(FREE) Del City Eagles Soar Over Midwest City
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Under first year head coach Robert Jones, the Del City Eagles had already made waves once this year against a Mid-Del school district foe in a blow out victory over Carl Albert. Now in a possibly bigger match up thanks to the Class 6A-2 district implications, Jones and his Eagles have another signature victory, this time over Midwest City.
After a slow start on offense, Del City were facing a third and long from around midfield late in the first quarter. That’s when star junior Kanijal Thomas Kanijal Thomas 6'1" | DB Del City | 2023 State OK showed his wheels by roasting the Midwest City defense for not only a first down, but finding the end zone as well.
That spark by Thomas was all the Eagles needed to get the show rolling. They would recover a fumble on the ensuing kick off, which lead to an early second quarter touchdown run by senior Quarterback Virgil Thomas. Scoring off turnovers would become a theme of the second frame. Braylon Adamah secured an interception that led to another Thomas short touchdown run. And a late fumble recovery helped set up a short field goal. In between those two turnover aided scoring drives, Stanley Johnson converted an impressive 37 yard field goal
What was a close game through one quarter, was on the verge of a blowout headed into the break. While the physical Eagles never found the end zone again. They limited Midwest City to only one scoring drive. Offensively, Del City controlled the clock on long drives that took the air out of the Bombers’ attack and at no point in the second half did the game ever feel in doubt.
Midwest City 0 0 6 0 6
Del City. 7 20 0 0 27
Turning Point
The game completely changed thanks to the game breaking speed of Kanijal Thomas Kanijal Thomas 6'1" | DB Del City | 2023 State OK . Throughout the first quarter, Del City’s physical and bruising running game had yet to gain momentum. To provide the spark, they had to go to the air. And who better to light that fire than a future Division One athlete in Thomas. He made speeding away from the Bombers’ DB to get open look effortless as he opened the scoring.
Player of the Game
Senior QB Virgil Yates Virgil Yates 5'10" | ATH Del City | 2022 State OK
The signal caller for the Eagles was responsible for all three of their scores. He’s primarily a threat on the ground with a combination of his strength at shrugging off arm tackles and quick feet at finding the openings his line provided. But it was his deep ball to Thomas that opened up the offense for Del City. He also found Thomas again late in the second quarter, which set up another field goal. With the amount of speed Del City has all over the field, Yates is the key to keeping the offense running.
Quotable
Coach Jones spoke about Thomas’ touchdown, the dominating front seven of Del City. Along with the physical nature of the smash mouth Eagles.
What’s Next
Midwest City: The Bombers will look to get back on track with a home match up against Deer Creek. Last season, Midwest City dispatched the Antlers with a decisive 53-0 win. The Antlers looked to be improved this season with a 5-1 mark. So Midwest City will need to bring their A game to keep the bad taste of defeat out of their mouth for the second straight week.
Del City: Riding a 5 game wining steak, Del City will be traveling to the northwest side of the OKC metro for a match up with Putnam City North. Last year, the Eagles lost a close one 6-10 to the Panthers. If Del City is able to keep it rolling, they would become 3-0 at avenging loses from last season. As last season they lost to Stillwater, Midwest City and Putnam City North to start district play. This year, they’ve already avenged the first two loses and will now have Putnam City North firmly in their sights.