Delbarton Football opened its home schedule with another strong performance, using a dominant rushing attack and a physical defensive effort to defeat Erasmus Hall, 28-12, on Friday afternoon and improve to 2-0 on the season.

Defense controlled the opening quarter on both sides, as neither team was able to break through. Delbarton bottled up the Erasmus Hall rushing attack and prevented any big plays through the air. The Green Wave had a pair of opportunities to connect on big pass plays of its own, but strong coverage from the Dutchmen kept the game scoreless after one.

Erasmus Hall finally broke through in the second quarter on a 41-yard touchdown run. With an injury to its kicker, the Dutchmen attempted a two-point conversion but were turned away by the Delbarton defense, leaving the visitors with a 6-0 advantage.  The Green Wave responded before halftime with an important drive led by quarterback Jayden Schmalz. Delbarton methodically moved down the field before turning to Kobe Irby-Mason near the goal line. The senior running back powered his way in from two yards out with 25 seconds remaining, and the extra point gave Delbarton a 7-6 lead heading into the locker room.
Whatever adjustments the Green Wave made at halftime paid immediate dividends.

Delbarton came out firing in the third quarter, with Irby-Mason's running helping move the offense deep into Erasmus Hall territory. Quarterback Gavin Gilardi then went to the air, finding Easton Wendorff for a 29-yard touchdown — Gilardi's first passing score of the season — to extend the lead to 14-6.  On the ensusing posession, Joey DeSilva would come up with a huge interception, returning the ball all the way to the Dutchmen five-yard line.
Irby-Mason continued to take over from there. He scored his second touchdown of the afternoon on another two-yard run, pushing the advantage to 21-6.

The senior put the game out of reach in the fourth, breaking loose for a 43-yard touchdown run to complete his three-touchdown afternoon. Irby-Mason finished with 147 yards on the ground and three scores, giving him an impressive 370 rushing yards and five touchdowns through the first two games of the season.

While the offense found its rhythm after halftime, the Delbarton defense delivered another impressive performance.

Vince Achilarre led the Green Wave with 10 tackles, while Luke McBride filled up the stat sheet with eight tackles, two tackles for loss and a forced fumble. Joey DeSilva added five tackles along with his interception.  Brody Ismael was active throughout the game with five tackles, while the secondary duo of Zach McNeil and Andrew Henson combined for eight tackles and delivered several key pass breakups and big hits to limit the Dutchmen through the air.

The degree of difficulty rises considerably next weekend.

The Green Wave will face its biggest test of the young season when reigning state champion St. Joseph Regional visits Delbarton on Saturday for a 1 p.m. kickoff. Delbarton will look to carry the momentum from its 2-0 start into an important early-season matchup against one of New Jersey's premier programs.