Prep football: Tysen Delkener makes his case to lead Atascadero’s running game
Tysen Delkener didn’t wait long Friday night against Foothill to show he’s ready to lead the Atascadero High School football team’s ground attack.
On his fifth carry of the night, the speedy senior bounced a hand off to the outside and hit the jets down the home sideline. The 61-yard touchdown run, which gave Atascadero an early 6-0 lead, was quite the welcome sight for a team that wasn’t sure how to fill the roles of the departed standout backs Marc Martin and R.J. Reusche.
Head coach Vic Cooper feels a lot more confident about Delkener after his performance against Foothill. He finished with 92 yards on nine carries and helped the Greyhounds open the 2016 season with a 36-24 win.
“I felt comfortable. I’m getting used to it,” Delkener said. “Haven’t played it much in the last two years. It’s fun, I’m loving it.”
Delkener, who is listed at 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds, is nothing like the two backs before him, but he is more diverse. He showed it in the third quarter when he was split out as a wide receiver, a position he played most of last season. Delkener blew past the coverage with ease and hauled in with his soft hands a 30-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Carson Rinkenberger.
“He was throwing perfect passes all night,” Delkener said of Rinkenberger. “That fade he threw me could not have been better. Bread basket.”
Delkener finished the game with three receptions for 40 yards.
“I think all of our skill guys did a pretty darn good job,” Cooper said.
The Greyhounds racked up 351 yards in total offense, 200 of it coming on the ground.
Cooper was also encouraged by the performance of Atascadero’s other running back, Kobe Cross.
Cross finished with 84 yards on six carries and two receptions for 17 yards.
“He really won that spot by showing that he would block,” Cooper said of Cross. “He did some really good things. He’s got great vision, a little wiggle, and he’s pretty hard to bring down.”
Delkener and Cross still have a long way to go to live up to the legacy left by Martin and Reusche, but with with Rinkenberger distributing to a handful of receiving threats and a defense adept at causing turnovers, maybe they don’t need to be superstars.
“Everyone had impacting plays in this game,” Delkener said, giving credit to a defense that forced four turnovers and an offensive line that is much smaller than last season. “We are only going to grow from here, and I think that’s a pretty good start.”
This story was originally published August 26, 2016 at 11:51 PM with the headline "Prep football: Tysen Delkener makes his case to lead Atascadero’s running game."