ROXANA – Getting the ball first and scoring on every of its first three possessions had Breese Central working with a lead all through the primary quarter and into the early minutes of the second on Friday evening at Raich Field.
The Roxana Shells have been ready just for a defensive cease that they have been assured would swing the momentum their approach.
“That’s what we always think,” Roxana coach Wade DeVries mentioned. “We feel like for us, utilizing tempo and trying to go, go, go, go, go, get up on the ball. And make teams do that for 48 minutes. With our depth, that can be challenging for teams, at times.”
It was for Central. With the Shells’ no-huddle offense seeking to run performs as quick as officers can spot the ball, the Cougars couldn’t preserve tempo and Roxana used a game-changing surge within the closing eight minutes of the primary half to beat Central 52-28.
“I’ve never seen a team, Wing-T like that, go as fast as they do,” Central coach Brian Short mentioned. “That’s just a different pace. … Tip my cap, they’re a really, really good football team and it’s going to be hard for anybody to beat them.”
Nobody has by way of seven weeks. The 7-0 Shells, ranked No. 5 in final week’s Class 3A state ballot, clinched not less than a share of their first Cahokia Conference championship of their third yr within the league. Roxana is 4-0 in convention play and might safe the title outright with a victory over winless East Alton-Wood River on Friday in Roxana.
Central, the two-time defending convention champion, noticed its five-game profitable streak finish with its document dropping to 5-2 and 3-1.
“The last time we lost, we rattled off five wins in a row,” Short mentioned of his group’s response to a 35-14 loss to Highland in Week 1. “If we do that now, plus some, we’re going to have a great year.”
Roxana scored the ultimate 25 factors of the primary half to erase Central’s 22-13 lead and halftime got here with the Shells up 38-22. The Shells, once more, gained a soccer recreation and a boxing match.
“We talk a lot about the first half, we use the term ‘body blows.’ It’s like boxing, right?,” DeVries mentioned. “You’re using body blows, body blows and then by the second quarter, you can see it a little bit. And by the third and fourth quarter, it starts to show a little bit more.”
Breese Central quarterback Preston Baker rolls out and throw a move towards Roxana in a Cahokia Conference soccer recreation Friday evening at Raich Field in Roxana.
Greg Shashack / The Telegraph
Central did put a dent in any notion that the Shells are with out vulnerabilities with quarterback Preston Baker finishing 7 of 8 passes for 160 yards within the first quarter. DeVries was neither shaken nor stunned with the Cougars’ early success by way of the air.
“No, because they are really good,” DeVries mentioned. “They are really well-coached. Coach (Jon) Howard, their offensive coordinator, does a great job and they’ve got great athletes. They can protect up front and they, every year, have some kid who can spin it. I don’t know where they get them from. But, man, this kid’s a new kid, he can go out there and spin it and they’ve got skill kids that run the routes and catch the ball. I wasn’t surprised by it. It’s just, try to make them do it for 48 minutes at our pace.”
The Cougars couldn’t. Baker, a 6-foot, 155-pound junior, did throw for 255 yards with three TDs and one interception on 17 of 27 passing. Griffen Becker had seven catches for 114 yards and two TDs, with Carter Deien making 4 receptions for 87 yards for Central.
But the Cougars couldn’t include a Shells attack racking up 449 speeding yards on 58 carries with 510 yards complete offense. This time, after defeats the previous two seasons, offensive coordinator DeVries was in a position to beat defensive coordinator Short.
“I know his team is going to be so well-coached and well-prepared, they’re going to be physical,” DeVries mentioned of Short. “And in the game, there are always going to be adjustments that I have to make. That’s part of the fun of calling offense.”
Game planning the Shells was not a lot enjoyable for Short, a Carrollton High graduate.
“If you overload anything at all – you’ve got to play it as balanced and as even as you possibly can – because everything they have one way, they have a counter back the other way,” Short mentioned. “It’s a really good offense with three cats and a quarterback who’s improved and can throw the football.”
Quarterback Chris Walleck accomplished 6 of 9 passes for 61 yards and three TDs. And these three cats within the backfield punished the Cougars, with Evan Wells speeding for 156 yards on 27 carries, Andruw Ellis speeding for 127 yards on 12 carries and Terrel Graves speeding for 79 yards on 11 carries. All three scored a landing.
Short made a degree of chatting with the Shells after the sport, providing his congratulations on a season three years within the making and their contributions as new members of the Cahokia Conference. DeVries appreciated the gesture.
“I have as much respect for him as anybody,” DeVries mentioned of Short. “He’s done this for a long time, he’s done it the right way. And he’s a friend of mine, a good friend. To be able to go against each other is always so much fun. He’s gotten the last two and we were able to get this one. Next year, we’ll do it again and see what happens.”
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