Bulldog gridders drop district opener at Lebanon
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By Dave Roberts
The Rolla Daily News
Sat Oct 18, 2008, 12:04 AM CDT
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Lebanon, Mo. -
Missouri Class 5 District 6 competition got off to a rough start for the Rolla High School football team on Friday night, as the Bulldogs were beaten by the Lebanon Yellow Jackets 33-20.
Rolla falls to 6-2 overall and 5-2 in Ozark Conference play. Lebanon improves to 5-3 and 5-2. It was the final conference game for both teams. A victory would have given the Bulldogs a share of the Ozark Conference title.
In the other Class 5 District 6 game on Friday Camdenton defeated Waynesville 28-10.
That gives both Lebanon and Camdenton 1-0 district marks and plus-13 district points. Rolla and Waynesville are 0-1 with minus-13 district points.
Next Friday Rolla travels to Waynesville while Lebanon plays at Camdenton in district competition.
Rolla had problems stopping Lebanon’s spread offense, led by senior quarterback Ryan Howerton. Howerton completed 21-of-31 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for another score.
The Jackets opened the game with a 75-yard, 10-play scoring drive, which featured five Howerton pass completions. Howerton ended the drive with a two-yard TD run. Howerton’s following PAT kick hit an upright and bounded away, leaving the score 6-0.
That remained the score until the final minute of the first half. Lebanon intercepted a Ross Parker pass at the 50 yardline and went nine plays for the score. Howerton hit senior wideout Trey Overstreet with a seven-yard scoring pass with :56 left in the half. He then hit Overstreet with a two-point conversion pass to give Lebanon a 14-0 halftime edge.
Rolla took its first possession of the second half and scored, courtesy of a Cameron Fore breakaway run. On a 4th-and-1 situation Fore took a handoff, busted up the middle for the first down and then got to the right sidelines for a 57-yard TD run. Tyler Edwards added the PAT.
Neither team would score again until the 5:00 mark of the third period, when Lebanon scored on a double reverse pass. Senior wideout Phillip Archer took a pitch and looked deep, firing a pass to Overstreet, who hauled in a 34-yard TD reception. Again Howerton’s PAT hit the upright and fell no good.
The Bulldogs responded by going to the air and scoring on a 65-yard, nine-play drive that featured five Parker pass completions. Parker hit senior wideout Dalton Friend with a 13-yard pass, stretching the ball over the endzone for the TD, with :33 left in the third period. Edwards’ PAT cut the Jacket edge to 20-14.
Rolla then forced Lebanon to its only 3-and-out series, and RHS got the ball back at its own 36 yardline with a chance to tie or take the lead. However, Rolla could not score either, punting the ball back to Lebanon after three plays.
Rolla’s punter, Friend, boomed a 60-yard punt to pin the Jackets at their own six yardline. Lebanon went on a 94-yard, 14-play drive, scoring on a one-yard Brett Smith run.
Another Rolla interception quickly led to another Lebanon score, as Tyler Bethel scored on a one-yard run to make it 33-14 with 2:39 left.
In the final seconds the Bulldogs drove the field and ended up scoring on a 12-yard pass from Parker to Otte. The two-point conversion pass was picked off.
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