Overtime was needed to decide a battle in the Hoosier Heartland Conference between Delphi and Clinton Prairie on Friday. The Oracles made the defensive stand and scored two plays later to win 14-8.
Rain and wind hampered both offenses throughout the night. Both teams struggled to move the ball and fumbles became a problem for both sides.
A second-quarter fumble by the Gophers was picked by Delphi’s Ethan Mcilrath and returned inside the 15-yard line. Walker Jones was able to use the short field to get into the endzone two plays later. The extra point was no good and left the score at 6-0 in favor of the Oracles.
Neither team found success offensively in the third quarter. The score remained 6-0 heading into the fourth. The Oracles put together a strong drive deep into Gopher territory, but a goal-line stand gave the Gophers the ball inside their own three-yard line.
On the next play, the Gophers couldn’t get out of the end zone and were tackled for safety.
With eight minutes remaining, the Oracles led 8-0. Delphi’s ensuing drive stalled quickly, giving the Gophers the ball back with plenty of time remaining. Gaige Kuzmicz then connected with Braiden Jarboe for a handful of long plays. With under three minutes to play, Kuzmicz found Jarboe in the back of the endzone for the first point of the game for Clinton Prairie.
The Gophers couldn’t convert on the two-point try and the score remained 8-6.
Miraculously, Clinton Prairie recovered the onside kick and got the ball back with two and a half minutes left. Braiden Jarboe made a diving catch for a big gain to set the Gophers up in the red zone, but the drive stalled out and Clinton Prairie turned it over on downs.
The Gophers still had all three timeouts left but with less than 90 seconds left, the game looked far from reach. The Clinton Prairie defense made three straight stands and forced the Oracles to line up for a punt. The snap, however, went over Josh Hartley’s head and into the endzone, Hartley picked it up and tried to throw it away, but was called for intentional grounding in the endzone, resulting in a safety.
Tied at 8-8, neither team could pull ahead in the final minute, and the game went into overtime. The Gophers started with the ball, but Josh Hartley made the play of the day for the Oracles, intercepting a pass from Kuzmicz and stopping Clinton Prairie from scoring.
Two plays later, set up in a wildcat formation, Josh Hartley walked it off with a touchdown run, giving the Oracles the win 14-8.
Delphi improves to 4-2 (3-1) with the win while Clinton Prairie falls to 3-3 (2-2) with the loss.
Watch the game in its entirety archived on Hoosierlandtv.com or click on the game below.
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