As inclement as the weather was in the first round of CCC, it got worse in the second. Although the snow started to melt and the sun started to emerge from the gray clouds that had shrouded it all morning, the conditions began to worsen. The wind began to pick up and the ground began to turn into a slippery muck of mud and mire.
In our eyes, this became the great equalizer for the day. It was grossly apparent that during the Georgia/Delaware game, the conditions negated almost any athletic advantage that individuals may have had.
The wind appeared to immediately be a factor as Georgia sophomore Caleb Edwards caught an in-cut on the first point and immediately turned around to launch a flick downfield without a moment’s hesitation to give Georgia a 1-0 lead.
Also with the wind at their back, Delaware answered with a quick score of their own to tie the score.
The third point of the game saw the first turns for each team before Edwards was involved in his second score for Georgia, a force side catch in the endzone to take a 2-1 lead.
Following that point, Georgia earned the first break of the game, an upwind push pass from fifth year Taylor Nilan, to take a distinct advantage, 3-1 and forcing Delaware to fight the wind. However, Delaware showed some foreshadowing and proved that they weren’t scared to work into the wind as captain Sean Keegan broke his mark to score and bring Delaware within one. 3-2. Broken marks became a theme for Georgia throughout the course of the game.
“We talked about (our marks) during and after the game,” Fifth year captain Peter Dempsey told us after the game. “Unfortunately it just didn’t show during the game.”
However, Georgia’s team looked strong at points during the game. Including towards the end of the second half, after the teams traded scores to go to 4-3 Dempsey jumped into the lane with Delaware on the goaline and looking to score. Dempsey shouted at his mark to prevent the dump and, at a high stall count, laid out for a block that led to another for Georgia. The Bulldogs now led 5-3 and earned another break on the next point to take a 6-3 lead.
At this point a lot of teams would fade away. Down three breaks heading into half but Delaware was not one of those teams today. They scored again to keep the score reasonable and though Georgia scored the next point to take the half, Delaware was still in it at a score of 7-4.
Delaware would earn one break back after half thanks to a fantastic layout block from Keegan, who worked his hand just in between the Bulldog player’s hands to tip the disc just before rotation was stopped. Early in the second half the score sat at 9-7 and, with the cap quickly approaching because of sloppy play and long points, one would think that Delaware was more or less out of the game.
Delaware didn’t hear any of that talk though, the team broke Georgia’s offense yet again to go to 9-8 as the soft cap went on, game to 11. Dempsey would take over on the succeeding point, breaking his mark for to throw a score to go up 10-8.
However, Delaware would just not go away.
“We didn’t give up,” Keegan told us after the game. “We wanted to win it.”
“They wanted it more than us,” Dempsey said. “I have to give them that.”
Delaware would score upwind on offense and then break Georgia to score again and tie the game at 10s.
On double-game point Georgia received the pull with the wind at its back. After an outlet pass Dempsey took off and the disc went up to him. The pass was just a bit too tall and it tipped just off his fingertips. Delaware took over possession and started to slowly work the disc up the field. However, senior Clay Heinzel-Nelson got trapped on the force side sideline, with Georgia forcing backhand, and, into the wind, launched a huge inside-out breakmark throw that floated into space and into his unharassed receiver’s hands.
Delaware wins, 11-10.
Movin' On Up 