Scoop27
10-17-2015, 08:48 AM
Posted: Saturday, October 17, 2015 2:00 am
By EVAN DUNBAR evan.dunbar@thefacts.com | 0 comments
WEST COLUMBIA — In a matchup that had all the makings for an offensive showcase, Friday’s District 12-4A showdown between the Columbia Roughnecks and the Needville Bluejays did not disappoint.
The teams combined to score 89 points, with Needville (1-1, 4-3) earning the win, 55-34, to snap Columbia’s (1-1, 6-1) six-game win streak and hand the ’Necks their first loss of the season.
Needville quarterback Logan Archer put his skills on display against the ’Necks, finishing 14-of-20 passing for 218 yards and two touchdowns and running for another 103 yards and another score on eight carries.
Archer’s biggest play came on the first play of the second half, when he broke free on a designed run and went 74 yards for a touchdown.
“Their offense is very explosive,” Columbia coach Randy Lynch said. “They can throw multiple formations at you, and you have got to have some stops. We didn’t do that well tonight.
“You’ve got to give credit to their quarterback too, though. Archer played extremely well. He’s a tough competitor and he’s a dual-threat guy. He threw the ball extremely well and put the ball in places where they could catch it.”
The Bluejays’ up-tempo, spread attack gave the ’Necks’ defense fits all night, with running backs Dedrick Ketchum and Deveion Starr running through big holes to set up the Bluejays passing game.
Ketchum finished with 110 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries, while Starr had 131 yards on 13.
When Ketchum and Starr weren’t running the ball, Archer was airing it out to big wide receivers Myles Hackstedt and Bradley Rozner.
Rozner was a matchup problem for Columbia’s secondary all night, as the 6-foot-3 receiver won several jump balls for big gains. The senior finished with four catches for 99 yards, including two 40-yard receptions that set up two Bluejay touchdowns.
“When you’ve got a 6-3 guy out there, and you’ve got a little 5-7 corner covering him half the time it’s kind of tough, and sometimes (on jump balls) they win,” Lynch said.
In sharp contrast to the Bluejays, the Roughnecks used their power running game to score points and keep the game close until the end.
Senior Dakarius Bell started strong and was the offensive leader for Columbia. He finished with 161 yards rushing, with his first two carries of the game going for a combined 70 yards and a touchdown to give Columbia an early 7-0 lead.
But after that, it was all Needville.
The Bluejays scored on their next three possessions — on two runs by Ketchum and another by Starr — to lead, 21-7. Needville punted only twice in the game, and finished with 562 yards of total offense.
“I thought our effort was great, but it’s about execution offensively and defensively,” Lynch said. “Whether it’s on defense, making tackles or knocking down passes — or offensively, running the ball and making plays or throwing the ball and catching the ball. That’s the bottom line.
Throwing the ball was a struggle for Columbia against the Bluejays, with quarterbacks Hunter Grayson and Josh Jimenez combining to complete just four passes in the entire game. Jimenez was also intercepted once.
But Bell and his backfield companions, Keithan Taylor and Saylaion Dunlap, did all they could to keep the ’Necks in it, with Taylor scoring twice from 1 and 5 yards out and Dunlap adding a 20-yard score.
The three backs ran for 370 total yards, but it wasn’t enough.
Columbia cut the deficit to 42-34 in the fourth quarter after Dunlap’s score, but Needville always had an answer.
Fullback Caleb Leachman scored from 8- yards out to make it 48-34 Needville, and Starr put the game away for good with a 15-yard touchdown run with just over a minute left.
Now, Columbia prepares for what Lynch calls “a three-week grind,” in district, as the ’Necks will take on Stafford, Bay City and El Campo in their next three games, beginning with Stafford at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
“It’s going to be tough,” Lynch said. “We’ve got to go to Stafford for their homecoming and it’s going to be a grind, then we get to come home for one against Bay City and then we have to travel to El Campo. It’s just a three-week grind for us right now. That’s what we’ve been telling our kids.”
By EVAN DUNBAR evan.dunbar@thefacts.com | 0 comments
WEST COLUMBIA — In a matchup that had all the makings for an offensive showcase, Friday’s District 12-4A showdown between the Columbia Roughnecks and the Needville Bluejays did not disappoint.
The teams combined to score 89 points, with Needville (1-1, 4-3) earning the win, 55-34, to snap Columbia’s (1-1, 6-1) six-game win streak and hand the ’Necks their first loss of the season.
Needville quarterback Logan Archer put his skills on display against the ’Necks, finishing 14-of-20 passing for 218 yards and two touchdowns and running for another 103 yards and another score on eight carries.
Archer’s biggest play came on the first play of the second half, when he broke free on a designed run and went 74 yards for a touchdown.
“Their offense is very explosive,” Columbia coach Randy Lynch said. “They can throw multiple formations at you, and you have got to have some stops. We didn’t do that well tonight.
“You’ve got to give credit to their quarterback too, though. Archer played extremely well. He’s a tough competitor and he’s a dual-threat guy. He threw the ball extremely well and put the ball in places where they could catch it.”
The Bluejays’ up-tempo, spread attack gave the ’Necks’ defense fits all night, with running backs Dedrick Ketchum and Deveion Starr running through big holes to set up the Bluejays passing game.
Ketchum finished with 110 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries, while Starr had 131 yards on 13.
When Ketchum and Starr weren’t running the ball, Archer was airing it out to big wide receivers Myles Hackstedt and Bradley Rozner.
Rozner was a matchup problem for Columbia’s secondary all night, as the 6-foot-3 receiver won several jump balls for big gains. The senior finished with four catches for 99 yards, including two 40-yard receptions that set up two Bluejay touchdowns.
“When you’ve got a 6-3 guy out there, and you’ve got a little 5-7 corner covering him half the time it’s kind of tough, and sometimes (on jump balls) they win,” Lynch said.
In sharp contrast to the Bluejays, the Roughnecks used their power running game to score points and keep the game close until the end.
Senior Dakarius Bell started strong and was the offensive leader for Columbia. He finished with 161 yards rushing, with his first two carries of the game going for a combined 70 yards and a touchdown to give Columbia an early 7-0 lead.
But after that, it was all Needville.
The Bluejays scored on their next three possessions — on two runs by Ketchum and another by Starr — to lead, 21-7. Needville punted only twice in the game, and finished with 562 yards of total offense.
“I thought our effort was great, but it’s about execution offensively and defensively,” Lynch said. “Whether it’s on defense, making tackles or knocking down passes — or offensively, running the ball and making plays or throwing the ball and catching the ball. That’s the bottom line.
Throwing the ball was a struggle for Columbia against the Bluejays, with quarterbacks Hunter Grayson and Josh Jimenez combining to complete just four passes in the entire game. Jimenez was also intercepted once.
But Bell and his backfield companions, Keithan Taylor and Saylaion Dunlap, did all they could to keep the ’Necks in it, with Taylor scoring twice from 1 and 5 yards out and Dunlap adding a 20-yard score.
The three backs ran for 370 total yards, but it wasn’t enough.
Columbia cut the deficit to 42-34 in the fourth quarter after Dunlap’s score, but Needville always had an answer.
Fullback Caleb Leachman scored from 8- yards out to make it 48-34 Needville, and Starr put the game away for good with a 15-yard touchdown run with just over a minute left.
Now, Columbia prepares for what Lynch calls “a three-week grind,” in district, as the ’Necks will take on Stafford, Bay City and El Campo in their next three games, beginning with Stafford at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
“It’s going to be tough,” Lynch said. “We’ve got to go to Stafford for their homecoming and it’s going to be a grind, then we get to come home for one against Bay City and then we have to travel to El Campo. It’s just a three-week grind for us right now. That’s what we’ve been telling our kids.”