The Green Wave Football program wrapped up its road schedule on Saturday, defeating #11 Pope John 30-6 in Sparta, setting up a big match up in two weeks against DePaul Catholic.

Delbarton was dominating in all three sides of the ball, with the offense scoring four rushing touchdowns, the defense causing three turnovers and special teams blocking a field goal and hitting a 40-yard field goal.  "We feel really good about this group," says Coach Brian Bowers.  "They play well together and have some experience too. These guys know what to do and they're doing it with physicality. I'm really proud of them."

It was a sluggish start for Delbarton, with Christian Zebrowski '24 throwing an interception on the opening offensive drive.  However, the Green Wave defense stood tall, and Will McGinty had the first of three interceptions on the afternoon, giving Delbarton the ball right back.  Sticking to the plan of running the ball, Delbarton's offense was not able to move the ball much, with Ryan Trafford only getting 17 yards on his first 10 carries.  Delbarton also had quite a few offensive penalties that would cause them any momentum early on.  In fact, Delbarton only had 48 total yards of offense until its fourth drive of the game, coming in the second quarter!  With the ball deep in Green Wave territory in the first quarter, Pope John would try and strike first, however senior Connor Martin '24 would block the field goal, giving Delbarton life with the score 0-0.  The offensive line would then begin to go to work, opening holes for Trafford who would bust out runs of 24 and 7 yards, before taking it to the house on a 29-yard touchdown run, giving Delbarton a 7-0 lead.  "It was a slow start, but they figured it out," Trafford said of the offensive line. "Once they get rolling, they're unstoppable. They're a great line. I wouldn't want to run behind anyone else.

After forcing a punt, Delbarton would go to work again close to the 50 yard line.  A 2nd down screen to Philip Folmar '25 would put the Green Wave in position to strike once again.  In one of the biggest plays of the afternoon, facing a 3rd and 12, Zebrowski would hit Folmar on the right hash mark, and somehow, Folmar would fight off three defenders, spin out of a tackle and gain the first down, keeping the drive alive.  Three plays later, Trafford would rush for his second score of the afternoon, this time a 2-yard run.

Before the close of the 2nd half, Pope John would attempt one more drive, but the defense would come up big again, this time Dallas Hurley'24 would deflect a pass down the middle, and Johnny Riley '24 would come up with the pick, his second in as many games.  Will Kramer '25 would once again come up three plays later and hit a 40-yard field goal in the wind for the 17-0 halftime lead.  

Down 17-0, Pope John would get the ball back to start the second half.  After both teams failed to score, the Lions would get good field position to start their second drive of the half.  However, the stingy Green Wave defense has other ideas.  On second down, Austin Quandt '24 would get his first interception of the season, A Folmar catch and run would set up Ryan Trafford once again, and despite a touchdown being called back, Trafford would score his third TD of the game, a 6-yard run with a little help from his offensive line!  "We came into this knowing it would be raining and that we may have to rely on the run game," Trafford said. "That's exactly what we did. Our offensive line was amazing, our receivers blocked great and our quarterback made good reads. It was good play all around."

Capping off the scoring for Delbarton was Philip Folmar, who in the fourth quarter would take it in from 7 yards out in the wildcat formation for the touchdown.  Leading 30-0, Delbarton would allow a special teams touchdown late in the game for the 30-6 victory.  Trafford finished with 147 yards on 25 carries, while Folmar led receivers with six catches for 58 yards.  Defensively, the Green Wave forced three turnovers and had thee quarterback sacks (Kyle Checchio '25 and Luka Lopez '25).  "I'm really proud of our defense," Bowers said. "They were down deep in our territory to score on their first two drives and our defense stepped up. That was the game."

Delbarton will now accept a forfeit victory over Hudson Catholic, setting up two full weeks of rest and prepratation for Homecoming 2023 and a showdown with DePaul Catholic on Saturday, October 21.