Logan Clawson
MUNCIE — Zach Mills has had his share of big games this season, but the Delta tailback had nothing on his lead blocker Friday night – well, at least in the first half.
Mills had his usual monster evening — boy, did he ever — but his 225-pound fullback Logan Clawson actually one-upped him early on. Normally opening up the holes for the dynamic Mills, Clawson showed off his athleticism against visiting New Castle.
Clawson looked more like a springy tailback than a burly fullback as he rumbled for a 65-yard touchdown in the second quarter, one of the many highlights in Delta’s 55-20 win in Hoosier Heritage Conference play.
“I was telling people, ‘Man, I felt like Marshawn Lynch,’” Clawson said with a laugh. “Just breaking free from people.
“I was confident (I could do it), but I’m nowhere close to Zach and being as agile as him,” he added. “But I luckily got it.”
Mills did have another big night, finishing with 229 yards and five touchdowns – but he also needed 14 carries just to surpass Clawson’s long run. Clawson totaled 94 yards on five carries.
Clawson obviously doesn’t get the volume of carries that Mills does, but the star running back took notice.
“He’s a big guy,” Mills said, “so he just runs over people.”
Mills was actually “held” to 60 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries in the first half, but he had 169 and three scores on 20 carries in the second half. He now has 16 touchdowns in six games this season.
“I missed some assignments. At halftime we figured that out and fixed it,” Clawson said of what led Mills’ increased production in the second half. “I talk to him out there on the field, and he just tells me which way he’s going to go most of the time.”
Ryley Pease was 7 of 13 for 121 yards, throwing touchdown passes to Mitchell Hahn and Collin Hart as Delta (4-2, 3-1 conference) won its third straight game.
Mills scored on runs of 1 and 4 yards in the first quarter to stake Delta to a 12-0 lead. After New Castle’s Brady Renner scored the first of his two touchdowns, Clawson got his chance.
With the Eagles utilizing Mills’ speed on the outside, Clawson provided a change of pace up the middle. After accumulating 125 yards in his first five games, he got over half that with his burst through the line and into to the second level, as the New Castle secondary nipped at his heels.
“I was worried because I saw all them running at me, and I was just hoping they didn’t take out my ankles,” Clawson said. “I was just surprised I got free from it.”
Later, Clawson got back to his main job description with the rest of a dominant offensive line, headed by Ball State commit Kaleb Slaven. Delta ran for 330 yards while holding New Castle (1-5, 0-4) to 76. Blake Green’s two first-half interceptions helped Delta take a 28-6 lead into intermission.
Mills, meanwhile, seemed to pick up steam as night went on. He had scoring runs of 1 and 14 yards in the third quarter before a 49-yard touchdown on the last of his 32 carries with 3:59 left.
“I get the ball 30 times per game, so I’m getting used to it. It was rough in the first part of the season, but now, I’m used to it more.”
Contact sports features writer Ryan O’Gara at (765) 213-5829. Follow him on Twitter @RyanOGaraTSP .
FOOTBALL
Delta 55, New Castle 20
At Muncie
SCORE BY QUARTERS
NC 0 6 7 7 — 20
D 20 8 12 15 — 55
Individual scoring
First quarter
D — Mills 1 run (kick failed)
D — Mills 4 run (pass failed)
D — Hahn 16 pass from Pease (Hart pass from Lambert)
Second quarter
NC — Renner 7 run (kick blocked)
D — Clawson 65 run (Hart pass from Pease)
Third quarter
NC — Darling 62 pass from Engle (May kick)
D — Mills 1 run (pass failed)
D — Mills 14 run (pass failed)
Fourth quarter
NC— Renner 7 pass from Engle (May kick)
D — Hart 10 pass from Pease (Hahn pass from Pease)
D — Mills 49 run (Griffis kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATS
New Castle
Rushing: Werking 13-41, Renner 10-37, Witham 2-0, Engle 2-(-1), Darling 2-(-1). Totals: 29-76.
Passing: Engle 4-7-1-89, Renner 0-1-1-0. Totals: 4-8-2-89.
Receiving: Darling 1-62, Renner 2-18, 1-9. Totals: 4-89.
Delta
Rushing: Mills 32-229, Clawson 5-94, White 2-6, Pease 2-1. Totals: 41-330.
Passing: Pease 7-13-0-121, Mills 1-2-0-34. Totals: 8-15-0-155.
Receiving: Hahn 4-66, Hart 3-55, Pease 1-34. Totals: 8-155.