Scoop27
11-08-2014, 02:10 PM
By Anthony Maenza sports@thefacts.com |
WEST COLUMBIA — Dreams of a district title for the Columbia Roughnecks were crushed under the weight of a physical El Campo running game as the Ricebirds won the showdown for the District 12-4A Division I title 48-20 Friday night.
The Ricebirds (9-1, 5-0) rushed for 507 yards against the Roughneck defense that was tops in the district coming into the game.
“I’m disappointed,” Columbia coach Randy Lynch said. “I thought we had a good game plan coming into the game. They are a tough, physical football team like we knew they were. Their running back ran tough and their offensive line played physical. Those kids play hard.”
The disappointment of losing the district title and an unbeaten regular season has to be put behind them as the Roughnecks (9-1, 4-1) prepare to start the playoffs next week. Columbia will more than likely face Wheatley in the bi-district round. Time and place are to be determined.
“We’ve got to regroup and regroup in a hurry,” Lynch said. “Our kids will come back and battle next week. You have to play your best every week from now on.”
The duel between the top two running backs in the district never really materialized.
El Campo’s Kevin Dove led the Ricebird running attack as he rushed for 216 yards and three touchdowns. Columbia’s Dakarius Bell, who leads the district in rushing yards, was only able to get 88 yards against the El Campo defense, which limited the Columbia offense to 287 yards. Only 170 of those yards came on the ground.
Any game plan the Roughnecks had coming into the game went out the window in the first quarter, after the Ricebirds went up 21-0.
“It took us out of what we wanted to do,” Lynch said. “We wanted to be a little more balanced in the game.”
Columbia quarterback Jarius Kesee threw 22 passes in the contest, completing only seven for 117 yards. That was more than the run-dominated offense Columbia wanted to see.
El Campo jumped out to a 7-0 lead when Alontae Harris, who rushed for 147 yards on his own, scampered into the end zone from 28 yards out with 8:29 left in the opening period.
A three-and-out on Columbia’s first possession and a short punt set up El Campo at the Columbia 43. One play later, Clayton Harp got behind the Roughneck defense and caught a touchdown pass from D.J. Washington with 6:41 left in the first quarter.
The El Campo lead grew to 21-0 when Dove capped a 71-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown run with 2:37 left in opening period. Dove had a 57-yard run on the touchdown drive to help get the Ricebirds deep into Columbia territory.
El Campo’s lead grew to 28-0 on a 19-yard Adrian Alameda touchdown run with 9:01 left in the second quarter.
Columbia finally got on the scoreboard with 6:40 left in the first half when Kesee scored on an 11-yard run. The play capped a 75-yard drive. Richard Hooper caught a 50-yard pass from Kesee, which, coupled with a personal foul penalty on El Campo, set up the touchdown run.
Dove finished off a 55-yard drive with his second touchdown run on a one-yard plunge with 4:52 left in the first half to leave El Campo up 34-7 at halftime.
Bell scored his lone touchdown of the game with 7:42 left in the third quarter when he capped a 78-yard drive with a 14-yard touchdown run to cut the El Campo lead to 34-13.
But Dove scored his third touchdown with 6:07 left in the third on a five-yard run to put El Campo up by 28 again.
Washington finished off the scoring for the Ricebirds with 3:11 left in the third on a six-yard scamper into the end zone.
Zedrik White scored the final touchdown for Columbia with 9:45 left in the fourth quarter. The play capped a 61-yard drive.
WEST COLUMBIA — Dreams of a district title for the Columbia Roughnecks were crushed under the weight of a physical El Campo running game as the Ricebirds won the showdown for the District 12-4A Division I title 48-20 Friday night.
The Ricebirds (9-1, 5-0) rushed for 507 yards against the Roughneck defense that was tops in the district coming into the game.
“I’m disappointed,” Columbia coach Randy Lynch said. “I thought we had a good game plan coming into the game. They are a tough, physical football team like we knew they were. Their running back ran tough and their offensive line played physical. Those kids play hard.”
The disappointment of losing the district title and an unbeaten regular season has to be put behind them as the Roughnecks (9-1, 4-1) prepare to start the playoffs next week. Columbia will more than likely face Wheatley in the bi-district round. Time and place are to be determined.
“We’ve got to regroup and regroup in a hurry,” Lynch said. “Our kids will come back and battle next week. You have to play your best every week from now on.”
The duel between the top two running backs in the district never really materialized.
El Campo’s Kevin Dove led the Ricebird running attack as he rushed for 216 yards and three touchdowns. Columbia’s Dakarius Bell, who leads the district in rushing yards, was only able to get 88 yards against the El Campo defense, which limited the Columbia offense to 287 yards. Only 170 of those yards came on the ground.
Any game plan the Roughnecks had coming into the game went out the window in the first quarter, after the Ricebirds went up 21-0.
“It took us out of what we wanted to do,” Lynch said. “We wanted to be a little more balanced in the game.”
Columbia quarterback Jarius Kesee threw 22 passes in the contest, completing only seven for 117 yards. That was more than the run-dominated offense Columbia wanted to see.
El Campo jumped out to a 7-0 lead when Alontae Harris, who rushed for 147 yards on his own, scampered into the end zone from 28 yards out with 8:29 left in the opening period.
A three-and-out on Columbia’s first possession and a short punt set up El Campo at the Columbia 43. One play later, Clayton Harp got behind the Roughneck defense and caught a touchdown pass from D.J. Washington with 6:41 left in the first quarter.
The El Campo lead grew to 21-0 when Dove capped a 71-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown run with 2:37 left in opening period. Dove had a 57-yard run on the touchdown drive to help get the Ricebirds deep into Columbia territory.
El Campo’s lead grew to 28-0 on a 19-yard Adrian Alameda touchdown run with 9:01 left in the second quarter.
Columbia finally got on the scoreboard with 6:40 left in the first half when Kesee scored on an 11-yard run. The play capped a 75-yard drive. Richard Hooper caught a 50-yard pass from Kesee, which, coupled with a personal foul penalty on El Campo, set up the touchdown run.
Dove finished off a 55-yard drive with his second touchdown run on a one-yard plunge with 4:52 left in the first half to leave El Campo up 34-7 at halftime.
Bell scored his lone touchdown of the game with 7:42 left in the third quarter when he capped a 78-yard drive with a 14-yard touchdown run to cut the El Campo lead to 34-13.
But Dove scored his third touchdown with 6:07 left in the third on a five-yard run to put El Campo up by 28 again.
Washington finished off the scoring for the Ricebirds with 3:11 left in the third on a six-yard scamper into the end zone.
Zedrik White scored the final touchdown for Columbia with 9:45 left in the fourth quarter. The play capped a 61-yard drive.