Delbarton 27 St. Peter’s Prep 20 in Overtime    

September 16, 2023

Delbarton drove 59 yards in the final minute of regulation, scored with no time left to force overtime, and beat St. Peter’s Prep, 27-20. After scoring on their possession, they recovered a St. Peter’s Prep fumble in the end zone to seal the win. 

First Quarter: Prep went on a 9-minute, 11-play drive to open the game, but did not put points on the board by turning it over on downs. The drive was mostly on the ground with Jalen Cline receiving the bulk of the carries. 

Second Quarter: On the quarter’s first play, Prep started on their 40 and Tyler Bell immediately found Andres Perez wide open over the middle for a 60-yard touchdown and a 6-0 lead. After a Delbarton punt, Prep drove for nearly six minutes, but ended up punting. The Marauders had the ball again and had to punt, but a low snap hit the ground and the ball was like a hot potato for Bell and he was tackled on their 15 with 1:37 left. But Prep’s defense held, aided by a sack by Sahaaj Bennett, forcing a field goal attempt that went wide left. 

Third Quarter: Prep had a chance to extend their lead when Bell connected with Dallas Reece for 29 yards to the Delbarton 32 on a fake punt. The Marauders could not convert and Delbarton took over, getting on the board when Michael Van Raaphorst connected with Phillip Folmar for a 53-yard score and a 7-6 lead. Prep drove five minutes plus one play into the fourth quarter, going ahead on a 6-yard keeper by Bell for a 12-7 lead. Much of the drive was Cline and Bell running the ball. 

Fourth Quarter: With five minutes left, Delbarton took over on the Prep 44 and one play later, Ryan Trafford went the distance to put the Green Wave up, 13-12. Prep got moving on a 23-yard completion to Reece to the Delbarton 37. The Marauders advanced further and went back in front on a 4-yard run by Tyler Barksdale. The two-point conversion pass was successful and it was 20-13, Prep with 53 seconds left. Van Raaphorst ran 11 yards to the Marauder 33, followed by a 7-yard run and a pass to Girard Yoo for 11 yards to the 15 with six seconds remaining. At that point, Van Raaphorst faded back and kept it down the middle of the field, which was open, and made it past the goal line for the score. The extra point was good, setting up overtime. 

Overtime: Delbarton had the ball first and ran the ball five times, four by Trafford, who scored a 5-yard touchdown through the middle to put them ahead, 27-20. St. Peter’s Prep struck on the first play with Bell finding Reece over the middle to the 1-yard line, but he was spun around by Troy Bailey and the ball came loose with Tyler DaSilva recovering for the Green Wave recovering in the end zone, giving them the win. 

Comments: Delbarton found a way to win when it was looking good for St. Peter’s Prep with one minute to go. Their last plays of regulation went for 11, 7, 11, and 15 yards. They took advantage in overtime, scoring on their possession and the defense preventing a possible touchdown with the fumble. While Trafford was not getting his usual amount of yards, he had a fourth quarter touchdown of 44 yards and was the prime mover in overtime. 

For St. Peter’s Prep, it was a big heartache. Allowing the late touchdown and 25 yards to Delbarton on five plays in overtime overshadows a generally good job the defense did during the game. What really hurts looking back are the first half drives of nine and six minutes with no points to show for it. Cline had 287 yards on 32 carries by my estimate – he is a short player, but he is not small, reminding me of former Giant Joe Morris. But in the end, there were missed opportunities for Prep.