Lafayette – What can Conifer’s defense possibly do for an encore? Bring Led Zeppelin onto the field.
The Lobos shut out top-ranked Centaurus 20-0 in impressive fashion in a Class 3A Metro League game Friday night at Warrior Stadium.
Dan DeLay, who plays quarterback, cornerback, punter and kick returner, made three touchdown-saving plays – two by air, one on the ground – and ran for 90 yards in the victory.
“I was just trying to fly around and make plays for my team. … I was definitely in a zone,” DeLay said. “I knew I had to make something happen.”
No. 9 Conifer (3-1, 3-0 league) stymied a high-octane Centaurus (3-1, 2-1) offense and earned a bit of revenge at the same time.
The Warriors beat Conifer last season in a game that essentially decided the league title.
“They put it to us last year. The shutout was important,” said Andy Elliott.
Elliott opened the scoring with an interception of Centaurus quarterback Dillon Sanders that was returned 15 yards for a touchdown with 2:58 left in the first half.
DeLay and Sam Loeblein (18 carries for 106 yards) provided nearly all the offense for Conifer, combining for 244 of 262 total yards and two second-half touchdowns.
The duo did just fine on the other side of the ball as well.
Early in the second quarter, Loeblein blocked Joshua Sipes’ 35-yard field-goal attempt, and DeLay grabbed it out of the air and went 15 yards the other way.
Three plays earlier, DeLay had deflected a pass in the end zone intended for Sipes.
The pivotal series came in the third quarter with the Lobos leading 7-0.
After setting itself up with first-and-goal at the 2-yard line, Centaurus ran into a wall. Elliott made a tackle in the backfield on second-and-goal, and DeLay drilled Alex Gomez (12 carries, 99 yards) near the goal line on third down.
An illegal block by the Warriors on fourth-and-goal forced Centaurus back and into an incompletion that ended the drive.
“We couldn’t establish our fullback like we’ve been doing all year. We could never really get inside-out on offense,” Centaurus coach Chad Senseney said.
DeLay came up with another pass deflection in the end zone, this one with 1:01 left to play.
Conifer 0 7 7 6 – 20
Centaurus 0 0 0 0 – 0
C – Elliott 15 interception return (Flavin kick). C – DeLay 18 run (Flavin kick). C – Loeblein 13 run (kick failed).
