by Sheffield Village, OH – The Columbia Raiders ran the ball early and often en route to an LC8 road win over Brookside, 49-14.
On the game’s first possession, the Raiders ran the ball just three times. That is all they would need, though. In the first play, junior Jimmy Stofey ran the ball 29 yards. Fellow junior Jose Rivera ran the ball next, first for a yard, then ran the ball 46 yards for 6 points, and with a good PAT, the Raiders led 7-0.
It would not take the Raiders long to get the ball back. On Brookside’s first play from scrimmage, sophomore QB Mason Waechter would have his pass intercepted by his counterpart, Columbia QB Gage Maruna, who also plays LB for Columbia. The Raiders got the ball at the Cardinals’ 32-yard line and ran a lot with multiple players. The 8-play drive, where the Raiders ran the ball every play, would have five different Raiders get at least a single carry. Jose Rivera, Gage Maruna, Logan Menge, Jimmy Stofey, and Xavier Henden ran the ball on this possession. Henden would end the drive after he ran the ball from a yard out, making it 14-0 Columbia.
Following a Brookside punt, the Raiders reran the ball seven times on this possession, which included a 27-yard run for Rivera and a 20-yard run by Maruna. A rare pass would be how the Raiders scored on this drive as Maruna found Stofey for a 3-yard touchdown to make it 21-0 in favor of the Raiders. That would be the only completed pass by the Raiders all night and the first of only two passes they threw.
Following a lousy punt by Brookside, Columbia got the ball at the Cardinals’ 29-yard line. Freshman Xavier Heden ran the ball three times for a combined 29 yards, which included a 17-yard TD run.
The Raiders would again turnover the Cardinals, this time on an Edward Catanese III fumble recovered by the Raiders. The Raiders got the ball on the Brookside 43-yard line. A seven-play drive, where they ran the ball six times, would lead to 6 points when Menge ran 13 yards to give the Raiders a 35-0 lead.
The Cardinals may have been down without three key players, but they fought the entire game. After a brilliant return by sophomore Colton Casey, which gave the Cardinals the ball at their own 45, the Cardinals would show the fight they had. A 7-play drive where they threw the ball five times would end when sophomore QB Mason Waechter threw a 12-yard TD pass to junior Andy Bilczo to cut the Raider lead to 35-7 just before halftime.
The Cardinals’ momentum would be short-lived. Stofey, on the ensuing kickoff, returned the ball 50 plus yards, which gave Columbia the ball at the Brookside 34-yard line. Stofey then ran the ball all 34 yards to the end zone to extend the Raider lead to 42-7, which they took to halftime.
With the running clock in the 2nd half, the clock ran like the Raiders, fast. On their first possession of the 2nd half, Stofey again ran the ball, far, 46 yards on a triple option to be exact, to give Columbia a 49-7 lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, Casey returned the ball over 40 yards to give Brookside the ball at the Columbia 47-yard line. Sophomore Brody Hamilton ran the ball five times for 25 yards, which included his final carry that resulted in a touchdown for Brookside to make it 49-14, which the game would finish.
With the win, the Columbia Raiders clinched a spot in the playoffs. The Raiders improve their record to 7-2, 5-1 in LC8 play. They also keep their hopes alive for at least a share of the LC8 title. They will finish the regular season at home against the Black River Pirates.
For the Brookside Cardinals, the loss drops them to 3-6 on the season and 2-4 in LC8 play. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, their shot at the playoffs is long. They host Clearview to finish the season.
Player of the game: Jimmy Stofey, Columbia. The junior RB rushed the ball five times for 132 yards with two touchdowns on the ground. He also had the lone reception for Columbia, a 3-yard touchdown reception.
