Patience pays off for Del City in win over Sapulpa

Eagles to host Tulsa Memorial Friday for homecoming

By Jeff Harrison
Midwest City Beacon

Del City’s offense is hard to stop.

They simply have too many playmakers.

Sapulpa found that out the hard way last Friday night. The Chieftains (3-3, 1-2) focused on stopping the Eagles’ ground game and deep passing attack.

Del City (5-0, 3-0) didn’t fret and instead took what the defense gave them in a 30-0 win in district play.

Quarterback River Warren found Ladanian Fields and Braelon Adamah in space and let the receivers do the rest. Ladanian Fields led the way with four catches for 132 yards and two scores. The touchdowns came on short passes that he broke for 42 and 60 yards. Adamah had three catches for 54 yards and ran for two scores.

“I was surprised someone tried to deny the running game but that tested us and it was a lot closer game than the 30-0 score,” said coach Robert Jones. “In the passing game they wanted to keep everything in front of them and we were able to take some of those shorter routes and go long.”

Warren was 8 of 16 passing for 184 yards with two touchdowns.

Rodney Fields still managed to run for 72 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries, despite the Chieftains efforts to contain him.

The Eagle defense was also brilliant as they held the Chieftains scoreless and had three takeaways. Sapulpa came into the game averaging more than 40 points per game.

“Sapulpa is probably the best offense that we’ve faced this year,” Jones. “They have one of the better quarterbacks in the district, and they had some big plays against us. To be able to hold them to zero points is a big positive.”

Adamah put the Eagles on the board first with an eight-yard touchdown run up the middle on their first possession of the game. They soon doubled the lead on a 42-yard touchdown pass from Warren to Ladanian Fields. The senior receiver caught a pass about 10 yards down field and broke free down the sidelines.

Sapulpa moved the ball deep inside Del City territory late in the second quarter, but the defense held.

Del City led 12-0 at halftime.

The Eagles extended their lead with an 18-point effort in the third. An interception by Blake Barker set up a two-yard touchdown run by Adamah. A failed two-point try made it an 18-0 score.

Del City again got great starting field position thanks to a blocked punt. Rodney Fields later punched it in from two yards out for a 24-0 lead.

Ladanian Fields capped the scoring with another big play. He caught a pass five yards downfield, slipped a defender and bolted down the sidelines for a 60-yard score. The Eagles were again stopped on the two-point try, making it a 30-0 score.

Del City forced a couple of turnovers in the fourth to preserve the shutout. Adamah intercepted a pass near his own 30 and returned it to the Chieftains 25. D’Marion Turner intercepted a pass in the end zone on the field play of the game.

The Eagles will return home to Robert Kalsu Stadium Friday night. They will face a winless Tulsa Memorial (0-6, 0-3) squad for homecoming.