Rams Roll Over Raiders

PROTECTED CONTENT

If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.

Username

Password

Login

Lost your password?

Username and Password Help

Please enter your email and we will send your username and password to you.

Email

Submit

← Back

Schuyler Rams Varsity Football versus North Shelby Raiders-

Friday, September 15, 2023

by Sara Smith

The Friday Night Lights were shining down on the Schuyler Rams and the North Shelby Raiders on September 15th as they met in a Week 4 matchup. The Raiders entered the game with a record of 1-2, losing to a tough Bishop LeBlond team in Week 1 and the high-powered offense of Braymer in Week 2. Week 3 the Raiders made it into the win column with a win over the first-year-of-8-man- football team, the Paris Coyotes. The Raiders also had some of their key players missing including their starting junior quarterback, Jade Daniel, and their senior running back, Amos Frederick, both to injury. These players were admirably replaced by freshman quarterback,Gannon Bowen, and sophomore running back, Cole Browning.

Schuyler entered the contest with a record of 2-1. Beating the Knox County Eagles in Week 1 and Bishop LeBlond in Week 2. They ran into a steamroller offense at Plattsburg in Week 3 for a loss. The Rams were also missing one of their lead tacklers and pass rushers in sophomore Gus Williams, due to injury.

For a number of years North Shelby has been sitting on top of the district, but this year the roles were reversed. The Schuyler Rams entered week 4 at #11 in the media poll and #2 in the conference, and most importantly, #1 in the district. Last year, the North Shelby Raiders knocked the Rams’ junior quarterback out of the game with an injury, and then wracked up a 74-30 win over the Rams. This year, Coach Randall and the Rams were looking to flip the script.

In the first quarter it looked like it was going to be another track meet of a football game with both teams scoring touchdowns on their first and second possessions. The Rams were able to convert both of the 2-point tries while North Shelby only converted one, making the score 16-14 in favor of the Rams as the game headed to the end of the first quarter.

The Raiders were in the midst of a 9-play drive as they entered into the second quarter, however, instead of capping the drive off with a touchdown, the drive ended with an interception by Mayson Humphrey on the Rams’ 5-yard line. Humphrey read the route perfectly and played the pass rather than defending the route. After intercepting the ball with the Raiders deep in Rams territory, he was able to return the ball to the Raiders 33-yard line, a stunning turn of events that the Raiders would never fully recover from. The Rams were able to capitalize on that turnover with a punishing run by junior Elliott Sevits as he carried three Raiders across the goal line. The Rams failed to convert the 2-point attempt, making the score 22-14 in favor of the Rams.

As it turned out, the Raiders did not score again after the first quarter and the Rams were off to the races. Although, when the Rams ran out of time and failed to convert on their last drive of the first half of play it looked like the Raiders could easily get back into this game.

The Raiders put together some nice drives but were unable to complete them. The drives would stall out due to a number of factors including:

•a shoestring tackle by sophomore, Brody Weaver that saved a touchdown run

•forced fumble by sophomore, Brody Weaver and recovery by senior, Noah Pross

•a costly illegal formation penalty coupled with a formidable Rams pass rush lead by junior, Isaiah Cullers-Arnold and sophomore, Lathan Martin that lead to turnover on downs another forced fumble by senior, Kale Windy and recovery by junior, Elliott Sevits

•senior, Mayson Humphrey stripped the ball on another drive and it was recovered by senior, Aden Snider (his second fumble recovery in so many weeks)

On the final Raiders drive, senior Aden Snider made a touchdown saving tackle that led to a play that turned out to be yet another fumble, forced by sophomore, Collin Oliver and recovered by freshman, Casey Starrett.

While it seemed like the Raiders struggled on offense, the Rams scored quickly and often. Capitalizing on most of the turnovers. Notably, senior quarterback, Connor Smith completed 17 of 23 passes for 375 yards, putting him well over the 1,000 passing yards mark for the season. He rushed for one touchdown and threw three more. Senior, Mayson Humphrey stays near the top of the rankings with 6 passes caught for 126 yards and two touchdowns. Senior, Kale Windy is a threat on the ground and in the air, accounting for 181 yards of total offense, add that to his impressive quarterback skills when running the “swinging gate” during 2-point conversions, and his excellent defensive play and he is a force to be reckoned with.

Junior running back, Elliott Sevits, made the defense pay with 119 grueling, all-purpose yards.

Senior tight end, Karsyn Elliott had a key reception for 32 yards that allowed the Rams to go up by 3 scores in the 3rd quarter that really put the game out of reach for the Raiders.

Ultimately, the Rams looked good on both sides of the ball with players stepping up when injury or penalty took someone out of the game.

Head Coach, Corey Randall, noted that this victory has “been a long time coming”. Adding that North Shelby has always been a tough opponent, and that this contest was no different. He saw the Rams’ “grit” as a positive force in the game, as the offensive and defensive lines controlled the line of scrimmage.

He was also encouraged by how his team responded to adversity in the game. Randall also recognized that this was a team win with “lots of people doing their jobs”, to this point he cited 16 first downs, no punts, 6 of 8 2-point conversions, and being +7 in the turnover column.

Next Friday, the Rams host the Paris Coyotes in their Homecoming contest. Randall says they are looking to score a lot of points, have some fun, and win their first homecoming game in a number of years. At the end of the day, the first priority is to win the game, stay in the win column, and stay on top of the District 8 standings.

Full game stats available at https://t.maxpreps.com/3EJnvap