By Jensen Boyd
In the heat of the moment, she gathers her confidence. It is game point.
The crowd is on the edge of their seats.
The whistle is blown. She soars above the net and delivers a powerful spike to the opposing team.
Seconds later, the blue and yellow crowd swarms the hardwood.
One girl is praised for the game point. That is #9, Addison (Addie) Phillippe.
While she is celebrating her victory, the baseball team is fighting hard to win the last game of their regular season.
Down by three runs with two outs, Zane Cline is up to the plate. The bases are loaded.
Strike one. Strike two.
From the stands, fans are biting their nails. The uneasy feeling fills the bleachers. The pitcher winds up.
He throws it … Cline swings. The ball hits his DeMarini Goods baseball bat and soars into the air.
“And … and … and it’s gone!” screams the announcer. “What an unbelievable hit by Zane Cline!”
All the while, 6-foot-6 outside linebacker Landon Brooks is playing hard on the gridiron to keep his team alive.
It is fourth and goal and the opposing team is inches away from the endzone.
With just seconds left in the game, Delta clings to a 21-14 lead.
The quarterback drops back to throw the ball, but Brooks uses his speed to get past the blocking offensive linemen.
Without catching a glimpse of #19, the quarterback collapses to the ground and Delta wins. Brooks is awarded the game ball for the game-winning sack.
Seniors Addie Phillippe, Zane Cline and Landon Brooks are all key players for their individual teams. Each will be graduating this year and are already committed to their future colleges.
“It’s always been a lifelong dream of mine to play Division 1 football,” said Brooks, who is committed to Purdue University. “Purdue is a really good program that will help me further my career.”
Brooks was a key piece on the football team this year. He was more determined than ever to lead the team’s defense.
During this season, he had the privilege of walking out to the field with a new mentality. He knows that in a couple of months, he will be starting his Division l football career for the Purdue Boilermakers.
The decision for Purdue came with much difficulty.
He had offers from Indiana, Michigan State, Kansas, Minnesota and more. Amongst these schools, Purdue still stood out to him the most.
Playing at a program of Purdue’s caliber brings a need to work harder than everyone else to even crack the lineup.
Brooks will be leaving the Eagle nest after the first semester and getting a head start at Purdue.
He hopes his early arrival will give him an extra boost to his freshman season.
In addition to this, Delta’s defensive scheme is the same as Purdue’s. This should help Brooks adjust smoothly. This is not the only factor that influenced his decision; the location of Purdue and the coaching staff played a big part.
Getting to this point in his career took a great deal of dedication and grit. It came with much difficulty.
Brooks believes the recruiting process, as a whole, was not easy. It took a lot of time and effort.
He couldn’t have gone through this process alone. His parents have been there side-by-side from the beginning to the end.
“My mom and dad… they heard every phone call I had with those coaches. They heard every offer,” Brooks said. “They took me to all of the game-day visits I went on every Saturday. They have spent a lot of gas money on me and I am thankful for that.”
With Brooks moving to West Lafayette, he will be one step closer to his dreams of playing at the Ross-Ade Stadium. But, the legacy #19 leaves behind on the Eagle’s turf will still be remembered by many.
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Another senior captain is Addie Phillippe, except she’s a leader on the hardwood. Her last high school volleyball game ended after a loss to New Castle this season.
She finished the 2024-2025 season with 259 kills, 200 digs, 15 aces and 154 assists.
Addie credits her success to her coaches. Head coach Kylie Johnson has mentored her on and off the court.
As a coach, Johnson has high expectations for her players. Due to this, Addie believes she’s developed into a hard worker.
“Growing up my parents and coaches have pushed me to always give 110% in everything I do, whether it’s in school or in the gym,” Addie said. “Every practice my goal is to be 1% better than when I came in.”
This mentality, paired with this year’s stats, propelled her to verbally commit to the University of Polk State at the beginning of August. Polk State is a public, two-year college located in Winter Haven, Fla..
Her love for the university developed when she was introduced to the women’s head volleyball coach, Jessica Beal.
Coach Beal invited Addie to visit the campus in July this past summer. During the visit, she found her next home.
“[I] absolutely loved the campus, the coaching staff and the girls,” Addie said. “I really felt like it was a place that I could see myself in the next couple of years.”
Addie likes what her future holds. She loves the game of volleyball and the university to which she is committed.
She will soon begin her journey as an Eagle, but this time, at Polk State.
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Senior baseball commit Zane Cline chose not to travel over 1,000 miles to the Sunshine State like Phillippe, but rather choosing to stay only 30 minutes from home.
Although Cline shines as a receiver on the football team, he believes his role on the baseball team is much more important to him.
His love for the game led Zane to commit to Taylor University in Upland, Ind. He plans to further his baseball and academic career there.
Two other schools that were interested in him were Cincinnati and Butler. Zane thinks that Taylor will hold more value than these other schools due to a major reason: his religion.
“For it being a Christian school … I feel like it’s a good place for me to grow my faith and just become a better person,” Zane said.
Zane also believes that Taylor’s atmosphere is different from most other colleges in a good way. He likes the community there and believes it will serve him well.
In his past years, the Eagle community has also served him well earning a regional title in the 2023-24 season.
Zane played a key role in the season tallying 26 runs and five home runs, all while having a batting average of .402 and striking out 44 batters as a pitcher.
But, with baseball being a spring sport, Zane is preparing to make his last high school season memorable.
He has been receiving hitting and pitching lessons. In addition to this, he also has been working out in the weight room with his team. This allows the team to grow their chemistry and bonds.
Zane’s relationship with his fellow seniors is strong going into his final season. He wants his last season to be the icing on the cake for his high school career.
After this season, though, the transition to college baseball starts.
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All three student-athletes have played big roles in their time as Eagles. Now it is time to form a new path in their academic and athletic careers.
“At Delta, you’re going to get coached very hard. You’re going to have great facilities,” said Athletic Director Tilmon Clark. “This will develop them as a person and athlete. It will pay dividends for them in college.”
With the support of Delta parents, coaches and fans, these Eagles are soaring past Highway 28 and on to the next level.
