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An epic clash between Lorain County Conference heavyweights Columbia and Keystone, took place at Wildcat Stadium in LaGrange, Ohio. It was a picture perfect October evening at kickoff.
Both teams came in on extensive winning streaks. The visiting Columbia Raiders came into this matchup undefeated at 8-0. The Wildcats were no slouches either, entering the contest on a torrent five game streak.
One of these ball clubs were going to ruin each other’s perfect 5-0 record in the conference.
The Raiders silenced the home crowd right from the get-go. Keystone was under lock and key on the first possession. Quarterback Konner Rodick would toss a near interception and be sacked, forcing a punt in the early going.
Luck would also be in favor of Columbia as a purple and black defender would yank on the facemask of the returner. The visiting team would set up shop inside the redzone at the 19 yard line.
However, it seemed a little too good to be true as the drive was a little messy at first. Quarterback Andrew Champagne lost two snaps, but things would quickly take a turn for the better. Halfback Owen Menge would capitalize on the great field position, punching it in from 8 yards out.
Kicker for Columbia, Frank Washburn, would assist Keystone by sailing the kick off out of bounds. The 39 would be the set up the Cats needed. Wrecking ball and running back Gideon Lampron finished off the drive and answered with his own touchdown run of two yards.
With these two knotted up, it was Columbia’s turn to take over with a short field yet again. This time at 36. The drive would end in the blink of an eye as Champagne would fake the handoff and would not be denied on a 61 yard house call for six. It was an electrifying play that foreshadowed a possible momentum swing.
Lampron and Rodick started to heat up toward the end of the first quarter but, that would end abruptly. Five seconds into the second quarter, Rodick tossed an interception and Columbia prepared to expand their gap.
Again though, having a hard time handling the snaps would lead to a much needed three and out for the Wildcats.
Rodick would do a masterful job and regain his composure. He scrambled for 17 yards and then threw a great ball to Ryne Shackelford for a touchdown from the 14.
Jason Ward’s squad would trot back onto the field and look to answer. Things took a turn for the worst as three penalties would be called. Two holding and an illegal motion all accumulated to a 3 & 27. Champagne would be flushed out of the pocket and also had all day and night to throw. The Wildcats would finally sack him, but one defender would be caught grabbing the facemask after he was knocked around and forced down by a host of purple jerseys. Instead of it being 4 and even longer it would give the visitors another opportunity.
That chance would be squandered as number 13 was sacked once more in an absolutely crazy sequence.
With Keystone turning the tides, they wanted to be the ones who would take advantage. They accomplished that with Rodick continuing his impressive stretch. A huge gain of 33 yards to Christian Pataky got the home team moving. But, a big fourth down and nine would present another challenge. Head coach Don Griswold liked what he was seeing from his QB and decided to stick to his guns and take the chance. It turned out to be a smart move as Shackelford would haul in a nice dart for a 25 yard score.
Now up 21-14 Columbia went back to what they do best; running the football. The team is averaging a whopping 236 rushing yards per game this season and Marco Cirigliano is a big factor in that equation.
He was showcasing his strength and the Raiders were marching down the field. It was all the more shocking when the green and white dialed up a pass play. That would cost them dearly as Champagne threw an interception to Pataky with 23 seconds left in the half.
Keystone was able to put up more points just in time on a thrilling play call. It was a simple lob over to Lampron but, what followed was a display of pure speed and will. Lampron would sprint down the sideline and spin out of a tackle to take it all the way for a 57 yard touchdown. The fans could not be contained and the score would sit at 28-14.
The Raiders received the second half kick and scored fairly quickly, with Cirigliano leading the way. He opened up the third with a 31 yard gash up the middle and then a scamper of 16 for paydirt.
It appeared that the visitors were accruing that energy back they had in the first quarter. Lighting in the distance signaled a rain storm was on the way and it showed up in full force at the right time. The rain hampered the home team’s passing attack and they went three and out and handed the ball back. The run game that has been Columbia’s bread and butter seemed primed to take over, but the continuous lighting forced a 30 minute weather delay. It halted the action with about 8 minutes to go in the third.
After a quick warmup, Columbia was back in business. About 4 minutes passed by and the defense for the purple and black was still on the field. But, they held strong and forced a field goal.
Right before the end of the quarter the Wildcats gave another gut punch to the Raiders defense. The one to deliver the blow would be Lampron once again. He caught it and ran for 41 hard earned yards, dragging defenders as far as his legs would let him.
He would put the finishing touches on the drive going almost untouched into the endzone from the goal line. The kicker would slip on the point after, making it a score of 34-24.
Fast forward about four minutes and the Raiders were knocking on the door. Desperately needing some points, preferably a touchdown, they gave it to the work horse, Cirigliano. Lampron sniffed it out and laid the wood on number 36 as soon as he touched the ball. It was a vicious hit and put them back four yards.
Back to back false starts pushed them to the 14 and an eventual fourth down sent out the field goal unit. Unfortunately, the attempt went left of the uprights with just under 7 minutes remaining in regulation.
The door was left open a crack as the Cats made some odd choices to throw instead of draining some clock. That door would then slam shut though as the punt was fumbled and recovered by the home squad with 5:30 left. Lampron wore out the defense the rest of the way to seal it.
This is now the second consecutive victory for the Wildcats over the Raiders. Last season they won by a wider margin, but they made more big plays at the end of the evening.
Defensively, Keystone did all they could against a stout running game. The green and white got close to their per game quota, reaching 226 total yards. But, where they excelled was stopping the aerial attack. Coming in, the defense was averaging two interceptions per game and they got to that mark tonight. They also had a few sacks, and some great defensive stands when the momentum was teetering.
Champagne had a rough outing putting up a stat line of 9/19 73 yards and two interceptions while also mishandling a handful of snaps. He did tack on 84 yards on nine carries and a touchdown. Cirigliano did what he could to keep his team afloat with 118 yards and a touchdown.
Gideon Lampron was a bulldozer and a brute force all night. He finished with 20 carries, 98 yards and two touchdowns. He was also a catching threat as well. 3 receptions for 119 yards and another six points will definitely suffice.
Shackelford also had a nice game with 92 total yards and a receiving touchdown. Rodick was also solid going 13/20 261 yards and two TDs and an INT. Pataky added 72 yards on four catches and one pick on Champagne.
Keystone nabs a massive W as they move to 6-1 and remain perfect in the conference. They host Clearview next Friday. Columbia looks ahead to a game against Firelands in Oberlin.
Player of the Game: Gideon Lampron- 20 carries, 98 yards and two touchdowns. 3 receptions for 119 yards and a TD
