SYCAMORE — The Eagles were flying all over the field Friday night as Colonel Crawford thumped Mohawk 41-12 in a Northern 10 Athletic Conference matchup at Mohawk.
“I thought our kids came here and took care of business,” Colonel Crawford coach Jake Bruner said. “It started with our kids up front blocking. Our athletes in space did a really good job and I thought we did a good job of spreading the ball around.”
Colonel Crawford (8-1, 5-1 N10) scored the game’s first 41 points and never looked back, taking a 34-0 lead into halftime and kept the running clock going the entire second half.
“They started fast and boy, they’re physical,” Mohawk coach Eric Daniel said. “They play fast. They’re confident. They play like an 8-1 team. They’re very well-coached. They did a hell of a job.”
Mohawk’s first possession ended when quarterback Ben Bogner was intercepted by Kaden Bruner, allowing the Eagles to start their first drive in Mohawk territory on the 44-yard line.
Five plays later, running back Micah Thomas broke several tackles and rumbled into the end zone for a 10-yard score.
After forcing a three-and-out, Colonel Crawford marched 62 yards on just four plays with the highlight being a 47-yard touchdown run by Connor McMichael to make it 13-0.
After another three-and-out, the Eagles got the ball at midfield and made it to the end zone in six plays with Thomas punching it in from the 2 right to make it 20-0 Colonel Crawford.
“We were not ready to go off the rip,” Daniel said. “We did not match their physicality. We are not confident at this point in the season. We’re struggling a little bit. We’re trying to rally the troops and keep our guys engaged.”
After another Mohawk punt, Colonel Crawford started a drive on its own 22, but the flipped field position didn’t matter as McMichael again hit a home run, this time a 60-yard gallop to put the Eagles on top 27-0. McMichael finished the game with 145 yards on just six carries with two touchdowns.
“Connor has a good gear for a sophomore in open space,” Bruner said. “We have a pounder in Micah Thomas and Trevor (Vogt) and Connor are really quick on the outside. Credit to our offensive line. When Micah runs the ball, he pounds it on you and when teams try to take that away, it opens up the outside for those guys.”
Mohawk turned the ball over on downs at midfield and Colonel Crawford scored just two plays later. McMichael gained 27 yards on a pass, then Vogt scored on a 24-yard pass from back-up quarterback Peyton Baker to put the Eagles up 34-0.
The final score for Colonel Crawford was on its opening drive of the second half. The Eagles started with the ball on their own 23, then went 77 yards on 10 plays, eventually scoring on a 10-yard pass from Vogt to fullback Tyler Smith.
Bruner said he was particularly impressed by how well his first-team defense played against a Mohawk offense that is loaded with talented skill players.
“We had some guys back getting healthier on defense,” Bruner said. “They did a nice job. We got some pressure with three-man and four-man fronts. I thought our secondary did a really nice job keeping everything in front of them.”
Mohawk’s offense got rolling in the fourth quarter with a pair of touchdowns. The first was a 54-yard pass from Bogner to Brant Kirian. The second was Bogner’s 26-yard pass to Andrew Woodland as time expired.
Kirian finished the game with six catches for 92 yards and a touchdown for Mohawk. In a season of injuries, struggles and disappointment, he has been a shining star for the Warriors.
“Brant Kirian has turned into a nice player for us,” Daniel said. “With an injury to Kaleb Bish, he’s stepped up in a big way. God, I’m glad we have him. He’s proved if you care at JV and you stick out, we’re gonna give you a shot and he’s taken it and run with it and turned into a two-way starter and a damn good player for us. He’s a success story. That’s what we expect at the JV level. If guys give a great effort, we’ll notice you. We want to find reasons to get you on the field. He’s shown out and it’s translated real well.”
While the result was not what he wanted, Daniel said he was proud his players played hard to the final second.
“I was proud of how our guys continued to fight,” Daniel said. “We need everybody to care. Everybody’s got to be invested. We can’t have anybody checking out. I’m glad we continued to fight and scored there right at the end.”
Mohawk ends the season at Bucyrus at 7 p.m. Friday.
Box score
Score by quarters
Colonel Crawford 20 14 7 0 — 41
Mohawk 0 0 0 12 — 12
Scoring summary
First quarter
CC — Micah Thomas 10 run (kick failed), 6:49.
CC — Connor McMichael 47 run (Braxton Morton kick), 4:29.
CC — Thomas 47 run (Morton kick), :11.
Second quarter
CC — McMichael 60 run (Morton kick), 8:17.
CC — Trevor Vogt 24 pass from Peyton Baker (Morton kick), 5:09.
Third quarter
CC — Tyler Smith 10 pass from Vogt (Morton kick), 3:32.
Fourth quarter
M — Brant Kirian 54 pass from Ben Bogner (pass failed), 8:12.
M — Andrew Woodland 26 pass from Bogner (no conversion), :00.
Individual statistics
Passing
Colonel Crawford: Peyton Baker 3-5-0 57. Trevor Vogt 3-3-0 40; Mohawk: Ben Bogner 15-29-1 191, Braxton Frisch 1-1-0 35.
Rushing
Colonel Crawford: Connor McMichael 6-145, Micah Thomas 16-70, Trevor Vogt 6-36, Roen Thew 1-2, Tyler Lash 1-1; Mohawk: Ben Bogner 9-24, Evan England 3-10, Elias Magallanes 2-5, Nick Golling 1-0, Braxton Frisch 1-0.
Receiving
Colonel Crawford: Ryan McMichael 1-27, Trevor Vogt 1-24, Brady Hill 1-15, Kaden Bruner 1-15, Tyler Smith 1-10, Roen Thew 1-6; Mohawk: Brant Kirian 6-92, Andrew Woodland 2-61, Brayden Chester 4-51, Nick Golling 3-13, Braxton Frisch 1-9.
Team statistics
CC M
First downs 12 11
Rushing 30-244 16-39
Passes 6-8-0 16-30-1
Yards passing 97 226
Total yards 341 265
Fumbles-lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties 10-65 5-55