Columbus Crusaders 35 Cincinnati Eagles14


 

After leaving my afternoon game in Youngstown, I headed to Worthing Christian to catch the championship game of the Great Lakes Christian Athletic Conference pitting the home team Columbus Crusaders against the Cincinnati Eagles. The Eagles came in setting at 7-3 overall, including a 32-14 setback to the Crusaders. Columbus came in 8-1 on a seven-game winning streak. This would be my fourth time seeing each team. I will travel to Indiana Wesleyan next Saturday to catch both of these teams again as they play the other half of the league in a tournament pitting the top three seeds against each other.

This one started out with Ezekiel Bowie blasting off to a 44-yard gain; if not for a hustling Peter Hickman, who made a nice tackle, Bowie would have scored. Later in the drive, the Crusaders were facing a fourth and three; they elected to go for it, and that decision turned out to be the right one. Matthew Colaizzi hit Braden Miller for 14 yards and the first down. The ten-play, 74-yard drive ended with Bowie plowing in from a yard out. #60 Gerret Hatfield blocked the PAT to keep this a 6-0 game, with 5:46 left in the quarter.

Jordan Jacobson ran for 17 yards to give the Eagles a first down. Jacobson, after this one was over, had run the hardest he had run in the four games I have seen him this season. The last big play of the quarter was another big run by Jacobson that totaled 15 yards.

The Crusaders were back at it again in the 2nd quarter; with 9:23 left, they polished off a nice nine-play, 65-yard drive with a Colaizzi-to-Miller 21-yard touchdown pass. Miller, to me, played the best game he had played of the four I have watched this season. The PAT was true by Grant Brumfield to make this a 13-0 game, with 9:23 left in the half.

The Eagles had a nice drive going with Jacoby Mooneyhan finding Jedediah Saunders. Jacobson moved the ball to the Columbus 14-yard line with a 5-yard run. Later on the drive, Jacobson was dropped by Joe Kamara for a loss of five, bringing up a third and twenty. With 2:30 left in the half, Mooneyhan hit Peyton Salyer for the 24-yard score. Noah Rogers hit the PAT to make this a 13-7 game. The Eagles' drive went for 64 yards on 11 plays.

Just 1:06 seconds later, Columbus responded with a Colaizzi to Miller 55-yard touchdown pass, making this a 20-7 game. The drive took 3 plays and totaled 70 yards.

Bowie put the ball on the ground, and making the recovery for the Eagles was Leland Davis. Just 16 seconds later Mooneyhan threw a pick to Jonathon Wolfe. The teams would head to the locker rooms with Columbus leading 20-7.

Jacobson picked up 11 yards to help set up a 15-yard touchdown with Mooneyhan finding Peyton Salyer to make this a 20-14 game with 6:35 left in the quarter. The drive went for 52 yards, taking 9 plays.

The last big play of the third quarter came with 1:18 showing on the clock, with Colaizzi to Miller striking again for 11 yards. Just six seconds into the final frame, the Crusaders would go up 28-14 with Bowie scoring from a yard out and the two-point conversion being successful with Colaizzi hitting Olive Maccaughey. The drive totaled 53 yards, taking 12 plays. Nine of the plays were runs.

Cincinnati showed some life on their next drive, with Jacobson picking up 13 yards, but the drive produced zero points.

Bowie looked to have a sweet 58-yard touchdown run, but a holding penalty took the points off of the board. Bowie would spring for a 29-yard gain a little later on the drive. The drive produced no points, with the field goal attempt being blocked.

Bowie would score once more, this time on a 6-yard run, to make this a 35-14 game. The drive needed just 17 yards thanks to the Crusaders' defense stopping the Eagles on fourth down.

Cincinnati would get a Mooneyhan to Saunders completion, but Saunders coughed the ball up after getting hit, and making the recovery for Columbus with 13.6 seconds left was Davier Lewis.

By my count, Truett Furniss had 11 tackles for the Eagles. On special teams Malachi Bowie had two tackles for Columbus.

My Stats

Cincinnati

50 plays

234 yards

Passing, 9-19 2TD, 1Int's

Columbus

60 plays

329 yards

Passing, 7-10, 2 TDs


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