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OSSEO – The Spencer/Columbus Catholic football team started the season with a bang, racking up eight touchdowns on its way to a resounding 54-22 win over Osseo-Fairchild in its Cloverbelt Conference and season opener on Friday.
Spencer/Columbus raced out to a 20-0 lead in the first quarter.
Jarred Mandel threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Lukas Ellefson, Carson Hildebrandt had a 1-yard TD run, and Hunter Luepke scored from the 1 to provide the Rockets with the big lead.
Osseo-Fairchild hung close with two touchdowns in the second quarter, but Jacob Miller had a 15-yard touchdown run for the Rockets, who led 26-14 at halftime.
Spencer/Columbus put the game away in the third quarter as Luepke scored three times on runs of 3, 21, and 6 yards.
Luepke was held to 67 yards rushing on 14 carries, but four of his totes were for touchdowns. Miller led the Rockets’ rushing attack with 86 yards on just six carries.
Spencer/Columbus outgained the Thunder 342-236, including 215-125 on the ground.
“I was happy with our effort and how we responded at halftime after Osseo-Fairchild had a big momentum swing before the half,” Spencer/Columbus coach Jason Gorst said. “I thought they were a good team and certainly made some big plays to end the half.
“I think overall field position dictated by our special teams was one of the major differences. Our kickoff coverage was great and our return game set us up with some short fields. Jarred threw the ball well and Carson and Jacob, along with some others, balanced our rushing attack. Gavid Kilty had a good night getting to their middle linebacker, and Hayden and Hunter were very effective in our return game.”
The Rockets will host Fall Creek in another Cloverbelt game Thursday, Aug. 24, at 7 p.m. at Spencer High School.
Rockets 54, Thunder 22
Spencer/Columbus 20 6 21 7 – 54
Osseo-Fairchild 0 14 0 8 – 22
First Quarter
SC – Lukas Ellefson 20 pass from Jarred Mandel (Hunter Luepke kick), 9:00.
SC – Carson Hildebrandt 1 run (kick failed), 3:57.
SC – Luepke 1 run (Luepke kick), 1:32.
Second Quarter
OF – Caden Boettcher 1 run (pass failed), 7:38.
SC – Jacob Miller 15 run (kick failed), 6:10.
OF – Bret Koskta 15 pass from Jackson Johnson (Boettcher run), 0:00.
Third Quarter
SC – Luepke 3 run (Miller run), 9:02.
SC – Luepke 21 run (kick blocked), 6:12.
SC – Luepke 6 run (Luepke kick), 2:08.
Fourth Quarter
SC – Hayden Bauman 9 run (Caden Schillinger kick), 10:07.
OF – Koskta 39 run (Boettcher run), 5:24.
Team Statistics
First downs: Spencer/Columbus 21; Osseo-Fairchild 17.
Rushing (att-yards): SC 37-215; OF 38-125.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): SC 6-11-127-0; OF 7-20-111-0.
Total yards: SC 342; OF 236.
Penalties (no.-yards): SC 6-35; OF 3-15.
Fumbles (total-lost): SC 1-1; OF 2-2.
Punting (no.-avg.): SC 1-3.0; OF 4-27.0.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: SC, Jacob Miller 6-86, Hunter Luepke 14-67, Carson Hildebrandt 7-52, Adam Walter 3-18, Bubba Post 4-12, Hayden Bauman 1-9, Max McGiveron 1-minus 2, Colton Schillinger 2-minus 3, Jarred Mandel 1-minus 5. OF, Caden Boettcher 14-95, Bret Koskta 4-50, Alex Watenphul 2-7, Parker Ramseier 5-minus 6, Jackson Johnson 13-minus 21.
Passing: SC, Mandel 6-11-127-0. OF, Johnson 7-20-111-0.
Receiving: SC, Luepke 2-38, Lukas Ellefson 2-29, Ethan Meece 1-35, Miller 1-25. OF, Koskta 3-37, Boettcher 2-40, Ethan Dahl 1-20, Keelan Chumas 1-14.
Punting: SC, Co. Schillinger 1-3.0. OF, Dalton Swett 3-26.7, Koskta 1-28.0.
Records: Spencer/Columbus 1-0 overall and Cloverbelt Conference; Osseo-Fairchild 0-1 overall and Cloverbelt Conference.