Delta’s defense was dominant all night long against the visiting Cortez Panthers last Friday night. Cortez’s Keenan Garcia is about to feel the strength of that Delta defense in the picture above. Delta won the game by a 49-6 score. One more win, next week, against Battle Mountain will wrap up a berth in post-season play for the Panthers.

All that stands in the way of the Panthers’ securing a berth in this year’s state playoffs is Battle Mountain. The Huskies will host Delta this Friday for a 7 p.m. contest.

Phillip Decker held the hot hand as a scorer for the Panthers with three touchdowns. Two came on pass receptions and the third on a kickoff return. Five different players accounted for touchdowns for Delta.

Under the mass of bodies, Ethan Kraai was being congratulated for scoring Delta’s fifth touchdown of the game. Kraai scored one touchdown and kicked five extra points as the Panthers routed Cortez 49-6 in a 3A WSL contest.

A Delta fumble on the punt gave the ball right back to Cortez at Delta’s 31-yard line. On the first play of their second series, Cortez fumbled the ball back to Delta at the 27.

Delta quarterback Austin Watson scooted 62 yards on the third play to give the Panthers a 6-0 lead. Ethan Kraai’s PAT kick made the score 7-0 with 8:49 left in the first period. Delta’s drive covered 73 yards in three plays.

Cortez began their next drive from their own 12-yard line and in nine plays moved the ball to Delta’s 34 before losing it on downs.

Delta used 21 yards from Michael Patton and an 18-yard reception to Ernie Baier to move Delta into scoring position. The final eight yards of the 66-yard drive was a pass to Decker. Kraai’s kick made the score 14-0 with 47.5 seconds left in the opening quarter.

Cortez had the ball at their own 14 following the ensuing kickoff. The Panthers were faced with a second and 11 at the 13 as the period ended.

Two penalties and a pair of running plays later, the ball was resting at Cortez’s three yard-line. A high snap from the Cortez center sailed over the punter’s head resulting in a safety. With 10:25 remaining in the first half, Delta was leading 16-0.

While noted for his offensive prowess, Michael Patton (37) breaks through Cortez’s offensive line and pursues the Panthers’ quarterback, Breen McComb.

On Delta’s next possession, Cortez halted a drive by intercepting a Watson aerial.

Cortez used the turnover to drive the ball to Delta’s 45 before losing it on downs.

The host Panthers scored their fourth touchdown on a 50-yard drive that took four plays. A 23-yard run by Patton started the drive with Decker’s third touchdown coming on an 11-yard pass from Watson. Kraai’s PAT made the score 30-0 with 4:29 left in the first half.

Chad Cromwell set up Delta’s next score after he intercepted a McComb pass at the Cortez 40 and returned it to the Panthers’ five-yard line. Patton took the ball down to the one and Kraai plowed his way into the endzone from one yard out. With Kraai’s kick, Delta led 37-0 with 3:16 left in the half.

Cortez’s next possession ended in disaster once again as the Panthers tried to punt the ball. Another snap sailed over the punter’s head and Delta recovered the ball at the Cortez one-yard line.

On the first play of the series, Robert Simpson bulled his way into the endzone for the touchdown. Kraai’s kick was no good leaving Delta cruising with a 43-0 lead at halftime.

This unidentified Delta defender spoils a double-reverse play on a kickoff against Cortez last Friday night. The Delta Panthers rolled to a lopsided 49-6 victory and further solidified their chances for a post-season playoff berth.

Fuentes ripped off 31 yards on his first carry and then finished off the drive with runs of six and two yards for the score. Kraai’s kick failed and the Panthers owned a 49-0 lead with 7:38 left in the third quarter. The drive covered 65 yards and it took six plays to complete.

The third quarter was quickly played as the mercy clock rule was employed. The game clock ran, without being stopped, except for time outs for the remainder of the third quarter.

Each team had two possessions in the fourth quarter. Delta’s first possession ended when a fumble was recovered by Cortez at the Delta 26-yard line.

Cortez used a bit of trickery to record their lone score of the game. Cortez quarterback, McComb, lateraled the ball to Keenan Garcia who was running to his right. After the lateral, McComb flared around his left end and was all alone for the return pass from Garcia. The play covered 13 yards. A missed extra point left the final score at 49-6.

Patton’s 10 rushes for 83 yards paced Delta’s ground game. Watson picked up 69 yards on two carries and Fuentes ran for 52 yards on seven carries.

Decker had three catches for 26 yards and two touchdowns in Delta’s aerial game.

Delta had 220 yards on the ground and another 44 in the air for 264 yards of total offense. Cortez ran for 53 yards and had 103 through the air.

Delta (7-2 and 5-2) concludes their regular season this week with a road trip to face Battle Mountain (2-7 and 1-6) on Friday at 7 p.m. A win there means playoff time for the Panthers.

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