Editor’s Note: This story has been updated from the print version to include a quote from Delta College about the after-game dispute.
The Mustangs team lost its last home game of the season on Oct. 28 against the Laney College Eagles from Oakland in a match that ended in a brawl on the field.
The final score was 17-21, just one touchdown shy of a potential victory.
The game was held at Ronald E. McNair High School, which served as the home field for the season while the Delta football field underwent renovations.
Starting in the early afternoon, the first quarter of the game saw both teams make immediate touchdowns.
The Mustang defense lineup showed good performances in opposing Laney’s offense and protecting their Quarterback to make his plays.
Some players were mildly injured but showed resilience in getting up and playing the rest of the game.
By the end of the first quarter, both teams were tied 7-7.
However, Laney took the lead when they succeeded in making a touchdown and field goal, taking them to 7-14.
The second quarter had a promising start for the Mustangs, with decent plays from No. 4 Wide Receiver Link Rhodes making a good kickoff and No. 10 Quarterback Kenyon Nelson gaining a significant distance when he ran the ball to the other half of the field.
Nonetheless, the game soon after saw several failed plays by the Mustangs with many missed passes.
Although Laney College had more plays that went in their favor, with a few tackles and an interception, the Mustangs prevented the Eagles from advancing further during the second quarter.
At the end of the first half, the score remained 7-14.
During half-time, Mustang’s supporters were optimistic about the team progressing further. Neither team was significantly dominant over the other and faced similar advances and setbacks.
The third quarter could have been more successful for the Mustangs’ efforts.
Despite starting with a good kickoff and tackling a Laney player with the ball, the Eagles successfully held off the Mustangs with more unsuccessful plays.
The Mustangs managed to intercept one of Laney’s plays and gain two points but failed to prevent another touchdown and conversion, bringing the total score to 9-21.
From there, the game’s outlook went down as the opposing team gained a significant lead.
Despite numerous penalties on Laney and successful catches and tackles from the Mustangs, the quarter ended without advancement.
At the commencement of the final quarter, the team managed an immediate touchdown and conversion, bringing the score up to 17-21.
Players were determined to bring in the winning game during the final stretch but ultimately were unsuccessful.
The defense did its best to prevent Laney from taking a higher lead. However, the offense failed to gain ahead after a couple of missed chances to make touchdowns.
After the game, video from Collegian staff showed that a brawl had erupted. It was unclear who was involved.
For security measures, fences had been locked to prevent anyone from getting in or out.
“It began with some verbal back and forth and then escalated into pushing and shoving. Two Delta College police officers intervened and assisted with separating the players, who went back to their respective sidelines, and there were no injuries or additional issues after that point,” said Director of Marketing and Communications Alex Breitler in an email interview. “As always, our goal is to instill student athletes with good sportsmanship values and our coaches talked with the team about how this situation was not consistent with those values.”
Collegian editors Dylan Jaekel and Andrea Rivera contributed to this report.