By Michael S. Hoey
Correspondent
The eighth-ranked Waterford football team continued its march toward a second consecutive Southern Lakes Conference title with a 41-6 home win over Delavan-Darien that was not quite as easy as the score indicated.
“That might be the most physical defensive front we have seen all year,” Bakken said. “They really have good size and they made things difficult for us at times.”
Fortunately, the Waterford defense was also pretty good in limiting the Comets to 127 total yards and the offense was able to find its way behind the running of Tanner Keller and Dominic Miller.
Keller was the big story on offense for Waterford with 251 yards rushing on 15 carries and three touchdowns. Dominic Miller was the second head on the two-headed monster rushing for another 87 yards on 15 attempts with two scores.
Bakken said quarterback Logan Martinson also played a nice game with six completions for 59 yards. Though not much was needed in the air on a night Waterford rushed for 383 yards, Martinson got the ball down the field often enough to keep the Comet defense honest.
The Comets did not help themselves by, in Johnson’s opinion, not tackling well overall and by making some special teams mistakes early in the game.
The special teams had a fumble and a low snap on a punt that led to the Wolverines taking over possession at the Comet 34-yard line twice.
Waterford simply cashed in on Comet mistakes and used its big-play two-headed rushing attack to pound the ball against a defense that Waterford Coach Adam Bakken said was one of the best his team had faced all year.
Waterford, which led 21-0 entering halftime, scored once in the third quarter before adding 13 in the final frame to come away with the Southern Lakes Conference win.
The Comet offense had some early success on its opening drive with some positive yards by rusher Ross Gengler, but the drive stalled when Waterford’s Jacob Maydak got a sack on third down and forced the Comets to punt.
Maydak had two sacks and a fumble recovery on the night.
Bakken credited Maydak along with linebackers Jacob Lilla and Trevor Hancock for their key defensive stops.
Waterford took the ball right down the field on an 86-yard drive that ended with a Keller 19-yard touchdown run to pull Waterford ahead 7-0.
Delavan-Darien’s first special teams mistake came on the ensuing kickoff, where Lilla forced a fumble, which was recovered by Maydak at the Comets’ 34-yard line.
Two plays later, the Wolverines scored on a 28-yard pass from Martinson to Jack McCormick to give Waterford a 14-0 advantage after the first quarter.
Waterford, meanwhile, extended its lead to 21-0 on 3-yard touchdown run from Miller in the second quarter.
Waterford widens edge
Waterford ended all hope for a comeback with a quick strike to start the second half. On the fourth play from scrimmage, Keller ripped off a 71-yard touchdown run that made it 28-0.
After trading punts, the Comets finally put together a scoring drive, capped off by Gengler 8-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Waterford answered right back in one play, a 60-yard touchdown run by Keller. Waterford capped the scoring with a one-yard touchdown run by Miller.
The Wolverines (7-0, 5-0 SLC) finish the regular season at Burlington (6-1, 4-1) and Lake Geneva Badger (4-3, 2-3).
The Comets dropped to 2-5 overall and 1-4 in conference play.
To read the entire story, see the Oct. 11 edition of the Waterford Post.
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