurry: DC- Ryder Noel 8-83, Ostrum 2-(-3), Brady Dettinburn 11-87, Domonic Giraffa 2-19, Team 1-(-1), Brayden Clabaugh 10-67, Leve Hohenstein 3-(-1) , Brayden Smith 2-16, Colby Noel 3-35; FF- Eddie Eichenlaub 2-2, Connor Joy 4-43, Jackson Reinke 2-6, Smitley 4-19, Kuhn 2-(-5), Stephen Higgs 6-27, Camden Bryant 6-32, Team 1-(- 3).

Walkthrough: DC- Ostrum 6-8-55-0, Zach Staub 1-3-6-0; FF- Kuhn 1-4-9-0.

Getting: DC- Landon Smith 2-15, Noel 1-13, Giraffe 1-12, Bryce Lybrand 1-11, Noah Crawford 1-13, Logan Forff 1-6; FF- Eli Kritsberg 1-9.