This story is sponsored by: High Street Salon, Spa & Travel
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
SPENCER – The Spencer/Columbus Catholic football team ran nine offensive plays in the first quarter, three for touchdowns, as the Rockets made quick work of Stanley-Boyd and rolled to a 40-6 victory in a Cloverbelt Conference matchup Friday night at Ted Fritsch Field at Spencer High School.
The Rockets scored on their first offensive play, needed just two plays on their next possession, and took six plays to go 64 yards for another score on their third drive to take a 21-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the game.
Austin Bacon raced 61 yards for the first touchdown, Jarred Mandel threw 23 yards to Hayden Bauman for the second, and Bauman ran 18 yards for third score, and the Rockets were off and running.
“We had some big plays early on,” SC coach Jason Gorst said. “We had some things we thought we could take advantage of, and we did. We were able to use our athletic ability in a few different ways. We hit them with the run and the pass, and do a number of things. We’ve got a number of threats on the field and good team speed.”
Spencer/Columbus made it 28-0 by halftime as Mandel capped a 10-play, 80-yard drive with a 3-yard TD pass to Bacon with 4:45 left in the second quarter.
The Rockets made it a running-clock affair with two quick scores in the third quarter as they pushed their lead past the 35-point threshold.
Spencer/Columbus (4-0, 3-0 Cloverbelt Conference) went 70 yards in eight plays, including three rushes for 51 yards from Eden Jacobson, for another score. Carson Hildebrandt ended the drive with a 13-yard touchdown run on third-and-10.
Stanley-Boyd fumbled on its second play following the kickoff and the ball bounded backwards until Hildebrandt pounced on it in the end zone to the Rockets’ final score as they made it 40-0.
“They (Stanley-Boyd) did lose a lot of kids, but they’re still well-coached and they still do some things well, so anytime that you beat a program of that caliber, it’s a good thing,” Gorst said. “I thought we played very well tonight.
“There were a lot of complicated things this week and a lot of time spent on all the little things they (Stanley-Boyd) do. I was really proud of kids’ ability to absorb all of that, go execute it, and still play fast and physical.”
Stanley-Boyd’s only score came on a 6-yard run by Willis Burich-Reynolds midway through the fourth quarter.
The Rockets outgained Stanley-Boyd (2-2, 1-2 Cloverbelt) 433-176 and forced two turnovers.
“They’re a real high-powered offense, they always have been with their spread look, and our defensive coordinator (Todd) Hildebrandt did a great job drawing up the game plan as always, and our defense executed it perfectly,” said Mandel, the Rockets’ quarterback and safety.
Spencer/Columbus plays at Neillsville/Granton next Friday, Sept. 14, at 7 p.m.
Rockets 40, Orioles 6
Stanley-Boyd 0 0 0 6 – 6
Spencer/Columbus 21 7 12 0 – 40
First Quarter
SC – Austin Bacon 61 run (Jarred Mandel kick), 8:55.
SC – Hayden Bauman 23 pass from Mandel (Mandel kick), 6:24.
SC – Bauman 18 run (Mandel kick), 2:42.
Second Quarter
SC – Bacon 3 pass from Mandel (Mandel kick), 4:45.
Third Quarter
SC – Carson Hildebrandt 13 run (kick blocked), 9:21.
SC – Hildebrandt recovered fumble in end zone (kick missed), 8:31.
Fourth Quarter
SB – Willis Burich-Reynolds 6 run (run failed), 5:42.
Team Statistics
First downs: Stanley-Boyd 11; Spencer/Columbus 13.
Rushing (att.-yards): SB 30-93; SC 34-327.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): SB 9-17-83-1; SC 8-16-106-0.
Total yards: SB 176; SC 433.
Fumbles (total-lost): SB 2-1; SC 2-1.
Penalties (no.-yards): SB 8-40; SC 4-30.
Punting (no.-avg.): SB 4-26.0; SC none.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: SB, L.J. Schmelzer 13-42, Bo Chwala 5-24, Marcus Campbell 4-15, Willis Burich-Reynolds 6-11, Cooper Nichols 2-1. SC, Austin Bacon 4-76, Hayden Bauman 6-68, Eden Jacobson 3-51, Carson Hildebrandt 6-34, Will Gorst 7-27, Tyson McDonald 2-18, Jarred Mandel 4-13, Leo Rodriguez 2-0.
Passing: SB, Schmelzer 9-17-83-1. SC, Mandel 8-16-106-0.
Receiving: SB, Burich-Reynolds 6-52, Blayke Sharp 1-22, Chwala 1-6, Ben Milas 1-3. SC, Bacon 5-53, Bauman 2-46, Hildebrandt 1-7.
Interception (defense): SC, Ethan Meece.
Fumble recoveries (defense): SB, Carter Vait. SC, Hildebrandt.
Punting: SB, Schmezler 4-26.0. SC, none.
Records: Stanley-Boyd 2-2, 1-2 Cloverbelt Conference; Spencer/Columbus 4-0, 3-0 Cloverbelt Conference.