Delhi Charter School running backs Keidron Thomas and Deandra Young had monster nights on the ground, with both rushers passing the 1,000-yard mark on the season and leading the Gators to a 64-12 homecoming win over the Tensas Panthers Friday night.
In addition to passing the milestone number in rushing yards with three regular season games still to play, Thomas piled up five rushing scores, while Young added another in Friday’s win.
The Gators drew first blood in the contest, with Thomas finding the end zone on a 25-yard run, before adding his second rushing TD just minutes later from 22 yards out. Young tacked on the 2-point conversion to give DCS a 16-0 lead early on.
Thomas would find pay dirt three more times, including runs of 42, 18 and 47 yards, in the blow out victory over the Panthers.
Young, quarterback Chad Clark II, Lance Lively and backup QB Caden Wiggins all added rushing scores to help the Gators improve to 6-1 on the season and 2-0 in Class 1A, District 4, where DCS is ranked first, just above Delta Charter.
Clark called his own number as time expired in the first quarter and scampered 7 yards for the score to put DCS up 22-0 after a failed PAT kick.
Following a second-quarter score from Thomas, the Panthers finally got on the board with a 65-yard touchdown pass to trail the Gators 28-6 with 8:07 remaining before halftime.
On the ensuing kickoff, Lively returned the ball nearly 80 yards for the Gators touchdown and a 2-point conversion run from Thomas put DCS up 36-6.
The Panthers answered with a kickoff return for a touchdown of its own, to trail 36-12 with just over seven minutes to play in the first half, but Young had an answer from the Gators in the form of a long touchdown run. Clark found Cameron Antley through the air for the conversion, and DCS extended its lead to 44-12.
Blake McKinney recovered an onside kick for DCS on the next play, giving the Gators’ offense new life near midfield and another rushing score from Thomas extended the lead to 50-12 heading into halftime.
Thomas came alive again on the Gators’ first play from scrimmage of the second half, taking the ball 47 yards for a score. Merritt Coenen added the 2-point conversion and Delhi lead 58-12 early in third quarter.
With backups taking snaps late in the game, DCS recovered a second onside kick, leading to drive-ending rushing score from Wiggins and giving the lopsided victory its final score.
Following the big win, the Gators will prepare for a home conference matchup with the 0-7 Block Bears Friday in Delhi.
The Bears are coming off a 36-24 loss to Sicily Island.
Kickoff between the Gators and Bears is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Brett Raley Field.
