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Columbia Raiders Win Big in Season Opener Over the Independence Blue Devils
Columbia Station — Junior running back Xavier Hendon ran for three touchdowns as the Columbia Raiders defeated the Independence Blue Devils 56-7 to open the 2026 season.
The Columbia Raiders are known for running the ball, and they did that—a lot. The Raiders only asked senior quarterback Logan Menge to throw the ball four times on the night. He completed all four of those passes for 121 yards and a touchdown to fellow senior Ambrose Beach. The rest of the damage done by the Raiders came via the run game.
On the Raiders’ first possession, Hendon ran the ball three times for 41 yards before making way for senior running back Peyton Liedtke to begin the scoring and give Columbia a 7-0 lead.
On the next offensive possession, Hendon started his parade of touchdowns. Hendon scored the next three touchdowns for the Raiders, including a 67-yard touchdown run where he broke multiple tackles and even carried defenders a few yards with him on his trip to the end zone. After Hendon’s three straight touchdowns, the Raiders led 28-0 with time left in the first half.
Following another Independence punt, Menge found Beach over the middle on just his third pass of the game for a 75-yard touchdown, the longest play of the night, to extend the Raiders’ lead to 35-0.
Independence got the ball back with time left in the first half and put together its best drive of the game. Sophomore quarterback Mathew Avilia went 2-for-2 for 41 of his 77 total passing yards on the night, including a 30-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Bobby Jackson. The score cut Columbia’s lead to 35-7, which the Raiders took into halftime.
In the second half, the Raiders continued to run the ball hard, scoring three more touchdowns on the ground—two from Beach and one from junior Westly Sanders—to finish off the 56-7 win.
The Blue Devils never gave up despite Columbia seeming to be everywhere, both on offense and defense. Junior running back Mace Durden ran the ball 11 times for 49 yards and never went down easy.
With the win, the Columbia Raiders improve to 1-0 on the season. The Raiders will look to keep up their winning ways next week when they hit the road to take on the Fairview Warriors.
The loss starts the Independence Blue Devils at 0-1 on the season. They will look to find the win column next week when they host the Rootstown Rovers in their home opener.
Player of the Game — Columbia’s Xavier Hendon
The junior running back rushed the ball 16 times for 177 yards and three touchdowns. It took multiple Blue Devils to bring down the 5-foot-11 junior running back nearly every time he got the football. Raiders fans will hope he can keep it up as the season continues.
