The Carroll Cougars defeated the Delphi Oracles 24-0 in the Bacon Bowl Friday night.
The win marks the sixth straight Bacon Bowl victory, and the Big Skillet trophy returns to Flora.
“I feel like you finally saw Carroll football offensively and defensively (Friday) night,” Carroll coach Blake Betzner said.
It was a beautiful night at Berto Field in Delphi for the Bacon Bowl.
The two teams entered the game with contrasting offensive styles. Delphi averaged over 250 passing yards per game through the first three weeks. The Cougars rushed for 645 yards in their first three games.
The offenses didn’t find much success in the first quarter. Both teams had short drives on their first possessions.
Delphi’s second drive made it into the red zone, but a penalty slowed their momentum, and they later turned it over on downs.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Cougar offense marched down the field, and after converting on a fourth and short, Jon Carey punched it in from a yard out for the first touchdown of the game.
With a three-and-out from Delphi, Carroll got the ball back late in the second quarter. The Cougars drove inside the Delphi 10-yard line, and Riley Duff drilled a 20-yard field goal as time expired in the first half, putting the Cougars up 10-0
“(Riley) worked so hard all summer,” Betzner said. “He wasn’t our kickoff guy last year; he’s our kickoff guy now, and he can kick it. I feel comfortable anywhere up to the 20.”
Carroll received the second-half kickoff and used a balanced attack to march down the field and Landon Hammond showed the burst with a 22-yard rushing touchdown.
Delphi quarterback Weston Brown tried to lead a comeback, but the Oracles offense struggled to find traction against the Cougars in the second half, with a pair of punts and a turnover on downs.
Reid Hayden, the Cougars’ signal caller, put the final nail in the coffin, connecting with Carter Altic for a 12-yard touchdown to put the Cougars ahead 24-0.
The Cougars leaned on the passing game more than they had in previous weeks, and sophomore quarterback Reid Hayden had his best passing game of the season, finishing 9-13 for 112 yards and a touchdown.
Jon Carey was his usual self, rushing for 125 yards and a touchdown and earning himself the First Bank Midwest Player of the Game.
Brown finished 12-20 for 137 yards for the Oracles. Xaine Tessier caught eight passes for 88 yard in the loss.
The Cougars moved to 3-1 with the win, and will be back on Hoosierland TV next week when they take on the undefeated Eastern Comets in a big Hoosier Heartland Conference matchup.
The Oracles fall to 1-3 with the loss, and will look to bounce back against Tri-Central in week five.
Watch the full game by clicking below:
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