Even though this season hasn’t been what Delta’s football team had hoped for, it still seeks to finish the year off in the best way it possibly can.
The Mustangs (1-8) picked up their first victory against Chabot College with a score of 31-28 on Oct. 30 in a close game.
Following its only win of the season so far, the team lost its following game to Laney College 42-7 on Nov. 6.
The Mustangs sit in fifth place of the Bay 6 with a 1-3 conference record.
Despite not having the best results this year, head coach Gary Barlow sees better things to come for a predominantly freshmen squad.
“I think every game there’s improvement. They’re making strides every game, so if this group stays together I think some really good things are going to happen down the road,” said Barlow.
Throughout the season, the Mustangs have conceded a total of 346 points and scored 146.
Although this group of players hasn’t put Delta in a higher position within the rankings, some of them have had noteworthy performances for themselves to rack up numbers in their stats.
Freshmen Jaylyn Surrell, Nicholas Johnson and Aaron Jaimes-Rodriguez are among the players with the largest workload on the team’s defensive unit, registering a total 82 tackles together for the team.
They also account for four of Delta’s eight interceptions, with Surrell picking the ball off three times and Jaimes-Rodriguez once.
On offense it’s the sophomores who have led the way in moving the team on every drive and getting the Mustangs on the scoreboard.
Quarterback Justin DeMello is passing for 1,815 yards and 10 touchdowns, while running back Jaylyn Session has five rushing touchdowns and 214 in running yardage.
Freshman Jaylen Pickens has caught six of the 10 touchdown passes and sophomore Alvin Howard leads the team in receiving distance with 699 catching yards.
More than just the offensive unit, the sophomores demonstrate their leadership to the team as a whole for the younger players which is a role DeMello had assumed during his first year.
“I feel like I kind of had this leadership role last year as a freshman. There were a lot of guys looking up to me back then, so it’s nothing new really,” said DeMello.
With the end of the season approaching, players want to continue showing what they’re capable of on the field and continue adding more numbers to their performance.
This is especially important for the sophomores wanting options to transfer to a higher education program.
DeMello thinks he and several of his teammates have that chance of getting noticed given that Delta is constantly competing against some of the top teams in the state.
“We’re playing in the toughest division in all of California, so a lot of scouts come through. It’s nice just to get some film,” said DeMello.
The Mustangs will finish off the season when they play their final game tonight at 6 p.m. in their visit to Diablo Valley College.
