RBHS football starts slow, beats JCHS in second half for resounding victory
Senior Aughust Pfistzinger assists his teammate during the 2nd quarter of the football game against the Jefferson City Jays. Photo by Salma Alamin.
September 13, 2022
Entering the first home game of the season with a 1-1 record, RBHS nailed down a 47-22 victory over Jefferson City High School (JCHS) Friday, Sept. 9. A close first half of the game followed by effective halftime adaptations gave the Bruins the edge they needed to beat out the Jays.
After winning the coin toss, RBHS opted to kick off in the first quarter, and the Jays opened their drive with a march down to the Bruin 25-yard line but on an attempted fourth down conversion were stopped. The Bruins failed to do much better, however, and were forced to punt soon after receiving possession. It was not until their second possession that RBHS could score off a skillful run by sophomore Drevyn Seamon and a successful PAT by junior Joey Scardina. This set the end of the first quarter at a score of 7-0, favoring RBHS.
Sophomore linebacker and safety Crew Norden said he was happy with the team’s performance throughout the night on both sides of the ball, but he was especially impressed with the offense.
“It’s really comforting as a defense to know that if we have a bad possession we can trust in our offense to score in response,” Norden said. “After watching [the game] film Saturday, it did seem like the defense had some work to do. Obviously, it’s a team effort and defense didn’t play bad at all, but I really do think offense won the night on Friday.”
Entering the second quarter, JCHS was in possession of the ball, and after a series of ground-eating runs by the visiting team, they were rewarded with a touchdown and a tie game. In response, RBHS scored one of their own on yet another stellar run from Seamon. Out-scoring the Bruins in the second quarter, the Jays went on to tally a second touchdown, knotting the score at 14 a piece going into the half.
Junior left guard Lars Perkins said RBHS had several things to improve on, chief of these being the “all around communication as sometimes [the team] gets things confused.”
“I feel our greatest strength this game was going into the second half with a game plan for Jeff City’s defense,” Perkins said. “And being able to execute the plan accordingly.”
After halftime performances from both the Bruin Girls and the RBHS marching band, the second half of the game kicked off, setting an easy pace for the Bruins and leaving the Jays in the dust.
The third quarter was RBHS’ most prolific of the game, with the home team managing to punch three touchdowns through where JCHS only scored a single one. Offense is given the best opportunities to succeed when the defense is able to force turnovers. Seeing as the RBHS offense succeeded massively, the defense was partially responsible, making several impressive stops. One of which came from an important tackle for loss by Senior tackle Aidan Dubbert.
Entering the fourth quarter, RBHS led by 15 points, a scoreline that did not surprise Norden.
“Jeff[erson] City is always a physical team and a good opponent,” Norden said. “We prepared extremely well this week with lots of film watched, and [we] focused during our inside run and scout team periods. I was actually pretty confident going into the game, and I definitely would say I expected to win. I trusted my team and coaches, and I knew if we stuck to the plan, we would end the night on top.”
With seven minutes and thirty-three seconds left in the fourth quarter, RBHS scored their last touchdown and Seamon’s fourth of the night, leaving JCHS without an answer. While the visiting team did manage to score a final touchdown, with a failed onside kick attempt, they resigned their chances at victory.
The final was 49-27 as RBHS was able to stave off the Jays and secure themselves as a potential threat for any team they face this season. The offense exploded with junior quarterback Sam Kaiser piloting the team and Seamon powering from one outstanding play to the next.
Both Norden and Perkins said the team’s potential is limited only by how hard they work, as they have massive talent on defense and offense.
“I think this team can go as far as it wants to if we put the work in,” Norden said. “But a good short-term goal for us right now is to end the regular season with less than three losses and make a good run at districts.”
How do you think RBHS football will do for the rest of the season? Let us know in the comments below.
