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To be on the top of the heap, you have to knock off the champion.
Indian River’s football team, Friday evening, will have a shot at doing just that when it travels to Delmar to tackle the Wildcats.
Delmar, the defending Henlopen South and Division II state champion, is once again a favorite to win the conference title; but the current Indians are not a team the ‘Cats can afford to overlook.
“Whenever you play Delmar, you know it’s going to be a battle,” IR head coach Jim Bunting admitted, “but I’d like to think [Wildcats head coach] Dave [Hearn] is saying the same thing about us.”
If Hearn is not, perhaps he should be, because it is IR that has given Delmar the most fits over the last decade.
Last decade, IR won the South three times and is one of the few teams south of the canal that handled the Wildcats at their place.
The Indians, in fact, won the last time they went to Delmar, which is regarded as one of the state’s toughest stadiums to play within.
“Over the years, we seem to play better on the road, and when we go to Delmar we are always focused,” Bunting explained. “It’s a great place to play, the fans are right on top of you and they support their team. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”
For IR to pull off the upset, the Indians will need to play defense the way they did in a recent 39-0 drubbing of Woodbridge.
The Wildcats, Bunting said, feature quick athletes and run the double-dive play well.
“Delmar isn’t fast the way Dover was, but they are a quick team,” Bunting said. “Looking at film, we still think there are some areas we can hopefully exploit though, but it is up to our guys to execute.”
When IR has the ball, it also has to execute well.
At times in the Woodbridge game, Bunting explained, his Indians still looked sloppy with the ball.
“On our first three drives, we were getting hit with motion penalties and just making mistakes we shouldn’t be making,” he said. “Against Delmar, we have to clean those things up to be successful.”
It helps some that the Wildcats’ recent opponent, Archmere, runs a spread offense so film of that contest will likely show the Indians what to expect from the Delmar defense.
“I’m sure there will be a few wrinkles,” Bunting said of the Delmar defensive strategy, “but for the most part, we expect them to come at us from outside and try to force [quarterback] Jamie [Jarmon] to the middle.”
Kickoff for Friday’s game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., and the Indians figure to be ready when they get off the bus for a fight.
“You take it one game at a time, but there are still games you are looking at even in early September,” Bunting said. “This is one of them.”
To be on the top of the heap, you have to knock off the champion.
Indian River’s football team, Friday evening, will have a shot at doing just that when it travels to Delmar to tackle the Wildcats.
Delmar, the defending Henlopen South and Division II state champion, is once again a favorite to win the conference title; but the current Indians are not a team the ‘Cats can afford to overlook.
“Whenever you play Delmar, you know it’s going to be a battle,” IR head coach Jim Bunting admitted, “but I’d like to think [Wildcats head coach] Dave [Hearn] is saying the same thing about us.”
If Hearn is not, perhaps he should be, because it is IR that has given Delmar the most fits over the last decade.
Last decade, IR won the South three times and is one of the few teams south of the canal that handled the Wildcats at their place.
The Indians, in fact, won the last time they went to Delmar, which is regarded as one of the state’s toughest stadiums to play within.
“Over the years, we seem to play better on the road, and when we go to Delmar we are always focused,” Bunting explained. “It’s a great place to play, the fans are right on top of you and they support their team. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”
For IR to pull off the upset, the Indians will need to play defense the way they did in a recent 39-0 drubbing of Woodbridge.
The Wildcats, Bunting said, feature quick athletes and run the double-dive play well.
“Delmar isn’t fast the way Dover was, but they are a quick team,” Bunting said. “Looking at film, we still think there are some areas we can hopefully exploit though, but it is up to our guys to execute.”
When IR has the ball, it also has to execute well.
At times in the Woodbridge game, Bunting explained, his Indians still looked sloppy with the ball.
“On our first three drives, we were getting hit with motion penalties and just making mistakes we shouldn’t be making,” he said. “Against Delmar, we have to clean those things up to be successful.”
It helps some that the Wildcats’ recent opponent, Archmere, runs a spread offense so film of that contest will likely show the Indians what to expect from the Delmar defense.
“I’m sure there will be a few wrinkles,” Bunting said of the Delmar defensive strategy, “but for the most part, we expect them to come at us from outside and try to force [quarterback] Jamie [Jarmon] to the middle.”
Kickoff for Friday’s game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., and the Indians figure to be ready when they get off the bus for a fight.
“You take it one game at a time, but there are still games you are looking at even in early September,” Bunting said. “This is one of them.”
