When Christian Delgado scored a 3-yard touchdown in Friday night’s scrimmage at Hobart, Valparaiso’s bench exploded.
“That was awesome,” Delgado said. “It was just great hitting other people in a different color jersey, the intensity.
“I’m an inside runner not an outside runner, and I saw a huge hole thanks to Bryce Collins. It felt great to be out there, that’s all I can say.”
Delgado, a 5-foot-6 senior running back, played junior varsity last season. He’s hoping to play a bigger role this season.
Bill Marshall, in his first full season as Valparaiso’s coach, wouldn’t put it past Delgado.
“Delgado is a little fireball,” Marshall said. “He’s a tremendous young man. He’s a kid who gives everything he has in practice. He’s just a kid who works extremely hard and he has for four years.
“But he has guys in front of him who may have a little more speed and quickness. But they love him. He’s really the heart and soul of the senior class. They rise up with him.”
Craig Osika, also in his first season as Hobart’s coach, liked what he saw from his team.
“We told our guys before the game, we’re never going to be the biggest team, but I’m always going to challenge them to be the most physical team,” Osika said. “We wanted to work on the run game and emphasize that. We knew they were going to be one of the bigger lines we’ll see all year, and I’m pleased with the way we came off the ball and were hitting.
“Our physicality was good. We told the kids we wanted to look at pad level, assignments and alignment, and hitting, and we accomplished all three.”
Valparaiso scored three TDs and Hobart had one.
Senior Jesse Harper broke free for a 57-yard TD for the Vikings, adding a 23-yard run. Sophomore Tommy Burbee had a 4-yard TD run, before Delgado scored.
“Jesse’s a phenomenal athlete,” Marshall said of Harper. “Great job by our line up front and our receivers on the edge to really let him use his God-given talent, which is his speed and quickness.
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“Being able to work with these guys the entire offseason was a little different. Being able to see the amount of effort and focus they poured into it and being in a different role, it was neat. I’m really pleased with our effort on both sides of the ball.”
The Brickies’ TD came on a 6-yard fade from senior Ryan Leto to sophomore Zach Vode. Sophomore Riley Johnston, a state qualifier in the pole vault as a freshman, also saw time at quarterback.
“We’re not going to back down from anybody,” Osika said. “We came out of it healthy. We like where we are.”
Hobart opens the season at Chesterton, and Valparaiso at Penn.
“Kudos to coach Osika and Hobart,” Marshall said. “They have a great-looking group. They’re going to do great things, they’re a great opponent and they’re going to help us prepare for Week 1.”