ATTICA — Friday night, Colonel Crawford traveled to Seneca East, a game that was supposed to be the first real test for the unbeaten Eagles.
After all, Crawford’s first four opponents had a combined 7-10 record.
But the 3-1 Tigers were expected to be different, an explosive offense that entered the game scoring nearly 30 points per contest.
The Tigers, however, were no match for the high-flying Eagles.
Seneca East gained just 24 yards in the first half as the Eagles rolled to a 42-0 win.
Crawford improved to 2-0 in the conference, 5-0 overall, while Seneca East fell to 1-1 in the league, 3-2 overall.
Colonel Crawford coach Jake Bruner felt that the Tigers would be a big test for his team.
“Their offense is always deadly, and we always feel like they’ve always got some wrinkle ready,” Bruner said. “Our kids did a great job. They can do so many formations and we didn’t want our kids to overthink. I thought coach DeGray and his staff did a great job with mixing up packages.”
Seneca East coach Ed Phillips thought that Crawford was the best team his team saw all season.
“They played really well,” Phillips said. “They came out and they took it to us. We had some chances to make some plays and we didn’t, and they did. When they got the momentum, they just went with it.”
Crawford scored early in the game when quarterback Kam Lohr found a streaking Trevor Vogt for a 32-yard score and a 7-0 Crawford lead.
It stayed that way after one quarter.
Phillips said that his team had chances early in the game.
“We had some missed opportunities and they’re too good a football team to not take advantage of opportunities when they’re there,” Phillips said. “It was their night tonight.
“We were close in a lot of things,” he added. “We had a post early in the game that we had a shot on, and there were two plays in the game where there was a bad snap, and the snap went right to their back, and he grabbed it and never missed a beat. When it’s your night, those things go for you.”
Crawford put the game away in the second period.
Tanner Dyer scored on a two-yard run, before Lohr scored on a four-yard run with 1:42 left in the half.
The Eagles were not done, however, taking advantage of a short punt at the Seneca East 45, and moving down for the score. Lohr capped the march with a 22-yard scoring pass to Vogt and the Eagles held a 28-0 lead at the break.
“I was really happy with the kids’ effort,” Bruner said. “Special teams tonight wasn’t as good as they have been. But they do some things that really haunt you. We were constantly worried about them offensively.
“We also felt that early in the game, field position was not on our side,” Bruner added. “Penalties really hurt us. When we opened up that third score, we felt a little comfort, but our defense played really well.”
Crawford got two Matt Clinard scores in the third period to finish the scoring. Clinard ran in from two, before the Eagles recovered a kickoff at the six, and Clinard capped the possession.
Clinard paced the Eagles with 100 rushing yards on 15 carries. Seneca East rushed for 35 yards on 20 carries on the night.
“There were times, though, that we have to stay on blocks a little better,” Bruner said. “That’s a credit to them because they’re well-coached and a good football team.”
Bruner said that Crawford’s defensive schemes were a key.
“But I thought the key was sometimes we got pressure with a three-man front,” Bruner said. “And I thought that was a lot.
“I thought we were patient. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy coming here. They’re big, they’re hard to move. And they play hard. We knew it was going to be that kind of game.”
Box score
Score by quarters
Colonel Crawford 7 21 14 0 — 42
Seneca East 0 0 0 0 — 0
Scoring summary
First quarter
CC — Trevor Vogt 32 pass from Kam Lohr (Braxton Morton kick), 7:43.
Second quarter
CC — Tanner Dyer 2 run (Morton kick), 8:05.
CC — Lohr 4 run (Morton kick), 1:42.
CC — Vogt 22 pass from Lohr (Morton kick), :34.
Third quarter
CC — Matt Clinard 2 run (Morton kick), 9:37.
CC — Clinard 6 run (Morton kick), 8:47.
Individual statistics
Passing
Colonel Crawford: Kamryn Lohr 7-13-0 139; Seneca East: Blake Foos 4-14-0 51, Nicholas Parks 2-5-0 47.
Rushing
Colonel Crawford: Matt Clinard 15-100, Tanner Dyer 12-29, Kamryn Lohr 8-66, Micah Thomas 3-15, Connor McMichael 4-12, Brady Fox 1-4; Seneca East: Blake Martin 3-6, Justin Reiter 1-5, Blake Foos 9-5, Laine Dixon 3-16, Nicholas Parks 4-4.
Receiving
Colonel Crawford: Trevor Vogt 2-54, Matt Clinard 2-21, Kaden Bruner 1-22, Lucas Foy 1-26, Derek Horsley 1-3; Seneca East: Cody Heibertshausen 1-35, Haylee Steinmetz 1-12, Blake Martin 2-4.
Team statistics
CC SE
First downs 13 3
Rushing 44-224 20-35
Passes 7-13-0 6-19-0
Yards passing 139 98
Total yards 363 133
Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-2
Penalties 6-50 3-35