CLIMBING THE LADDER … Delta’s Alex York climbs the ladder to snag the football in Friday night’s 42-8 win over Ayersville.
PHOTOS BY RACHEL NAGEL / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
RUNNING IN TRAFFIC … Delta senior running back Hayden Boulton bounces through a hole in the Ayersville defense. Boulton carried seven times for 37 yards in the game.
By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
DELTA (August 22, 2025) The Delta Panther ground game chewed up yardage and the game clock during a 42-8 rout of the Ayersville Pilots at home Friday night.
After a 29-yard return by sophomore Gunner Taylor, the Panthers started the first quarter just shy of midfield.
Taylor would go on to gain another 24 yards across the six plays of the five-down drive, including the final two yards for the first touchdown of the game. Senior Alex York put in the extra point, leaving just over six minutes in the first quarter.
Ayersville struggled early, catching a false start penalty on their first play, gaining one yard on a run by senior Owen Lloyd, getting a second false start penalty, followed by another three yards on a pitch to Lloyd, before an incomplete pass brought out the punting squad.
Delta started the next drive on their own 16-yard line after the punt was downed by the Pilots. A 14-yard run for a first down on the second play of the drive by senior Hayden Boulton set up a series of plays going into the end of the first quarter, with Taylor picking up 27 yards, junior Vincent Martinez getting 17, and Boulton another six.
Martinez ran another 3 yards to start the second quarter, and three plays – all to Taylor – pushed the Panthers the final 16 yards for the touchdown. Another good kick from York brought the score to 14-0 with just over 10 minutes left in the half.
Although they managed to avoid any penalties, the Pilots again failed to gain steam in their second drive, putting together just four yards across three plays.
They also struggled on the punt return, with Martinez bringing it from about the 30 all the way to the Ayersville 25-yard line.
A pair of runs from Boulton and a 17-yarder from Taylor brought the ball to within inches, and after one failed attempt Taylor was given the ball again, earning his and Delta’s third touchdown of the game. York again did his part, putting the score at 21-0.
Ayersville’s troubles continued, with a big hit on their receiver during kickoff followed by a false start penalty, a one-yard lateral pass, and a delay of game penalty.
A five-yard run by senior Eli Berner wasn’t enough to get back to the original line of scrimmage, and they kicked it away again, downing the ball on the Delta 39-yard line.
Delta wasted no time, and with the combined forces of Martinez, Boulton, and Taylor, pushed to the Pilot 37.
York then showed up in a big way, catching a pass and running all the way to the end zone, where he fought off dogged defenders, leaning and outstretching his arms just enough to get the ball across the plane as he fell. He followed up his touchdown by kicking the extra point and putting the Panthers up 28-0.
After a solid return, the Pilots again failed to gain any momentum, catching an immediate false start penalty before pushing nine yards on a pair of runs.
Another run, by Berner, seemed doomed as he was pushed backward, but he managed to get free and push to the Delta 48, more than enough for the team’s first earned first down.
Ayersville immediately burned a play to stop the clock with four seconds left before also calling a timeout.
Their final play started handoff from junior quarterback Brady Zartman to Lloyd for the latter to attempt a pass, but it was incomplete, ending the half.
The Pilots were set to get the ball back at the beginning of the second half, but an attempt by sophomore Dylan Tressler to catch the kickoff turned into a fumble which was recovered by Delta at the Ayersville 32-yard line.
The Panthers wasted no time, with senior Dominic Salyers catching a pass for a 14-yard gain on the first play. Two yards from Martinez followed by another eight from Salyers put them in on the eight-yard line, where Salyers brought it home. York kicked the extra point for a score of 35-0 just over two minutes into the quarter.
Ayersville was finally able to start putting downs together during their fifth drive after a 15-yard return by Lloyd.
Over the course of several downs, Berner personally traversed 50 yards which, despite a pair of penalties for holding and false start balanced with one against Delta for a facemask, on the way to their first touchdown, which he carried in from the one.
A fake kick run in by junior Jackson Stambaugh completed the conversion and put the score at 35-8.
Not content to let the Pilots’ first score go unanswered, a kick return of more than 20 yards was followed up by a pair of runs that brought the ball to the Ayersville 43-yard line, before Salyers made a mammoth 43-yard run to score his second touchdown and bring the Panther lead to 42-8.
All told, the Panthers put together 317 yards on 45 plays compared to 110 yards across 47 for the Pilots, who lost a whopping 77 yards on 10 penalties during the game.
UP NEXT: August 29 – Delta (1-0) @ Fairview (1-0) 7pm
AHS 0 0 0 8 – 8
DHS 28 0 7 7 – 42
D – Taylor 2-yd run (York kick)
D – Taylor 4-yd run (York kick)
D – Taylor 1-yd run (York kick)
D – Martinez 8-yd run (York kick)
A – Berner 1-yd run (Wolfrum run)
D – Salyers 43-yd run (York kick)