by The Columbia Raiders welcomed the Mapleton Mounties to Columbia Raiders Stadium for this first round playoff matchup. It started off as a back-and-forth contest in the first half, but it was all Raiders in the second half as they cruised to a 56-14 victory. The Mounties defense had no answers for Columbia’s dynamic offensive playmakers Ethan Meier, Marco Cirigliano, and Jacob Sanders.
The Mounties ran all over the Raiders on the game’s opening drive. Mounties senior quarterback Kollin Cline scored on a 13-yard rushing touchdown and junior running back Colton Wittman converted the 2-point conversion to put the Mounties up 8-0. Wittman and Cline combined to run for 68 yards on the drive. The Raiders would respond quickly when their quarterback Ethan Meier found Gavin Tollett wide open for an 11-yard touchdown.
It would take just two plays for the Mounties to score on their next drive. Colton Wittman broke free for a 46-yard run, which was immediately followed by a 35-yard touchdown run by Kollin Cline that put Mapleton up 14-7. The Raiders would once again punch right back. Ethan Meier would add a rushing touchdown of his own that tied the game at 14. Both offenses were moving the ball at will against the opposing defenses. That would all change when Gage Maruna of the Raiders sacked Kollin Cline on fourth down for the games first defensive stop.
Looking to take their first lead of the game, Columbia would be faced with a fourth down and short in their own territory. The Raiders handed the ball to Marco Cirigliano who got just enough to keep the drive alive. Two plays later Ethan Meier found Jacob Sanders streaking open over the middle of the field for a 40-yard touchdown. Columbia would get another big defensive play just before the half when Isaac Ciryak intercepted Kollin Cline. The Raiders would take a 21-14 lead into halftime.
On the first play of the second half Marco Cirigliano would turn on the jets and outrun the entire Mounties defense for a 64-yard touchdown. Columbia’s lead now grew to 28-14. The Raiders continued to pile on when Ethan Meier threw another 40-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Sanders. On the next Mapleton drive Cline would be intercepted a second time, this time by Logan Menge. Ethan Meier then threw a perfect deep ball that was caught by Marco Cirigliano in the end zone to extend the Raiders lead to 42-14.
The Raiders defense would force another turnover when Grant Johnson recovered a fumble from Kollin Cline. Bryan Jones would then score from 14 yards out on his first carry of the game to make the score 49-14. The Raiders would add one final touchdown when Jimmy Stofey took off for an 86-yard rushing touchdown. The Raiders would end up winning by a final score of 56-14. It was a truly dominant second half for Columbia, as they outscored Mapleton 35-0 in the final two quarters.
Player of the Game: Ethan Meier 10/13 Passing 215 YDS 4 TD 9 CAR 76 YDS 1 TD
