Golden Eagles reach third round for first time
Trending
COLUMBIA STATION - With both the United Eagles and the Columbia Raiders running-dominant teams, their second-round Division VI playoff contest came down to one factor -- whoever controlled the line of scrimmage would win.
The Eagles' linemen took control as the game progressed, storming back in the second half to record a 21-14 victory over the Raiders. The victory for the Eagles improves their season record to 10-1 and advances them to play another Raider team at South Range next Friday.
"It was a huge difference," Eagles senior running back/linebacker M'Kyan Haynes said about the line winning the game. "On defense, when they take up blockers, the second level can get in and make the tackles. And offensively, when they get moving on their line, we can get plays 2 yards, 3 yards, 5 yards. It's a huge advantage."
"Our line is so physical, and they have done an unbelievable job in five years in the weight room. They are tough and gritty, strong and physical," United coach DJ Ogilvie said.
"They are a good team," United senior lineman Levi Lucas said. "We knew coming into it that it was going to be a 50-50 game. It was just going to come down to who wanted it more. I credit a lot of it to our seniors."
With the game knotted up at 14-14 with just 4:58 remaining, the Eagles began their victorious march from their own 45. They utilized 10 plays with quarterback Tom Brown barreling into the end zone from a yard out with just 57 seconds to play.
"Our summer conditioning and our work in the weight room is really what sets us apart. We strive to be a dominant fourth-quarter football team," Lucas said.
M'Kyan Haynes led the Eagles with 104 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Brown added 48 yards on 15 carries and the winning score. Brown also completed five of six passes for 63 yards.
"I kept thinking what it would be like to win week 12, and we won week 12, so here we go to next week," an exhausted Haynes said. "Just one step at a time getting the program better."
The Eagles struggled to get any traction offensively early in the contest as they fumbled on their first possession and then went three-and-out on their second. Meanwhile, the Raiders were marching down the field at will against the Eagles’ defense, scoring on their first two possessions.
The Raiders’ Xavier Hendon scored on a 6-yard run at the 5:23 mark of the first quarter at the conclusion of a 79-yard, 12-play drive. That provided the Raiders with an early 7-0 lead.
Following the Eagles’ fumble, the Raiders took advantage of the mistake with a short 25-yard scoring drive, with Hendon scoring again. This time it was a 13-yard blast up the middle to put the Raiders ahead 14-0 with 2:53 remaining in the first quarter.
"We all knew that we could pull it out and win this," Haynes said. "The momentum started rolling, one play after another."
The Eagles’ defense started to catch on to the Raiders’ offense and forced them to turn the ball over on downs at their own 13 at the close of the Raiders’ third possession. That seemed to be the key to a momentum change in the contest.
The Eagles launched an impressive 87-yard, 15-play drive to cut the deficit in half. Haynes plowed into the end zone from 2 yards out to make it 14-7 in favor of the Raiders. The Eagles touchdown came just 44 seconds before halftime.
With the Eagles receiving the second-half kickoff, and having scored just before the intermission, they rode their momentum to scoring again and tying the game at 14-14. Following a 35-yard kickoff return by Kota Shasteen, the Eagles covered the remaining 53 yards on eight plays with Haynes scoring his second touchdown on the night. This time it was a 9-yard scamper around left end. The score came with 8:15 left in the third quarter.
"We just made a couple of small, minor adjustments, and they ran a little bit of a different defense than we expected. So a lot of it was that we controlled the ball and played really physical in the second half," Ogilvie said.
It then became the Eagles’ defense’s time to shine as they came up with two stops, giving the offense the chance to score the game-winning touchdown.
Following the Eagles’ tying score, the Raiders were able to answer with a long kickoff return of their own. Starting from their own 42, they drove to the Eagles’ 4-yard line before the Eagles’ defense came up with a big 5-yard loss and a deflected pass on fourth down turned the ball over on downs with 2:29 remaining in the third quarter.
The Eagles marched from their own 9 to the Raiders’ 23 on 13 plays, but they were also forced to turn the ball over on downs with 6:33 remaining in the contest. Then the unsung heroes on the Eagles’ defense stonewalled the Raiders, causing them to punt on a three-and-out, turning the ball over to the Eagles for their game-winning drive.
"This means a lot, especially with it being the first time in school history," Ogilvie said about the Eagles advancing to the regional semifinals. "We have been there four different times, and we couldn't get the bus through that door. I'm so proud of our kids to be on the road and down 14 early, and we kept fighting. That's the type of kids that we have."
U: 0-7-7-7--21
C: 14-0-0-0--14
SCORING
C-Xavier Hendon 6 run (Jack Washburn kick)
C-Hendon 13 run (Washburn kick)
U-M'Kyan Haynes 2 run (Liam Jones kick) U-Haynes 9 run (Jones Kick) U-Tom Bown 1 run (Jones kick) TEAM STATS
UNITED
First downs: 15; Total yards: 245; Rushes-yards: 45-182, Passing: 63; Comp-Att-Int. 5-6-0; Punts 1-25; Fumbles-Lost 2-1; Penalties-Yards 6-53.
COLUMBIA
First downs: 13, Total yards: 233, Rushes-yards: 40-233, Passing: 0; Comp-Att-Int. 0-3-0; Punts 1-29; Fumbles-Lost 1; Penalties-Yards 8-78.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING--United, M'Kyan Haynes 25-104, Thomas Brown 15-48, Austin Cresna 5-30; Columbia, Ambrose Beach 15-123, Xavier Hendon 15-71
PASSING--United, Thomas Brown, 5-6-0-63; Columbia, Logan Menge 0-3-0-0.
RECEIVING--United, Kota Shasteen 4-57, Jordan Kidder 1-6.
INTERCEPTIONS--None.
FUMBLE RECOVERIES--United, M'Kyan Haynes; Columbia, AJ Lamb.