Prep Football: Turnovers derail Roseburg in 20-7 loss to Crater
Roseburg and Crater traded blows in a Class 5A Special District 4 match-up Friday at Finlay Field. It wasn’t pretty on either side, but the Comets managed to come up with the big plays when needed for a 20-7 victory.
“It was old-fashion football,” Roseburg coach Matt Watson said. “it was fun to be a part of.”
The two teams took turns building momentum only to see things unwind with a penalty, special teams miscue or a turnover.
Roseburg (1-3, 0-2 SD4) scored its only touchdown of the night on the opening kickoff. Senior Paxton Burke needed just 14 seconds to weave his way 83 yards through the Crater coverage team for a special teams score. It was the first touchdown of the season for Burke. Remy Heurta made the point after try to give the Tribe a 7-0 advantage.
From that point, Roseburg struggled to finish off drives. The Indians turned the ball over five times, had a punt blocked and returned for a touchdown and had a long snap go over the punter’s head setting up a short field for Crater (2-1, 1-0).
Quarterback Corey Kimball ran for 72 yards on 19 carries, but had the ball stripped once on a dropback. He was 6-for-11 through the air for just 37 yards with two interceptions.
Senior running back Elijah Smith had his best night out of the backfield with 13 carries for 60 yards, but he also had a fumbled handoff.
The Indians’ run-heavy offense produced 160 yards and Watson said he felt there were moments when things were clicking.
“I think it was a huge improvement. I know the box score won’t show that, but a huge improvement of having plays executed back-to-back. And then we just made a critical error at the worst possible time,” Watson said.
Crater didn’t play a much cleaner game. The Comets turned the ball over twice in Roseburg territory. Terrius Allen fumbled a handoff at the 3-yard-line and Tremaine Smith threw an interception that was picked off by Burke in the end zone.
“I think that our defense really showed what Roseburg football is about. We’re about heart, we’re about standing tall when we need to and coming up with big plays when you have to,” Watson said.
Crater did manage to break through for a couple of explosive plays that led to points.
Facing 3rd-and-11 from near midfield in the first quarter, Tremaine Smith found Julien Grant for a 39-yard completion that set the Comets up with 1st-and-goal. Four plays later Allen ran the ball in for the first of his two rushing touchdowns of the night.
Allen’s second score gave Crater a 20-7 lead and iced the game in the fourth quarter. The senior broke free for a 67-yard touchdown on the first play of a drive that started after Crater’s Brayden Singery recovered an Elijah Smith fumble.
Crater finished the night with 249 yards of offense, but tallied 138 yards on just three plays. Allen had 125 yards on 18 carries. Grant finished with three catches for 80 yards. Tremaine Smith was 6-for-13 through the air for 94 yards.
The Comets scored a special teams touchdown in the second quarter to take a 14-7 lead. Sophomore Mason Baker blocked a punt attempt and returned the loose ball for a score.
“We were not on the side that we wanted to be, but that’s the way life is sometimes,” Watson said. “Things don’t always go your way. So, the message to the kids is ‘how are we going to respond?’ We want to make sure we stay together as a team. We signed up for a whole season and if I know these kids at all, I know these kids are going to stay together.”
Roseburg continues conference play against Thurston at 7 p.m. Friday in Springfield.
Crater;6;8;0;6;—;20
Roseburg;7;0;0;0;—;7
First Quarter
R — Burke 80 kickoff return (Heurta kick)
C — Allen 2 run (kick blocked)
Second Quarter
C — Baker 23 blocked punt return (Sprague run)
Fourth Quarter
C — Allen 67 run (kick blocked)
