Scoop27
10-11-2014, 02:52 PM
By Billy Loveless sports@thefacts.com
FREEPORT — The undefeated Columbia Roughnecks showed off a powerful running game by pulling away from the Brazosport Exporters for a convincing 51-13 district-opening victory Friday night at Hopper Field in Freeport.
The Roughnecks scored 43 unanswered points to turn a 13-8 Exporter second-quarter lead into a 38-point win.
Although Columbia (1-0 in district, 6-0 overall) went into the locker room with a 10-point, 23-13 advantage at the half, it was the second half when the Roughnecks took complete control of the contest.
The Roughneck defense allowed only 48 yards of offense in the final two quarters. At the same time, Columbia scored touchdowns on its first four possessions of the second half.
“Coach (Ben) Rudolph had his guys ready to play,” Columbia coach Randy Lynch said of Brazosport’s early lead. “Those first couple of series they were executing offensively and I didn’t know if we’d be able to stop them. But the defense stepped up and played well from about the second quarter on.”
While Columbia’s district-leading defense did its job, the Roughneck offense was also executing on all cylinders. Running back Dakarius Bell was almost unstoppable, as he pounded his way to 201 rushing yards and three touchdowns. The big game also allowed the junior back to break the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season.
In all, Columbia finished with 441 yards of offense, with 369 coming via the run.
“We were able to execute on offense and it was good to see that,” Lynch said. “We did a good job up front with our linemen. Our offensive line really came off the ball and played well tonight.”
Brazosport (0-1, 1-5) also didn’t help its cause with three fumbles and an interception, as well as numerous mental errors.
“We played very sloppy and when you play sloppy against a good, quality opponent it’s not a good combination,” Rudolph said of his Exporters. “I’m not only talking about fumbles, but also execution — lazy execution on the simple things. No program runs more ball security drills, more block drills, more tackling drills than what we do. We just have to start translating that into the game.
“We’ve seen glimpses of what we can be,” Rudolph said. “Everything we want out of this season is still attainable. We have to stay positive, do what we do on a daily basis and get better.”
While Columbia eventually pulled away for the victory, it was Brazosport that had the game’s first big play. On the third play from scrimmage, Exporter running back Ameer King broke loose and outran the Roughneck defense for a 73-yard score. The conversion run failed, however, leaving Brazosport with a 6-0 lead.
After stalling on their first offensive drive, the Roughnecks began to hit overdrive on their second series. Columbia moved the ball downfield at ease, going on a six-play, 68-yard drive capped by a 10-yard Bell touchdown run. Bell followed that up by running in the conversion for an 8-6 Columbia advantage after one period of play.
The Exporters countered on their next series with a 15-play scoring drive to take the lead back. The score came on a 15-yard run by Nathan Lewis and, after a successful PAT kick, the Exporters led 13-8.
From that point, however, the Roughnecks took control.
Columbia scored on its final two possessions of the half, with Maleek Goins finding the end zone from 16 yards out, as well as a four-yard run by Bell for his second touchdown of the contest. The Roughnecks went into the half with a 23-13 advantage.
olumbia outscored Brazosport 28-0 in the second half. Three of those scores came on running plays, including a 14-yard Bell run, a two-yard Joe Salazar run and a one-yard plunge by Brandon Harris. Rounding out the Roughneck touchdowns was a 15-yard scoring strike from Kesee to Michael French.
The Roughnecks and Exporters both hit the road next week, with Brazosport traveling to Bay City and Columbia facing off Friday against Needville. Both contests start at 7:30 p.m.
FREEPORT — The undefeated Columbia Roughnecks showed off a powerful running game by pulling away from the Brazosport Exporters for a convincing 51-13 district-opening victory Friday night at Hopper Field in Freeport.
The Roughnecks scored 43 unanswered points to turn a 13-8 Exporter second-quarter lead into a 38-point win.
Although Columbia (1-0 in district, 6-0 overall) went into the locker room with a 10-point, 23-13 advantage at the half, it was the second half when the Roughnecks took complete control of the contest.
The Roughneck defense allowed only 48 yards of offense in the final two quarters. At the same time, Columbia scored touchdowns on its first four possessions of the second half.
“Coach (Ben) Rudolph had his guys ready to play,” Columbia coach Randy Lynch said of Brazosport’s early lead. “Those first couple of series they were executing offensively and I didn’t know if we’d be able to stop them. But the defense stepped up and played well from about the second quarter on.”
While Columbia’s district-leading defense did its job, the Roughneck offense was also executing on all cylinders. Running back Dakarius Bell was almost unstoppable, as he pounded his way to 201 rushing yards and three touchdowns. The big game also allowed the junior back to break the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season.
In all, Columbia finished with 441 yards of offense, with 369 coming via the run.
“We were able to execute on offense and it was good to see that,” Lynch said. “We did a good job up front with our linemen. Our offensive line really came off the ball and played well tonight.”
Brazosport (0-1, 1-5) also didn’t help its cause with three fumbles and an interception, as well as numerous mental errors.
“We played very sloppy and when you play sloppy against a good, quality opponent it’s not a good combination,” Rudolph said of his Exporters. “I’m not only talking about fumbles, but also execution — lazy execution on the simple things. No program runs more ball security drills, more block drills, more tackling drills than what we do. We just have to start translating that into the game.
“We’ve seen glimpses of what we can be,” Rudolph said. “Everything we want out of this season is still attainable. We have to stay positive, do what we do on a daily basis and get better.”
While Columbia eventually pulled away for the victory, it was Brazosport that had the game’s first big play. On the third play from scrimmage, Exporter running back Ameer King broke loose and outran the Roughneck defense for a 73-yard score. The conversion run failed, however, leaving Brazosport with a 6-0 lead.
After stalling on their first offensive drive, the Roughnecks began to hit overdrive on their second series. Columbia moved the ball downfield at ease, going on a six-play, 68-yard drive capped by a 10-yard Bell touchdown run. Bell followed that up by running in the conversion for an 8-6 Columbia advantage after one period of play.
The Exporters countered on their next series with a 15-play scoring drive to take the lead back. The score came on a 15-yard run by Nathan Lewis and, after a successful PAT kick, the Exporters led 13-8.
From that point, however, the Roughnecks took control.
Columbia scored on its final two possessions of the half, with Maleek Goins finding the end zone from 16 yards out, as well as a four-yard run by Bell for his second touchdown of the contest. The Roughnecks went into the half with a 23-13 advantage.
olumbia outscored Brazosport 28-0 in the second half. Three of those scores came on running plays, including a 14-yard Bell run, a two-yard Joe Salazar run and a one-yard plunge by Brandon Harris. Rounding out the Roughneck touchdowns was a 15-yard scoring strike from Kesee to Michael French.
The Roughnecks and Exporters both hit the road next week, with Brazosport traveling to Bay City and Columbia facing off Friday against Needville. Both contests start at 7:30 p.m.