It was a game of missed opportunities for the Del City Eagles. They traveled a few minutes down the road to take on the defending state champion Carl Albert Titans and stared the champ down for about one quarter and half; however mistakes would be the undoing of the Eagles as they fell 34-12.
Del City will always wonder how things might have turned in their favor had they capitalized on some early Carl Albert mistakes. They benefited from a called back touchdown run from Titans quarterback Stevie Thompson. That series would go on to end in a 50-yard punt.
However, Del City responded with a fumble by quarterback Will Trotter. The defense held strong after stopping the Carl Albert run game on a crucial fourth and inches to get their offense the ball back, and it looked like the Eagles might finally break through when a couple of big plays landed them on the Titans 4-yard line.
Then, a sequence of errors turned a great opportunity into a disaster. Del City took a false start penalty on first and goal. They were tackled for a 3-yard loss when they did get the play off. They got 6 yards back after an offsides penalty and 1-yard run on second down. On third down, the pass was deflected incomplete. Finally, the series was put out of its misery when a 21-yard field goal attempt was blocked on fourth down. The whole first quarter had been played with multiple Titans errors, yet the score remained a scoreless tie.
Still, the Del City defense held strong. The next Carl Albert possession ended in an interception by Eagles safety Nyko Gozum which he returned to the Carl Albert 43-yard line. Del City would capitalize off this turnover. After a big run by Trotter, senior running back Anthony Mason punched in a 5-yard touchdown run. Del City continued its kicking woes with a botched extra point attempt leaving the score 6-0.
The Eagles caught another break when Carl Albert couldn’t convert from the Del City 3-yard line. Thompson even missed a wide open receiver in the end zone just sailing it out of reach.
And, that’s where the Eagles’ good fortune would end. Backed up against their own goal line, Trotter fumbled in the end zone leading to Carl Albert’s first score and tying the game at six after a missed extra point.
On the ensuing kickoff, confusion on the return led to Del City letting the ball drop on their own 20-yard line untouched. Carl Albert recovered it in what amounted to a long onside kick.
Carl Albert would watch another Thompson touchdown run get called back on a hold but scored a few plays later on a Thompson 14-yard throw. The extra point brought the score to 13-6 going into halftime and the Titans never looked back.
Thompson and the Carl Albert run game found their footing in the second half. Their first two possessions ended with Thompson touchdown runs in between a Will Trotter interception that cut short a promising Del City drive. Suddenly, the lead was 27-6 and there was zero chance of grounding Thompson.
Del City had their chances. Carl Albert made sure there would be no more. A 75-yard kickoff return touchdown by Zack Jones gave Del City life for a brief moment until one last Thompson touchdown run sealed the game off 34-12 for Carl Albert.
The Eagles fought harder than the 34-12 score suggests. It might have all been different had they capitalized on any one of the Carl Albert mistakes in the first half. Every season ends with a few “what ifs” for every team except the eventual champion. Del City’s will be what if they had knocked out Carl Albert in the first half.
