RBHS outskills LHS, overwhelming victory
Jack Bower (12) dodges a tackle from an incoming defender. RBHS football wins 42-13 against Lutheran High School of St. Charles County, Sept. 30.
October 3, 2022
Following a strong victory over Helias Catholic High School in Jefferson City, RBHS came out firing on all cylinders with a decisive 42-13 victory over Lutheran High School (LHS) Friday, Sept. 30.
After winning the coin toss and choosing to kick off, RBHS stopped the Cougars on three stuffed running plays, forcing them to punt on their first set of downs. It would not be until the Bruins’ second possession, however, that they would score the game’s first touchdown on a set of fierce running plays which utilized junior back Cooper Myers for a touchdown. Then again on the next possession after a LHS three and out, a great block gave way for a long touchdown run for senior receiver Stephen Gibson, sending the Bruins into the second quarter up 14-0.
Senior safety Jake Hawkins said while the team played well, they still want to work on keeping up the pressure all game, as they sometimes “get lazy” in the fourth quarter with a lead.
“Defense definitely played a huge part in the win,” Hawkins said. “We held them to 3-4 first downs the entire game. They had two long balls that let them score, but that’s just one of the things we need to clean up, then we’ll be solid.”
Following the explosive first quarter, RBHS struggled to move the ball past LHS defenders. The opposite side of the ball continued to stay strong, though, holding the Cougars on the back half of the field with a stout run defense and good pass rushing. The game remained clean going into the half, with the score held at 14-0 in RBHS’ favor.
Going into the game, senior receiver Mark Hajicek knew the offense and defense would have each other’s backs, giving RBHS an added layer of confidence to their gameplay.
“I honestly thought — and I was telling some of the guys — we were going to roll them like we did,” Hajicek said. “After watching the [game] film, I didn’t think they were anything we couldn’t handle.”
The Bruins echoed this sentiment as they took charge in the third quarter, scoring two touchdowns, the first of which coming with four minutes and forty four seconds left. The second of the two came on a kick off reception by sophomore receiver Drevyn Seamon.
This did not come without some offensive activity on the part of the Cougars. The visiting team was able to score their only two touchdowns of the game on passes over the middle. Each one consisted of a long touchdown run after the catch, the second of which ended in a missed PAT by the LHS kicker who struggled all game.
Feeding off the crowd and excitement of a close victory, RBHS scored yet another two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, one with only 11 seconds left on the clock. The first of these touchdowns came off the back of a deflected punt which set up the Bruins with favorable field position.
Hawkins said he feels the team has great potential and amazing talent on both sides of the ball, and that they can see themselves going far in the postseason this year.
“I fully believed that we were gonna come out on top,” Hawkins said. “I trust our offense to put up enough points to win that game, and I [know] that our defense is good enough to stop anything that comes our way.”
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