By Will Dickins
The North Delta football team came out victorious over the Kirk Academy Raiders 48-20 Friday night to go 1-0 in district play.
Besides the first drive, which ended in an interception, the North Delta offense cruised down the field with balance.  The offense ended with 424 total yards,  187 rushing yards with the rest (237) coming through the air.  The defense held the Raider offense to 237 yards.
North Delta had only two drives in the first quarter. One was the interception, and the other was a four-yard run by Kaleb Joyner after J. T. Stennett brought the kickoff to the North Delta 48-yard line.  The Green Wave used only six plays compared to Kirk’s 24, but it did not matter as the quarter ended with the Green Wave leading 7-3.
After five running plays in the first quarter, North Delta decided to balance it out.  With Will Kidder slinging the ball around and Joyner getting 32 yards in the first quarter, it was Stennett’s time to shine.  With the game still close, the freshman Stennett broke for a 36-yard run and followed with a 10-yard run before Kidder punched it in with his legs for the score.  While North Delta’s new star (Stennett) was taking a break, Kidder put together a 13-play drive mainly through the air.  North Delta converted two third down plays with passes to Joyner.  The first was a 28-yard pass from their own 10-yard line, and the second was a 30-yard touchdown pass on a seam route to start pulling away from the Raiders.  Not long after, North Delta had the ball again and was hungry for more points.
Kidder found Harrison Cole for the score. Just before the touchdown,  the referees originally ruled a touchdown for Kirk after a fumble but overturned that ruling to make it North Delta’s ball on the Raider 33-yard line. With Raider tempers boiling, the Green Wave took a 27-10 lead into the locker room.
The first Wave drive of the second half ended with a touchdown. It almost did not happen.
On fourth down with six yards to go, Kirk Academy was gaining momentum and eager for a comeback. However, Kidder found John Haga Lewis for a 38-yard pass on fourth down.
Stennett continuef his career night with a six-yard run into the end zone.  The quarter was coming to a close, and North Delta was in the middle of a long drive.  Kirk Academy had been lingering around like a nasty cold in the middle of a scorching summer’s day.  It was time to pull away, and North Delta needed to do it soon.
Here comes the boom.
In the beginning of the fourth quarter Green Wave senior offensive lineman Joseph Cox, declared himself as an eligible receiver, took the handoff and bulldozed into the end zone to make it 40-23.
The Green Wave would add one more touchdown from Joyner to end the game with the score at 48-23.
The Green Wave attack was led by: Kidder, 237 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown; Joyner, 56 rushing yards, 76 receiving yards, three total touchdowns; and Stennett, 104 rushing yards, one touchdown, and multiple kickoff returns.
The Green Wave executed.  “I thought we came out and executed our offense. The guys have responsibilities, and they were really focused on what they were supposed to do.  They got it done,” said Green Wave head coach Brandon Ciaramitaro.
After last week’s game, physicality was a main point during the week, which they showed in the game.
“Tonight, I thought we were the most physical team. Kirk came out and gave us their best effort.  We pushed through and were the more physical team.”
Friday, the Green Wave travel to Lee Academy in Clarksdale for a 7 p.m. district match up.