ND Football v Briarfield

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, November 20, 2007

J.T. Dalrymple carried the ball for the Green Wave in his final game as a North Delta player. North Delta fell in the second round of the playoffs to Briarfield, La. 32-13. The Panolian photo by Angie Ledbetter

ND ends season with loss to Briarfield

By Angie Ledbetter

It started with spring practice in May and it ended on Friday night for the Green Wave football team when Briarfield Academy defeated them 32-13 in the second round of playoffs.

It was all of the team’s dream to make it to the MPSA Class “A” State Championship on November 30, but that dream was cut short by three games.  The Green Wave ended the season 9-4 overall.

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The Briarfield Academy Rebels advanced to the North Half Championship game where they will play Winona Christian Friday night, November  23. The winner of that game will play in the state championship game on November 30 in Clinton.

The Rebels got on the scoreboard in the second quarter when Jeffrey Graham kept the ball for 1 a yard run and the PAT was good.  

JT Dalrymple came back a few minutes later and scored on a 78 yard run but the PAT failed.  The Rebels had a 7-6 lead going into the third quarter.

In the second half  Graham scored on a 31 yard run and the two point conversion was no good to give the Briarfield a 13-6 lead over the Green Wave.  

Michael Johnson scored on a 90 yard kickoff return and the PAT by Dalrymple was good to tie the game 13-13 with 11:20 to go in the third quarter.

The  Rebels came back and scored two more touchdowns in the third quarter and one in the fourth to win the game.

The Green Wave ended the game with 181 yards rushing and 131 yards passing for a total offense of 312 yards. They had 12 first downs, one fumble that they lost, and six penalties for 55 yards. They had five kickoff returns for 97 yards.

JT Dalrymple lead the team on offense with 146 yards on 14 carries with one touchdown.  Hunter West had five carries for 17 yards.  Bateman Greenlee had four carries for 11 yards, and Geri Lamm had two for seven yards.

Bateman Greenlee was 29 of 11 for 131 yards passing with three interceptions. Michael Johnson had six receptions for 80 yards. He had one kickoff return for 90 yards.  Dalrymple had five for 51 yards.

Dalrymple had three punts for an average of 39 yards.  He was one of two on PATs.

Leading the Green Wave defense was Britt Lawrence with 14 tackles and two for a loss. John Paul Keel had 12 and one for a loss. Hunter West had 12 tackles, three for a loss, one sack, and one forced fumble. Bateman Greenlee had 11, four for a loss, and one fumble recovery.  Conor Ferguson had 11 and one for a loss.  Andy Barns had nine tackles, one for a loss. Blane Joyner had seven tackles, one for a loss, and two pass breakups.  Geri Lamm had seven tackles and one forced fumble.

The Rebels had 340 yards rushing and 77 yards passing for a total offense of 417.  They had 20 first downs, five penalties for 35 yards, one punt return for 18 yards, two kickoff returns for 44 yards, and two interception returns for 41 yards.

Head Green Wave Coach Richard Russo said that his kids played hard.  “First and foremost, I think that our kids played extremely hard tonight and our coaches coached extremely hard tonight.  However, the deeper you go into the playoffs at any level of football, the sharper you have to be in all phases of the game.  We missed way too many tackles and made too many mental errors that really cost us.  Those are things that we practice every day.  I was extremely impressed with Briarfield’s team speed.  They had three or four players faster than our fastest players.  When that speed got in space, it gave us a lot of trouble.  I can easily see them going back to Clinton and winning it this time.”

Russo said, “It started last November when we kicked off our off-season program and it ended tonight.  Between those dates have been a lot of hard work, dedication, blood, sweat, and tears given by our players, Coach Thomas, Coach Wilson, and supporting staff.  All of that sacrifice resulted and dedication resulted in Green Wave football going a combined (17-4), winning two District 1A Championships, and advancing to the final 8 “A” MPSA teams.

 “It is my hope that our players experienced hard work, dedication, and loyalty during this time.  I hope that they learned some valuable life lessons and added a little more character.  It is hard to lose the six seniors. They have meant a lot to us from both off and on the field.  I look forward to watching them do great things in life.  

“I am proud of what they’ve accomplished with the rest of the team.  

“We have challenged the underclassmen to come back on Monday, the 26th, with an attitude to begin the defense of the District 1A Title.”