A.C. Flora quarterback Carlton Andrews tries to pass before Columbia’s Darren Weaver gets to him.
Find more Sportsarama pictures at http://columbiastarsports.photoshelter.com/archive.
For the 56th time, the Richland Sertoma Club kicked off the high school football season with the annual Sportsarama. Seven teams from Richland District One and one from SCISA got together Saturday, August 13 at Memorial Stadium battling the heat and each other in four two-quarter scrimmages.
Eau Claire quarterback Larry Esenwiein tries to avoid the charge of C.A. Johnson’s Tyrek Golson.
Game 1:
Eau Claire 7,
C.A. Johnson 0
The Eau Claire Shamrocks and C.A. Johnson Green Hornets opened Sportsarama with the Shamrocks taking it 7-0. Due to the SCHSL’s 2016- 2017 realignment, these two schools will meet again in October as region opponents, but for now, each got to test the waters to see what life in Region III-AA could be like.
It didn’t start well for the Green Hornets as Eau Claire’s Shytrell O’Neil recovered a C.A. Johnson fumble on the second play from scrimmage giving the Shamrocks the ball at the 33-yard line. Eau Claire could not take advantage, gaining just five yards before giving the ball back to the Green Hornets.
C.A. Johnson managed just one yard on its next possession, and that’s when the Shamrocks went to work.
Eau Claire quarterback Larry Esenwiein threw a screen pass to Makaik Vereen who raced 57 yards for the game’s first touchdown. Mario Trejo then drilled the extra point for the 7-0 lead.
Keenan’s Myles Adams runs as Lower Richland’s Kobe Reese dives for the tackle.
Neither team could get much going after that. The Green Hornets had another fumble, punted, and turned the ball over on downs after driving to the Eau Claire 26-yard line late in the contest. The Shamrocks punted, had a pass intercepted by C.A. Johnson’s Tyrek Golson, and then ran out the clock to end the game.
Game 2:
A.C. Flora 10,
Columbia 0
The A.C. Flora Falcons and Columbia Capitals matched up in Game 2 with the Falcons winning 10-0.
A.C. Flora opened the contest with a 10-play, 70- yard drive ending in a twoyard touchdown run from Coleman Pope. Pope carried the ball five times for 16 yards, and Flora quarterback Carlton Andrews completed three passes for 28 yards on the drive.
Thomas McCutchen drilled the PAT to make it a 7-0 ball game.
A.C. Flora’s Cory Riley then intercepted a Columbia pass three plays later to give the Falcons the ball at the Capital 19-yard line. Two sacks by Columbia’s Darren Weaver forced A.C. Flora to settle for a 39-yard McCutchen field goal and a 10-0 lead.
Dreher’s Tre Dreher hauls in his second interception against Hammond.
The teams then traded punts before the Capitals got things going. Facing a third-and-eight from their own 42, Columbia quarterback Jordan Puch dropped a bomb to Ali Cannon who raced to the A.C. Flora 16- yard line. The drive was stopped three plays later when Garrett Whetstone grabbed an interception in the end zone for the Falcons allowing A.C. Flora to run out the clock.
Game 3:
Hammond 7,
Dreher 6
The Hammond Skyhawks and Dreher Blue Devils may have provided the most entertaining game of the night as the Skyhawks had to come from behind to win 7-6.
Winners of eight SCISA 3A state titles in the last ten years, the Skyhawks came out gunning against the Blue Devils driving 38 yards to the Dreher 32-yard line. Quarterback Corbett Glick completed five passes for 25 yards and ran the ball twice for 12 yards, but the drive stalled and Glick’s pass on fourth-and-10 fell incomplete.
Lower Richland quarterback Tevaughn Higgins looks for an open receiver against Keenan.
After two Dreher punts and a three-and-out from Hammond, the Skyhawks put together a drive starting from their own 40. On third-and-three from the Dreher 42-yard line, Glick raced 15 yards and got another 15 tacked on for a Dreher facemask penalty. Two plays later, Tre Dreher grabbed the first of two interceptions, to stop the drive.
The Blue Devils went to work with a 36-yard pass from Matthew Campbell to Tony Gunter. Campbell then hit Tyran Rush for a 16-yard gain to set Dreher up at the Hammond 28- yard line, but the drive stalled from there, and Campbell’s pass on fourth-and-eight fell incomplete.
The Skyhawks then drove 31 yards to the Dreher 43-yard line, but Tre Dreher grabbed his second interception and raced to the Hammond five-yard line before getting caught. Two plays later, Anthony Salters punched it in the end zone from a yard out to give the Blue Devils a 6-0 lead with 4:30 to play.
Lower Richland’s Jamal Walker and A.C. Flora’s Elizabeth Long were chosen as Mr. and Miss Sportsarama.
The Skyhawks then went to work from their own 30-yard line. After Anthony Wilson rushed four yards, Glick completed three straight passes to set Hammond up at the Dreher 25-yard line. Brad Lewis then ran a reverse to give Hammond a first down at the Dreher 13-yard line. Three plays later, Glick found Lucas Prickett in the end zone on a 10-yard slant, and Lake Barrett’s PAT gave the Skyhawks a 7-6 lead.
With 1:40 remaining, the Blue Devils tried to go to the air, but four straight incompletions gave Hammond the ball back and allowed Coach Erik Kimrey and his Skyhawks to run out the clock.
Game 4:
Lower Richland 12,
Keenan 0
Lower Richland quarterback Tevaughn Higgins completed 6-of-13 passes for 79 yards and two touchdowns in the final game of the night leading his Diamond Hornets to a 12-0 victory over the Keenan Raiders. Higgins also rushed two times for 46 yards.
The Raiders started the game with a 13-play, 87- yard drive. Quarterback Alajuwan
Robinson led the way completing a couple of passes for 26 yards and running twice for 22 yards. The Raiders had a 16-yard touchdown run from Christian Irick called back due to an illegal procedure call, one of eight penalties that hurt Keenan on the night. The drive then stalled at the Lower Richland 13-yard line when Robinson’s pass on fourth-and-seven fell incomplete.
After an illegal procedure call on Lower Richland, one of seven flags on the Diamond Hornets, Higgins marched his team 92 yards in eight plays. The biggest play came on a 34- yard scamper from Higgins where he ran over a Keenan defensive back on his way to the Raider 15-yard line. Two plays later, Higgins found Deamandre Goodwin for a 12-yard touchdown pass and a 6-0 lead.
The Lower Richland defense took command from there forcing two fumbles and two punts from the Keenan offense. Keyon Hair then grabbed an interception ending Keenan’s final drive of the night.
The Diamond Hornets struggled a bit, too, fumbling the ball away once, giving it away on downs once, and punting once before receiving a Keenan punt at the Raider 32-yard line with 6:46 to play. Higgins promptly ran for 12 yards and then lofted a 24-yard touchdown pass to Hair for the 12-0 lead. The two-point conversion attempt failed.
Hair’s interception ended Keenan’s next drive, and the Diamond Hornets ran out the clock from there.
Awards
The Richland Sertoma Club awarded the following honors following Game 3: Mr. Sportsarama- Jamal Walker, Lower Richland; Miss Sportsarama- Elizabeth Long, A.C. Flora; Best Band-Dreher; Best Cheerleading Squad-A.C. Flora; and The Charlie Stuart School Spirit Award- Lower Richland.
Find more Sportsarama pictures at http://columbiastarsports.photoshelter.com/archive.
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